Ape Escape is the first game to require DualShock. Catching monkeys with varied gadgets across colorful and inventive levels is pure joy. Creative, fun and well built, it's a foundational PS1 classic still delightful today.
Your verdict
Category
Platformer1 player7+
Description
Pioneering 3D platformer where young Spike catches gadget-wielding monkeys across past and future eras. Action by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Studio, released in 1999 in Japan, the United States and Europe. First game to require the DualShock pad, over 200 monkeys to net, nine zany gadgets and mini-games. Western multilingual editions.
Ape Escape review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
3/5
Music
★★★★★
"Memorable"
2/5
Story
★★★★★
"Classic"
Gameplay
"Masterful"
The first game built around the DualShock's two sticks, it turns every gadget into a different way to move, aim and trap the monkeys. That inventiveness in the hands has lost none of its freshness, so varied and readable does the toolkit remain. A few camera angles date it, but the glee of the chase and the precision of the handling make it a reference still very much alive.
The American NTSC edition published by SCEA, the first game built to require the DualShock and its twin analog sticks, hence a technical milestone in PlayStation history as much as a Sony classic. That hardware singularity, along with Spike the monkey's mascot status, feeds interest on the US market, where the title stays common. Value rises mainly on complete, clean copies, prized by fans of early Japan Studio works.
Is Ape Escape still worth playing in 2026?
Ape Escape is the first game to require DualShock use. Catching monkeys with varied gadgets in colourful, inventive levels is pure joy, and Sony Japan Studio's title signs one of the PS1's most creative 3D platformers. The controls use both analog sticks like never before at the time, and the visual humour mixed with monkey gags lands wonderfully. An absolute classic to bring out today.
