The next PS5 exclusive has to be Ape Escape 4 – Reader’s Feature
Inspired by Astro Bot, a reader suggests Sony commission a new series of low budget franchise reboots, starting with Ape Escape and LocoRoco.
I’m still a bit hazy on whether Astro Bot has been a sales hit or not but I’m confident that it is going to be in the running for a lot of games of the year lists by the time we hit December, and quite right too. It’s a great platform game and a great celebration of PlayStation, even if not using anyone’s name is a bit weird.
For me, the highlights were the final stages in each galaxy, where you have to play a parody of a famous PlayStation first party game. This includes modern games like Uncharted and God Of War but easily the best ones are those based on LocoRoco and Ape Escape.
The modern games are pretty much normal Astro Bot levels, just with the character’s weapon on top, but the retro ones are basically completely different games and just like the originals. LocoRoco is amazing in how they totally ignore Astro Bot for a level in order to pay homage to the original, but my favourite is still the first one: Ape Escape.
For those that don’t remember, the original Ape Escape was the first high quality Sony 3D platformer for the original PlayStation. It wasn’t actually much of a platformer though, as it was more original than that. Your goal was to capture a bunch of escaped monkeys by sneaking up on them with a net (I forget the story but I think the leader, Spike, was controlling their minds or something).
It was a simple concept, but it was a lot of fun, as you never knew quite where the monkeys were or how to get them. What made the Astro Bot homage so good is the original had pretty bad controls and camera (this was all in 1999) and having the whole thing remade with 2024 graphics was a huge improvement on what it used to be.
If it was meant as a test of concept, then I think it worked incredibly well and the main thing I was thinking when it was finished is that I want more and I want them to make a whole game out of it. Especially as it contrasted nicely with the more modern games, which came across as a bit samey once they were Astro Bot-isied.
After the first Ape Escape game, there were two sequels and a ton of spin-offs, most of which I think were not successful and some of which were Japanese-only. According to Wikipedia there was a PlayStation Move game in 2010, but I’ve never heard of it before and the last mainline entry was PlayStation 2 game Ape Escape 3 in 2005.
I would love for Sony to make an Ape Escape 4, especially if the Astro Bot team get to do it. I’m not sure what Sony is going to do to take advantage of Astro Bot’s success, but you’ve got to assume it’ll be more sequels and spin-offs. But I would argue that it’s the nostalgia that’s a big part of the game’s appeal and just another Astro Bot isn’t necessarily going to build on that.
If I was them, I’d solve their games-take-seven-years-to-make-now problem and do a new series of lower budget games that are reboots of older titles. Start with Ape Escape and LocoRoco and then throw in anything from Alundra to PaRappa The Rapper.
I agree with the ex-Sony boss saying games need to be cheaper and shorter and quicker, and to me this seems the perfect answer to all those problems. Just don’t make it a live service game!
By reader Kaliban
Ape Escape – do you want more? (Sony Interactive Entertainment)