My thoughts on Ape Escape Million Monkeys

Ape Escape Million Monkeys is arguably the best Ape Escape game outside of the main Ape Escape platforming games (Ape Escape 1, 2 and 3). It is the most intense monkey-catching game Sony has ever made, and it proved to be a huge hit in Asia, selling over 25 million copies as of 2011 despite its average reviews. Unfortunately, it never got released in North America. It almost got a release in Europe, but it was postponed due to Ape Escape 3's release and got cancelled later on. This game came out on July 13th 2006, around the same time when the first episode of Saru Get Chu ~On Air~ came out. 

Gameplay (5/5):
Ape Escape Million Monkeys is a combination of the main Ape Escape series' monkey catching gameplay, and Pumped and Primed's action-based gameplay. Sony does a wonderful job at combining the two of them together. They also removed the sky flyer and replaced with a jet pack so they can make one extra room for the monkey net and an extra gadget for Coliseum Mode. The monkey net is one of the best gadgets in the game. Not only you can catch monkeys in front of you, you can catch monkeys from a far distance. Million Monkeys is the hardest Ape Escape game on a home console. Harder than Ape Escape 1, 2 and 3. In the main Ape Escape games, the monkeys would normally run away from you until you caught them. However in Million Monkeys, you really can't let that monkey get away or it will teleport away. Million Monkeys is also one of the few games where you fight a boss in the first level. The other game I know where you fight a boss in the first level is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Besides monkeys teleporting away from you when they lose their armor and weapons, they have a huge arsenal of weapons from giant robots to tanks to throw at you!! Even on Normal Mode, it is very difficult but it's really fun.

Sony also added a combo system and gives players the ability to juggle their opponents in Story Mode, Multiplayer Mode and Coliseum Mode. The one huge feature that Sony added into this game is the crafting system. By using a customized character and after beating every round, you win two computer chips. They can be used to make weapons, vehicles and costumes. There are numerous combinations of objects you can make in the game, so it greatly enhances the replay value and makes players play the same levels again to get the chips they want. There is so much content in this game that I couldn't describe every single thing in the game.

Million Monkeys offers a larger roster of characters than Pumped and Primed. To my knowledge, this is the only Ape Escape game where you can play as the franchise's main villain: Specter. He is playable in both the story mode and coliseum mode. Pipotron G, Dark Specter, Dark Hiroki, Virus Charu, Volcano (monkey) and Legend (monkey) were also added to the roster but they are only playable in Coliseum Mode. 

Ever since the day I got this game, I never dropped the PS2 controller and it kept me playing for months or a year and a half. A combination of two different types of gameplay proved to be a great combination.

Story (3/5):
Ape Escape Million Monkeys has the darkest and the most interesting storyline in the franchise. Not only you can play as the main heroes: Kakeru, Natsumi, Charu and etc, you can also play as Specter. It doesn't matter which path you take. Although they both share the same ending, each have different cutscenes based on their perspectives on the storyline. This is the only game where Specter is not the main villain.The only things that I don't like about the plot is the lack of backstory for the Super Pipotrons (J, Meta, Kraut and G) and the Man of Mystery. Even from the guide book, it doesn't give much information about the Man of Mystery except that he is a cruel man who created J, Meta, Kraut and G, access to really advanced technology and it didn't say anything about his intentions of conquering the world. He's more likely used as a plot device or he could the same guy who made the Pipotron Brothers. Also, Pipotron G is the only Super Pipotron to have a back story which shows that he was once a gorilla. This is also supported in the later episodes of the first season of Saru Get Chu ~On Air~. Overall, story is not bad but it has a number of plot holes and characters' names that were never explained in the game.

Controls (4.5/5):
The controls are similar to Pumped and Primed. The four shape buttons have your gadgets, you use the analog sticks, left for movement, and right for using the gadgets. The jetpack can be used by holding down the jump button. The camera angle is not bad, but it can be somewhat hard to see some of the escaping monkeys in Story Mode with using the camera.

Graphics (5/5):
The graphics in the game is a major improvement over Pumped and Primed's. The characters look a lot better than they did in Pumped and Primed, and the development team does a great job at using real-life actors in this game. It's not as awkward as Pumped and Primed's interview with the Professor, where you have a real-life person talking to an inanimate person. The live-action cutscenes almost made it look like this is happening in real-life, and the monkeys in the live-action cutscenes do not look like they are out of place.

Music (4.5/5):
The music in the game is great. This is definitely one of Soichi Terada's best works. I love how the music in the title screen excites the user, and the large variety of music in the game. It's almost as good as the main Ape Escape games' OST. A big improvement over Pumped and Primed's OST. I recommend listening to the complete OST from the game (Link to download the Complete Soundtrack for Million Monkeys is at the end of this review).

Overall Impression:
Million Monkeys has got to be the best Ape Escape spin-off outside of the main platforming games. Its unique gameplay brings fun and excitement for months and the replay value is really high. In comparison to most of the Japan-released Ape Escape games, this game demands a higher learning level of Japanese for those who are learning the language than the other games in the series. As a fan of Ape Escape, I highly recommend importing this game and getting the guidebook. The guidebook will be really helpful and it's a nice addition to your Ape Escape collection. It's sad that this game never was released in the US/Canada and it was so close to being released in Europe. If you are planning to get this game, this game ONLY works on Japanese PS2's. If you want to play it, you have to mod it to break the region code or get a Japanese PS2. If you plan to get a Japanese PS2, make sure Million Monkeys isn't the only game you're getting.
I really love this game and I had tons of fun with it. It's a game worth reviewing.

For the final grade, I give Ape Escape: Million Monkeys:
4 stars out of 5