Ape Escape 2 - 2002 Developer Interview
This fun Ape Escape 2 interview with director Naoto Ohta and designer Toshiyuki Yonekura was originally featured in The Playstation magazine. Most of the questions revolve around the differences between AE2 and the first game, including game mechanics and character design. Although quite short, I hope to add more Ape Escape interviews to this space in the future.
Naoto Ohta – Director
Toshiyuki Yonekura – Designer
—A lot of time has passed since the first Ape Escape, and now the sequel has finally been released.
Yonekura: From a sales strategy perspective, we probably should have made it sooner, but there were no immediate plans for a sequel when the first development wrapped.
—Since then we've seen the Pipo Monkeys standing there next to Toro (the Sony Cat)... they've grown into a legitimate corporate mascot for Sony.
Ohta: When it came time to make a sequel to Ape Escape, naturally, the gameplay had to revolve around catching the monkeys. We weren't going to use the pants-removal gameplay of Ape Escape 2001 again; we were adamant about it being monkey-catching, and if we couldn't make that mechanic fun, then there was no point in making another Ape Escape game. For that reason we've made a big improvement to the Time Net mechanics this time around.
Yonekura: We put special care into the moment you capture the monkey. It's not just about swinging the net around wildly and catching the monkeys—we worked hard to make the controls with the analogue stick satisfying for that "I got em!" feeling.
—Is the hitbox more strict this time?
Ohta: The specifics are a trade secret, so I can't go into too much detail there, but the movement feels natural and logical. You should be used to controls by the end of the prologue. Of course, as the game progresses, depending on the situation you may find instances where it's harder to catch something.
Yonekura: We don't use hitboxes for the catching mechanics. Let's just leave it at that. (laughs)
—Is there more variety in the monkeys' personalities?
Yonekura: That was something we wanted to do for this sequel. The reason they weren't so distinct in the previous game was that, first and foremost, we wanted to establish the idea of the Pipo Monkeys as a whole. If we suddenly gave them all these different, distinct personalities, it would have made it harder for them to leave an impression. Now that the Pipo Monkeys are known to players though, we thought it was the right time to give them individual personalities, and we were able to push that concept front and center.
Ohta: Another reason for it is that action games, you know, they often involve collecting some item to clear the stage, but that can get boring. It helps keep things from getting stale if the characters all have individual personalities and movements.
Ideally, there should not be a single wasted thing in a game. Sometimes people misunderstand this point: they make a map, fill it with enemies, drop the player character in there and think they've made a game. But I can't call something like that a game. All the elements in a game should work together in fusion, organically, without a sense that anything is wasted or unnecessary. That is the ideal, at least. It's a difficult ideal to pursue, however, given the limitations we have to work within.
—The midbosses really stand out in Ape Escape 2.
Yonekura: You can tell we're from the sentai generation.
—It's on point. (laughs) Ukki Pink's (Pink Monkey) performance is especially great.
Yonekura: She's like an 80s idol. We were inspired by the Oiso Long Beach Talent Swim Gala. (laughs)
Ohta: We watched all these old promo videos and studied the idol's basic dance moves. We asked Miyuki Matsushita to sing her parts, and we asked her to sing it poorly. (laughs)
Yonekura: Now that we're talking about the weird monkeys, Sarubisu (Leo) in Casino City is a good one. His dance is the one you see in the most recent commercials.
Ohta: Up to the last minute we couldn't decide, and it was down to the wire, but we somehow made it.
Yonekura: We wanted them to be linked.
Ohta: There's a funky kabuki dance in there too.
Yonekura: If you hit the monkeys in the Ninja Hideout with the PipoBot, they do this exaggerated kabuki dance.
—Ah, too bad... I caught them too quickly to see it. (laughs)
Ohta: Ape Escape 2 is a pure "monkey-catching" game. It's all about the monkeys, and we've done our best to make them look as appealing and fun as possible. We hope you enjoy seeing them in their native, relaxed environments!
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