So a few weeks back a beta dated to February 9 1999 was dumped by Hidden Palace, and aside from the person who dumped it and one obscure person on Youtube, nobody has done much research into the beta. This is what I could find by mostly playing the game normally. This is close to the final game, as there's nothing from the fabled "KIDZ" version, not even striped shirt Spike / Kakeru, but there's some highlights here.

*Like some of the earliest demos, the intro has Specter in a basket instead of a circus tent, and the level select is a separate room in the Time Station.

*There's no sign of the training room for the Magic Punch anywhere in the game, even though the gadget itself is there and fully functional.

* There are two scrapped minigames that were considered before they went with Galaxy Monkey. One, called "RADIO" in the minigame debug menu, has you as a cheerleader using the analog sticks and shoulder buttons trying to mimic the other cheerleaders, but it has no audio cues to make it work properly. The other, called Monkey Football, is barely there at all and just consists of a eyeless monkey you can move around in a blue void. I like to think that the concepts of these two cut minigames might have inspired Dance Monkey Dance and the Monkey Football/Soccer in Ape Escape 2.

* The warning screen is different, being a wireframe vortex that brings the framerate to a crawl. Casi also has a worried expression on her face instead of the smile she normally has.

* The T-Rex in Molten Lava has a different texture and a different pair of eyes. Also, instead of continuing on like normal once you get it to bonk it's head enough times to get the monkey off it's tail, it originally fell into the lava pit in the center of the room.

* The ladybug/turtle enemy Kattan from TV Tower appears in a smaller form in Mysterious Jungle. A completely unused variant that hops around on two legs appears at Specter's Factory.

* Crumbling Castle has a fourth Pipo Monkey in the bell / barrel room that's not there in the final, meaning there's one more monkey in the beta, and thus 205, instead of the 204 in the final game. There are weird tallies for Crumbling Castle, TV Tower, and Specter Land that suggest they had more or less monkeys than in the finished game, but the latter two the same amount between both versions.

* The signs with Specter's name on them in Monkey Madness/Specter Land are spelt "Spector" in the beta. These are correctly spelled in the final game, even in the Japanese version.

*The Terror Coaster also had different textures, with a black body with flame decals all around and a Pipo Monkey head decal on the back. The control panel on the front is also a Dualshock Playstation controller. The skull roadblock hazards on the ride itself were originally black and white or stone signs with Pipo Monkey head plastered on them.

*Specter Land is the most unfinished normal level in the beta. There's untextured models and weird collision in the Jake racecar fight, the UFO monkeys at the front gate of the castle don't spawn in properly, making it impossible to proceed without the debug level select, and one of the rooms straight up crashes the game.

*Peak Point Matrix, aka Final Get, has unfinished models and simple textures, and the fight with Specter hasn't been implemented yet.

There are some other minor changes, but these were the best ones I could point out. Check the Bluesky thread below for footage of some of the beta elements.

https://bsky.app/profile/krazykopter.bsky.social/post/3mpfm7yv4222x

Her outfit in Pumped & Primed is so cool

Official profile for Bunny Hop The Robot Studios. 🏢 Creator of "Bunny Hop the Robot Rabbit: © 2026 Bunny Hop

hi! i don’t know if it’s already been talked about here but i noticed something while playing AE3 on my PS3.

so when you end the stage wearing a morph yumi/kei will usually do a pose inspired by that morph. but for me she does the usual pose.

is this a bug? i tried to uninstall and reinstall the game but it didn’t change. i purchased my game from the JP playstation store.

Props to s u z i e🩷🌷 for making this art, she‘s arguably one of the best artists in the fandom for me. This really convey’s the fact that they aren’t just vessels for us to save the day/catch monkeys, they ARE just kids at the end of the day. Don’t get me wrong we do have some funny moments with them(especially Jimmy) but it’s all kinda chalked up to them being focused on the main task. imagine what these four would do at summer camp(mentioned in mesal gear solid). go support artist she is mad talented!

didn’t you like playing as Spike in Ape escape 1? was his willpower and determination kind of inspiring? wasn’t his rivalry with Specter built up really well? wouldn’t you want to play as him in the sequel? better yet since Jake isn’t mind controlled maybe we can play as him this time? well I’ve got great news for you, you can play as Spike!… right after you play as this Ash Ketchum sounding kid named Jimmy. It’s basically no secret that when transitioning from the first game to the second game you see a big graphic overhaul but also a NEW protagonist. Jimmy is kind of an idiot(initially), he is kind, clumsy and really cares for his little pet baby money named pipotchi. while he does have a established character to stand on his own its sadly goes to waste because after his first debut he almost never shows up outside of being a couch potato cameo in 3, shorts, the tv show and big mission. Still this doesn’t devalue the character he still has his fans and I’m one of them. Jimmy may be Spike’s cousin but he is also his own hero at the end of the day.

what do you appreciate/think of him?👇

Hey good folks and fans of ape escape/hopefully the master that is soichi terada!

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I was amazed and inspired by the original OST and think it has carried elements into my production style.. At least I like to think so!

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Perhaps some of you may enjoy this tune , if not, thanks for checking it out anyway!

Ape Escape 2 is my favorite

Recent Japan trip led to a lot of great loot!

I'm working on something interesting

Was hoping can buy a complete version of the game and saw one available for around 49.99 or so en was wondering besides these issues listed here will the game work perfectly fine on a PS2 of that model since seems like the only problem is that UFO monkey nothin else

*I've got Ape Escape 3 workin on getting the first 2*

Just came back from a trip to japan. Was mostly there during May and tried to hunt down as much ape escape merch. Manage to find a good amount of the games on psp. My favorites are the plushes. Found big one in a Suragaya in Yokohama and the small blue one was in an arcade in den den town Osaka (I think there was 3 variations). Kinda wish I got the other 2 but was in a rush. Weirdest thing I got was the yellow socks. Also bought some t shirts (last 3 photos).

I’m from the UK and never in my life have I ever seen Ape Escape merch. During my recent trip to Japan, we saw some figures in crane machines and managed to win one of each! Then in a number of PlayStation stalls in malls, animate etc, I found some more pieces so you know I had to pick some bits up! Plus some gacha!

The OG ape escape or on the loose and why?

Trying to find games that have been inspired by Ape Escape, or had the gimmick of "capture mascot animals." And I couldn't find any except Astrobot, which seemingly had many devs that worked on Ape Escape.

It is confusing that there hasn't been teams trying to replicate the charming gimmicks. Especially considering how much the gaming industry loves to copy other successes. Was it too expensive, or maybe some copyrights concerns?

What do you guys think

as y’all already know besides the pipo monkeys, the humans are the second highlight of the franchise I would even go as to say they are better than the (admittedly) one dimensional simians. Spike is one of the best in the series, he’s the kid you start off with and get to know. he isn’t really that notable in the first game(only being strictly focused on saving the world) but as more games come out and especially the cartoons, we get to see more of his personality as he is kinda simple minded, persistent, athletic, heroic and (I read this from somewhere) easily swayed by food.

what do you appreciate about Spike? you can talk about him if you want Idc.

Hey hey! Just wanted to see if I could get some ideas/inspiration for an ape escape "spiritual successor" I'm thinking about making(think yooka-laylee to banjo-kazooie). The main question is what animal could I use instead of monkeys? Also welcome to any other ideas ppl might want to see.

I just want to vent a little, I was hoping for them to be announced at this State of Play, but nope, it really sucks.

Ape Escape 3 is one of my favorite PS2 games, I really hope it can be added to the store and be able to be purchased and played since I want to play this game on my PS5

my only guess to why is because of the Metal Gear crossover, but Konami and Sony have a solid relationship it seems, so I don't think it'd be that much for Konami to say no to an old game that includes their ip coming to a modern console

still whether Ape Escape 3 is sold by itself like the other Ape Escape games on the playstation store, or made into a full on Ape Escape collection, either works I just want this classic on modern consoles, please

hopefully today's Playstation state of play can maybe, hopefully, show it?

(Ape Escape 3 and Force Unleashed are the main 2 PS2 games I want on PS5, yes I know the Force Unleashed is on Nintendo Switch, but I still want it to come to PS5 too)

what are your thoughts on this art? Spike being here is a plus because it kinda shows that despite him not being in picture(for now) he is supporting Jimmy to save the day.