| Spike | Story | Gallery | Quotes |
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| Name(s) |  カケル (Kakeru)  Spike  Spike (AE1, OTL), Kakeru (AE2, AE3)
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| Gender | Male |
| Member of | Team Spike |
| Allies | Jake (Best friend), Natalie, Casi, Professor, Jimmy, Helga (love interest), Kei, Yumi, Aki, Pipotron G, Monkey Team Anime only: Pipotrons, Kuuta |
| Enemies | Specter (Archenemy), Pipo Monkeys, Jake (When mind-controlled), Freaky Monkey Five, Mystery Man, Neo Pipotrons, Virus Casi, Grid Core, Dark Jake, Dark Specter, Alien Slimes, Blob Core Non-Canon: PaRappa the Rapper, Polygon Man |
| Family | Jimmy (cousin) |
| Height | 135 cm (AE1)[1] |
| Weight | 32 Kg (AE1)[1] |
| Age | 10 (AE1)[1] |
| Likes | Saving the world, keeping his friends safe, challenging Jake in their own competitions |
| Dislikes | Specter's plans, seeing his friends in danger. |
| Appears in |  Saru Get You CoroCoro Comics Ape Escape (Comics)            
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| Voice actor(s) | Fujiko Takimoto (Games), Shizuka Ishikawa (Anime) Scott McGregor (AE1) Dan Green (AE2) Barbara Goodson (AE P&P) Richard Steven Hovitz (OTL) Richard Pearce (AE2) Marc Silk (OTL and PSASBR) Framboise Gommendy (AE1) Ilaria D'Elia (AE1), Franco Mannella (AE2)
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Spike, known in Japan and some European games as Kakeru (カケル), is the protagonist of Ape Escape and the main protagonist of the Ape Escape series. He appears in many of the installments either as a main- or a side character.
He is the playable character of Ape Escape and its PSP remake, Ape Escape: On the Loose. In Ape Escape 2, when all the monkeys are first caught with Jimmy, Spike becomes available to be played as an extra character.
Spike's best friend and rival is Jake. He regularly visits the Professor and Natalie whom he treats like family. In both Saru Get You ~On Air~ and Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed, he is shown to have a crush on Helga.
Appearance[]
Spike is a young male who started with tanned skin, but has paled since. Usually depicted with blue eyes, he has very spiked red hair with a few yellow bangs and strands going through the center. In Ape Escape, its remake, and Ape Escape 2001, he wears a red T-shirt with white bordering and a white stripe going down one side, blue shorts, red wristbands, and beige-colored tennis shoes.
Spike remains the same in Ape Escape 2, although now he is seen wearing a pair of jeans and brown shoes.
In Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed, he is seen wearing the same outfit but with slightly more detailing and a black long sleeved shirt underneath and a blue visor with black flames, gray and white shoes and plain white socks. This look was also used in the anime, minus the hat.
In Ape Escape: Million Monkeys, Spike's outfit has completely changed. He wears a white hoodie with a zipper down the center, red pockets and inside coloring on the sleeves, light blue jeans, white and black shoes and a pair of goggles/sunglasses. His appearance has a more matured look, his bright yellow spikes having become a neutral blond color and the bangs that had the highlights have now become longer and frame his face.
In Ape Escape: SaruSaru Big Mission, his appearance is similar to his Ape Escape 1 appearance, but now with the white stripe going down in the center.
Personality[]
Spike is an energetic boy filled with plenty of spunk and a bit of an attitude. He is good-natured, however, and very determined to win against all odds. He insists on never wishing to cause harm to anyone and only attacks if he must.
Spike may very well be the strongest hero in all of the series, as he is able to resist Specter's mind control through willpower alone (at least until Ape Escape 3). Due to his competitive nature, Spike often shows a rivalry with Jake. In Saru Get You ~On Air~ Jake tried to impress Natalie, and Spike challenged him just to prove he was better athletically.
Other Appearances[]
Saru Get You ~On Air~[]
See Spike (~On Air~)
Spike is the main hero of the anime with minor competition with his rival/friend Jake.
In Saru Get You ~On Air~, Spike is a fanboy of Helga. In one of the episodes, he was willing to wait in line all day just to see her for her autograph. As he had to leave to capture a few loose Pipo Monkeys, Helga exited the building and noticed how sad he was. She then decided to personally sign his shirt. Since then, the two have become fast friends and he often helps her with no questions asked.
The only weakness he seems to possess is how simple-minded he is, especially in comparison to everyone else who hints at finding this to be an annoyance. Spike despises schoolwork and never wants to do it, but due to being such a lover of food, he can easily be swayed by a decent treat.
Spike also shows genuine concern for the apes when they are in harm's way, such as crying when he thought a baby ape died by falling off a cliff, only to learn it was a trap.
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale[]
Spike as he appears in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.
Spike is featured as a playable character in the crossover fighting game PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Spike's appearance and gadgets are based on his setup from Ape Escape: Million Monkeys. He uses most of his Gotcha Gadgets from that game, like his Twin Stun Clubs and a slightly different version of the RC Car. He also uses his Monkey Radar to summon a Red Pipo Monkey or Pipotron G. In addition, he uses the famous Gotcha Net to capture his opponents for his Level 1 Attack. In his Level 2 Attack, he uses a golden Stun Club to fire a shockwave across the stage, likely based on his Thunder Crack attack from Pumped & Primed and Million Monkeys since it also uses the Stun Club to project a shockwave across the stage. He blasts the entire stage with his Satellite Laser in his Level 3 Attack.
Astro Bot[]
Spike cameos as a 'bot in Astro Bot, labelled "Monkey Stalker." His description reads "There's no escaping him."
Trivia[]
- In the UK version of On the Loose, Spike and Specter share the same voice actors. The voice actor is Marc Silk, who returned to play both roles in PlayStation All-Stars.
- Despite having enough will to not be influenced by Specter's mind control in Ape Escape 1, he becomes hypnotized rather easily in Ape Escape 3. His anime counterpart is also the same way.
- Although not having a significant plot in Ape Escape 2, Spike is playable when players successfully catch all the monkeys.
- Playing as Spike in Ape Escape 2 is non-canon.
- In the American version of Ape Escape 1, both Spike and Jake are portrayed as being more like grown teenagers, despite still being classified as 10-year olds. Spike also has a slightly more mature and serious attitude. This makes the personality of his American counterpart a little more different than his Japanese counterpart, especially the anime version. The Japanese-dubbed Spike is portrayed as being more cheerful and childlike, but still has an aggressive and serious attitude when confronting Specter and Jake.
- A strange thing that is also noticeable between the Japanese and International versions of Ape Escape 1, is that in both the intro and cutscenes, both Spike and Jake's eye look and animations have been slightly readjusted to look somewhat less childlike and more serious. Spike also does not wink with a happy-looking expression in the cutscenes as opposed to the Japanese version.
- Spike has saved others the most out of all the protagonists. In Ape Escape 1, he saved the Professor, Natalie, and Jake. In Ape Escape 2, Jimmy saved Pipotchi, while in Ape Escape 3, Kei and Yumi saved Dr. Tomoki way from Specter's side.
- Despite being called Kakeru in the UK dubs of Ape Escape 2 and Ape Escape 3, his name is back to Spike in the UK dub of Ape Escape: On The Loose and the European version of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.
- In PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, his rival is PaRappa. This may be due to both the Ape Escape and PaRappa games having an anime series based in Japan, as well as having two of the most successful titles on the PlayStation 1, both of which received a remake on the PlayStation Portable.
- Spike is the only protagonist that appears in all three main titles.
- Spike, Jimmy, Monkey Blue, the Professor, and Specter are the only characters to use swear words in the series.
- Spike swears once in all versions of Ape Escape 2, while the others have sworn in the UK version of Ape Escape 2.
- Spike's Japanese name Kakeru means the act of chasing after something, which fits as his position as a Monkey Catcher.
- In Ape Escape 3, you can unlock a monkey that is cosplaying as Spike using codes that can be found in the game. When inspecting it, we learn that it is called “Spork”. Its Alertness is 4 stars, Speed 4 stars, attack 4 stars and Temper 4 stars. It is found in the cottage in Hide-And-Seek Forest, where it is sitting on the table eating popcorn. It has the quote “Will I ever get another part?”, referencing the lack of Spike as a playable character in the installment.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ape Escape (1999) - NTSC-U/C, Ski Kidz Racing character select screen https://youtu.be/9Dv42mkqJ8E?t=53
| Characters | Casi · Jake · Natalie · Professor · Specter · Spike |
|---|---|
| Gadgets | Dash Hoop · Magic Punch · Monkey Radar · R.C. Car · Sky Flyer · Slingback Shooter · Stun Club · Time Net · Water Net |
| Prehistoric Era/ The Lost Land | Fossil Field · Primordial Ooze · Molten Lava |
| Cenozoic Era/ Mysterious Age | Thick Jungle · Dark Ruins · Cryptic Relics |
| Dimension/Dimension X | Stadium Attack |
| Primitive Age/Oceana | Crabby beach · Coral Cave · Dexter's Island |
| Ice age/New Freezeland | Snowy Mammoth · Frosty Retreat · Hot Springs |
| Dimension/Dimension X | Gladiator Attack |
| Recent Past/Medieval Mayhem | Sushi Temple · Wabi Sabi Wall · Crumbling Castle |
| Present-Day/Futurama | City Park · Specter's Factory · TV Tower |
| Present-Day 2/Specter Land | Monkey Madness |
| Dimension/Dimension X | Peak Point Matrix |
| Characters | Haru · Hero · Specter · Tohko · Tsukushi |
|---|---|
| Gadgets | Ape Vacuum · Banannerizer · Monkey Net · Slingback Shooter · Smasher |
| Levels | Wobbly Home · Mysterious Ruins · Monkey Carousel · Monkey Road · The Hot Springs · Dinosaur Glacier · Haunted House · Asian Town · Spa Gardens · Food City · Skull Volcano · Monkeyland · Steam Castle · Battery Tower · Monkey Station |