Ape Escape 2 is the sequel to Ape Escape. In this platform game it's your goal to catch all the apes jumping, walking and flying around the diverse levels the game has to offer. A large arsenal of gadgets can be used to make it all a little easier, with the catching net being the most important weapons of them all. Other gadgets include a RC Car, to drive over monkey's and collect objects, an Ape Radar, to detect the nearest monkey, a baseball bat, to hit monkeys unconscious, and a magnet, to move certain objects in the maps. Your quest is to catch all monkeys in the levels and to stop the evil Specter from taking over the world. All monkeys in the levels are somewhat unique with their own character abilities and their unique name. Some monkeys just sit on their place, while others attack you with projectiles or run away quickly.

Years after the meddling monkey Specter was first stopped, a young boy named Hikaru is left watching over the Professor's laboratory alongside his cousin and the Professor's granddaughter. A simple errand goes wrong when a batch of mind-controlling Monkey Helmets is accidentally scattered, and Specter seizes one to once again raise an army of monkeys bent on ruling the world. Armed with an arsenal of quirky gadgets and joined by a friendly baby monkey named Pipotchi, Hikaru sets off across a variety of worlds to recapture the escaped monkeys and foil Specter's plan.