Jake, known in Japan as Hiroki (ヒロキ), and as Buzz in the UK version of Ape Escape, is Spike's best friend the secondary antagonist of Ape Escape, and is his biggest rival. He has been unwillingly controlled by Specter multiple times. In Saru Get You ~On Air~, he is the son of a rich family and has a huge crush on Natalie.

Appearance

In Ape Escape, Jake has blue hair and a pony tail and wears a tank top and jeans. He normally has yellow-colored eyes, but they shift red whenever he is under the control of Specter.

In Ape Escape: On the Loose, Jake has the exact same outfit, but his hairstyle has completely changed.

In Saru Get You ~On Air~, Jake wears a blue jacket, a black shirt underneath, and black pants.

Personality

Jake is a lot like Spike. They both appear to be competitive as they race to the Professor's lab in the opening cutscene of Ape Escape. He also shows that he is strong-willed as he managed to break free from Specter's mind control. However, Specter regained the control easily. Jake has a completely different personality when he is under the control of Specter. He is very aggressive and loyal to Specter and follows his orders to stop Spike from preventing their plans for world domination.

Biography

Ape Escape/Ape Escape: On The Loose

Jake was racing with Spike to see who could make it to the Professor's lab first to see his newly invented time machine, when suddenly they had been transported back in time along with Specter and the apes. The friends got separated in that moment.

Somehow, Specter was able to find Jake and put him under his control. This causes Jake's personality to change completely. He now had menacing red eyes and wanted to beat Spike for good.

Throughout the game, Jake frequently challenged Spike in a space dimension with Spike always coming out on top. In Specter Land, Spike and Jake had their final battle. After Spike beat Jake, he snapped out of Specter's control for good.

Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed

Jake also appeared in Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed, once again under Specter's control. He challenged Spike, his friends, the monkeys, and the Pipotrons several times on a motorbike. Once the unknown man took over the cyber world, he took control of Jake, giving him a new look. Once the Grid Core was beaten, he rejoined his friends free from Specter's control, and returned to the Professor's lab.

Ape Escape: Million Monkeys

Jake appears as an unlockable character in Coliseum Mode and Multiplayer Mode.

Saru Get You ~On Air~

In the anime, Saru Get You ~On Air~, Jake is known as Hiroki. He is from a rich family, which he notes as he comes to the lab with a golden net made to look like a Monkey Net even though it's fake. Most of the time he is shown either attempting to impress his crush Natalie or catching monkeys with Spike.

Jake carries a picture of Natalie with him and dreams about her nearly every day. He ultimately did a lot of heroic things in the anime for her sake, such as when he protected her with his body from Pink Monkey in Episode 36 of Season 2. Jake is determined to do anything to win Natalie's heart.

Gallery

See Jake/Gallery

Trivia

• In the American version of Ape Escape, both Spike and Jake are portrayed as being more like grown teenagers, despite still being classified as 10-year olds.
• A strange thing that is also noticeable between the Japanese and international versions of Ape Escape, 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. This is probably due to the fact that the American developers wanted Spike and Jake's facial expressions to match the voice actors' expressions more, instead of having the slightly less serious and more childlike attitude the two boys have in the Japanese version.
• Jake makes a minor appearance as unlockable concept artwork in Ape Escape 2.
• Jake was supposed to be in the storyline for Ape Escape: Million Monkeys, but the cutscene where Team Spike (as a good side) or Team Specter (as a bad side) encounters him was removed from the game according to the official Ape Escape Million Monkeys website. He was likely meant to be either the Second member of Team Spike or the Second member of Team Specter since he had always been shown to have both a good and evil side in the previous games. To make up for his absence, he was instead made to be a playable character in the Coliseum Mode and Multiplayer Mode.