What's the highest H.E.R.O. level you've defeated?

[24Fanatic365]

Just like the title asks, how far have you successfully journeyed in this great Activision game? I just made it to level 13, and topped out at 72,085 points. It's amazing how involved some of these levels get as the game progresses.

[high voltage]

Late 80s, I made level 22 (Twice Pro), can't remember the score (I had written it into the booklet, but since then I got a new H.E.R.O. game)

Edited August 8, 2014 by high voltage

[StanJr]

Years ago I made it to !!!!!!!!! Love HERO!

[devwebcl]

20+ 170k AFAIR

[BurritoBeans]

14th level, but I don't remember the score

[+Nathan Strum]

Level 19: 151,330

[R.O.T.S]

Level 10 (bows head in shame)

[24Fanatic365]

I've now made it to 15 (once), but died a quick and punishing death shortly thereafter, ending my personal best run of this fantastic game. Must...Play...More!

[chuckwalla]

I've reached level 14 several times recently but keep getting killed as time runs out.

Love this game!

[+wongojack]

I made it to 16 once. After a while it is just about memorization and practice. I'll get to 20 eventually, and then I'll forget how the levels are laid out and it will be a whole new game.

[+Cafeman]

I had to review the 5200 HSC threads to be sure. I got 111k and died on level 15.

[+Cafeman]

Years ago I made it to !!!!!!!!! Love HERO!

What level is that?

[24Fanatic365]

What level is that?

I was kind of thinking the same thing...Lol!

[+thegoldenband]

Six exclamation marks is Activision-ese for 1 million points, and normally makes the gameplay stop (cf. Kaboom, River Raid, Laser Blast, et al.). This thread has a couple posts from people who reached that benchmark in H.E.R.O., so it sounds like StanJr's also a member of that elite.

[+wongojack]

I assume everyone knows this, but the game selection in HERO allows you to adjust your starting level. If you are having trouble with 13 - 20 then you can start right at #13 by playing game 4.

 

From the manual:

Game 5 starts on level 17, but all following levels are random. No level number appears during game 5.

[24Fanatic365]

Thanks for the useful info, thegoldenband, and wongojack. I had no idea about either the exclamation marks or the game select. Oh the woes of being an Atari newbie (after a few decades!) and playing everything on a Harmony cart without googling the instruction manuals! Now I'll have to start skipping the lower levels to hone my H.E.R.O. miner saving skills!

[+wongojack]

My first experience with this game was on the C64. That is where I think I got the farthest way back when. I'd been going through a phase of playing the 2600 version (kinda because of this thread), and I decided to fire up VICE and try the C64 version again. There is a noticeable difference between the PAL and NTSC modes in terms of speed and control sensitivity on the C64. (NTSC is faster) It is actually a little easier to make precise movements, but you have to get further away from bombs before they explode. More precise movements also opens the door for some mistakes, but overall, I think the C64 version is a little easier and gives you a very small amount of extra space to avoid sh!+

[shadow460]

Level 14 here. I only recently got my first copy of H.E.R.O. from an OKRGS member.

[Mister-VCS]

Died on level 14 (2008)

[+wongojack]

Ok, using a c64 emulator with a hack that lets me skip to any level, I was able to practice the higher levels individually. After doing that, I made it back to 16 (119k) when starting from #1. I'm sure I'll go farther next time as I had some cheap deaths in there.

 

I think the hardest levels are 9, 16, & 20 (19 is no slouch). Practicing the higher levels is very helpful because the rest of the game feels like it moves very slowly once you get the hang of the obstacles on 20. Those fast moths are particularly tough.

[+wongojack]

I made it to 17! (134k)