Return of Heracles
Name: Return of Heracles
Programmer(s): Stuart Smith
Publisher: Stuart Smith
Year: 1983
Description:
Return of Heracles is a strategy role-playing game released in 1983 for the Apple II computer. Created by Stuart Smith and published by Quality Software, this game lets players control Greek heroes on mythological quests. The game became popular for bringing Greek mythology to computer gaming in a new way.
In Return of Heracles, players pick from nineteen different Greek heroes like Achilles, Odysseus, and Jason. Each hero has different strengths and weaknesses. Some are better fighters while others are faster or smarter. Players can control up to nineteen heroes at once, though most players use smaller groups. The main goal is to complete twelve different quests based on Greek myths. These include finding the Golden Fleece, rescuing Helen of Troy, and defeating the Minotaur.
The game uses a top-down view where players see the world from above. Characters move on a grid-based map that shows cities, mountains, forests, and seas. When heroes meet enemies like centaurs or harpies, combat happens automatically based on each character's statistics. Players must manage their heroes' health and equipment while exploring ancient Greece. The game includes over 240 different locations to visit.
What makes Return of Heracles special is how it handles group gameplay. Players can split their heroes into different groups to tackle multiple quests at the same time. This was unusual for games in 1983. The game also tracks each hero's deeds, creating a score that determines their fame. Heroes can die permanently, forcing players to think carefully about risks.
The Apple II version uses simple graphics with basic colors and shapes to represent characters and locations. Sound effects are minimal, with beeps for attacks and movement. Despite these limits, the game creates an interesting world through text descriptions of each location. The game fits on a single floppy disk and loads different sections as needed.
Return of Heracles influenced later mythology-based games and showed that computer games could tell complex stories with multiple characters. The game received positive reviews for its educational value and strategic depth. It was later ported to other systems including the Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit computers. Today, it remains an important example of early computer role-playing games that mixed education with entertainment. The game proved that Apple II computers could handle complex strategy games with large worlds and multiple objectives.