Hero Mode is a mode in gameplay featured in Jak II, Jak 3, Jak X: Combat Racing, and The Lost Frontier. After finishing the game, the player is allowed to replay the game with all or most previous acquisitions and the level of difficulty is increased. This usually means that enemies can withstand more damage, and the player is more susceptible to damage. It may be accessed from the secrets menu and bought with Precursor orbs.
Jak II[]
Hero Mode in Jak II is automatically unlocked after acquiring 200 Precursor orbs, at which point it can be selected from the secrets menu. Doing so gives a prompt to save to a new save game slot, thereby creating a new Hero Mode save of the game. The player will begin at the first mission, armed with the previous four Morph Gun mods acquired from the original adventure. The JET-Board is not retained during Hero Mode. Enemies require more damage to be killed, which is partly compensated for by the strength of the weapons in many areas. Some enemies (e.g. glubs and stingers) deal more damage (two hit points instead of one per attack) in Hero Mode. Skull gems are unlimited, as they are dropped by every metal head regardless if whether or not they have been defeated before.
On top of the natural difficulty of Jak II, Hero Mode in Jak II is notoriously difficult. While the enemies' strength can usually be countered with an advanced arsenal, some missions render it useless, specifically the mission "Destroy ship at drill platform". In this mission, Jak has to shoot down hover guards using the gunpod, and the number in which they appear, coupled with their new strength, renders this part of the game where many players are known to get stuck.
While in Hero Mode, the "Hero Mode" option in the secrets menu is replaced with the Mega Scrap Book secret.
Some secrets are cheaper during Hero Mode.
Jak 3[]
Because the amount of Precursor orbs are not accumulative in Jak 3 (that is, when a secret is purchased, it deducts the amount of Precursor orbs instead of automatically unlocking the secrets as the orbs are collected), the Hero Mode secret may be purchased with only five Precursor orbs, contrasting with Jak II's 200-orb price. After completing the final mission, "Destroy final boss", the Hero Mode secret becomes available. Once purchased, a new save state will be created on a separate save game slot with the Hero Mode game. Hero Mode in Jak 3 allows the player not only to retain the weapons and dark powers, but also Light Jak powers, the JET-Board, all buggies, the amount of Precursor orbs previously gained, the amount of skull gems previously gained, and the full Armor of Mar set. The terms regarding the difficulty level of the game is similar to that of Jak II.
Jak X: Combat Racing[]
Hero Mode is automatically unlocked in Jak X in the secrets shop upon 100% completion of adventure mode, meaning to get a gold medal in all available eco cup races. It can then be bought for a total of 50,000 orbs, whereafter the player is prompted to select a new save file for Hero Mode. All collected race cars, body parts and orbs carry over, including already-bought upgrades for the cars. However, the player is still restricted to the class one through three cars for the first three cups.
Hero Mode most notably has improved AI, stronger opponents, and much harder goal requirements for the point-based race events such as death races, rush hour and freeze rally.
The PlayStation 4 version has a trophy named "From Zero to Hero". Unlocking hero mode will reward you with a silver trophy.
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier[]
Hero Mode is unlocked after beating the game. Unlike the previous games, you can replay Hero Mode infinitely every time you beat the game, and you do not have to buy it in the secrets menu. When you play the game in this mode, your gun mods, armor, eco powers, planes and their mods and upgrades, bought secrets, as well as unspent Precursor orbs carry over to the new game.