Why doesn't Hero of Leaf Valley seem very popular?

[morgs.]

Is it just that much of the Harvest Moon demographic doesn't own a PSP?
Did you find it too challenging?
Just not into the characters from StH/HoLV?

Personally, the first time I played it after picking it up I only made it to my first summer.
Now, with all the monotonous grinding of some of the newer games (I'm looking at you, ANB), I've returned to Hero of Leaf Valley and I'm appreciating the different angle they approached the series with. I'm not new to farming games, but I'm still not too bothered by the initial part time jobs that serve as tutorials. It just makes it feel like the Hero is unfamiliar with running a farm and is just learning the ropes (and the tutorials don't last forever).
Also, the storyline feels deeper to me, and you connect more with the characters (not just the marriage candidates). It takes time to build your farm and relations and the first year is more challenging and requires planning, and the rewards feel more fulfilling in turn.

All around, I'm enjoying this title a lot more than I initially thought, and I hope there are more with the same opinion on the game hiding out there somewhere!

[Ronin19]

I never really played it until last month. All of those events that had set dates scared me into not playing it. I was worried I would miss one, but then I played it. This game became my favorite Harvest Moon game ever. I loved the story that it had and all of the characters because all of them mattered. It didn't just fall to you to save the valley; everyone in the entire valley was helping you along the way to save the valley and that's why I loved it. These characters aren't just in the background and in the way; these characters matter. The game invites you to care about all of them and not just a select few. I wanted to see Katie succeed at baking a wonderful cake, I wanted Gina to gain confidence in herself and I wanted Dia to become more independent. All of these characters evolved as you progressed through their story and that's why this is my personal favorite HM game.

[Googaboga]

^I'm happy you've come to like HoLV so much C:.

I personally love HoVL. It's definitely one of my favorite HM games. Those first two years are so much fun and the characters are so lovely.

In Japan most DS HM games sold 2 to 4 times as much as HoLV and I imagine it didn't do that great in other parts of the world either. So the game is genuinely unpopular, at least compared to the DS HM games. As for why that is, no one can be entirely sure. But I think part of it definitely has to do with that fact that the PSP is generally not the system people play HM games on. The sales were also probably hurt from a lack of a female MC (by 2009 that was pretty much expected). And people might have also been under the impression that the game ended after a time and or that there was no marriage because of it's relation to StH (a lot of do not like that in an HM game). The game also seemed to get less of a push than other games. I hardly remember Natsume doing anything to talk about the game. And it also might have had to do with the look of the game not giving that good of an impression. The portraits are pretty but the farm is quite small, the town can seem pretty closed off/plain/kind of empty, etc.

Whatever the reason I think it is too bad the game didn't do so well. I would love more games like HoLV.

[Ronin19]

^I'm happy you've come to like HoLV so much C:.

You were right; the events were easy to trigger and I did manage to get all of the endings. I do wish it got more attention. I think the girls's story events and confessions are more beautiful than any heart events I've ever seen. I may be praising it too much, but this game can match console games's storyline, characters and romance.

[Googaboga]

Hehe awesome. It's great you got them all ^^.

Yeah, I think this game's romance system was really well done. Giving each girl a whole storyline and a confession was a great way to go about it :]. Plus (at least from what I've heard) there is a lot of variety in the after marriage dialog.

[Ronin19]

Marriage did feel a bit more rewarding compared to the other handheld games. I would have loved for Marvelous to include a child, but it's not necessary. Sad thing is that I'll never see the rival events for the couples as I got every girl with the exception of Alice (she's at yellow) to a red heart.

But back to the topic at hand, it might be because the PSP wasn't a popular system when compared to the rest of the 7th generation of video game consoles.

[Mabbie]

I didn't play it because I don't have a PSP, nor a PS2. ^^

[NessEggman]

I definitely think it's because PSP was already quite an upopular system and not really one that would appeal to most HM players as it was marketed as a 'hardcore' type of system.

Plus, the game is heavily based on Save the Homeland, which is also unpopular (or rather, underrated!) For all of the great storylines and character importance, you can thank Save the Homeland

[PoPoValley]

For me, the only reason I've never played it is my lack of PSP and no other reason. Save the Homeland is among my top favorite Harvest Moon titles, so have a more fleshed out version of that and with a good marriage system? Yes please. I've actually considered buying a used PSP just for the game, though I currently don't have the funds right now. It's definitely something I'll pick up in the future though.

[Ronin19]

Hero of Leaf Valley is compatible with the Vita and I do strongly suggest playing the game on it. The camera is controlled by the game pad and with it placed directly above the control stick I found it to be an inconvenience. With the Vita, you can have the right stick act like any of the controls so I mapped the camera to the right stick and had a more enjoyable time.

[cupcakeninja63]

I would love to play HoLV, personally. But I have no money and no PSP.

[Beedlebud]

I'm almost certain it isn't because it wasn't well-liked, but because people didn't have PSPs. I've played it and it's great. I really need to put more time into it though.

[Bluie]

Its my personal all time favorite Harvest Moon.

I remember a lot of people complaining about the loading times. As an owner of both the UMD and a digital version, the UMD had some loading issues for sure, but the digital version's were significantly shorter and became unnoticeable after awhile.

That problem alone might have scared a lot of buyers away.

[Panda Parfait]

I finally picked it up a few months ago, didn't get far into it yet, but what I did play I liked a lot! It really reminds me of older HM games, it feels calm and laid back despite the fact that you're on a time limit. I've always loved the cast of STH so it's great to see them in a game that's more akin to traditional HM.

I have the digital version so I can't say how the loading times feel on the UMD, but they're barely noticeable for me. I'm kind of used to HM loading times being abysmal though.

I'd have to agree that it's unpopular due to being on the PSP, and probably a bit because of the lack of gender choice. By the time this game came out that became an expected feature, so I imagine it put off some people.

[runefactor]

I was gonna say it's just because it's PSP/Sony and not Nintendo but a lot of people bought BTN, B&G, STH and RF:ToD so idk.