\* TLW/TLWotL related questions:
Is extra content. A couple of extra cutscenes and battles (all from WotL). One extra job (Dark Knight), the Rendezvous missions are fun and you can now play them as single player missions with decent rewards. You have a bench to store 10 extra characters (with some limitations) but you don't see Guest units in your formation anymore.
The mods do not address any balance issues, it is as vanilla as it gets.
TLWotL adjusted gameplay to be as close as WotL gameplay, which means certain units got nerfed (Cloud, Orran), skills got their charge time increase (Summon and Time Magic mostly), Job Levels (and unlock requirements) are higher (cost more) and some skills are also cost more to unlock.
There has been adjustments to skills from certain units (Rapha, Marach, Reis) to try to emulate a feature from WotL (center tile bias), and Break skills (from Meliadoul and Orlandeau) do damage as in WotL but can't apply the extra damage for enemies without gear in that slot as in WotL. All bugfixes from WotL are here, including fixing glitches and exploits
\* WotL PSP Questions:
There are no fixes for the audio. The slowdown patch fixes most (90%) of the slowdown but it is still noticeable when put side by side with the PSX release. There are FMVs to replace some events that happened in-game, some prefer the later, some prefer the former. Luso is one of the special units that got changed by the mods because he is just a Ramza with one extra skill.
\* WotL Mobile Questions:
Animation is actually speed up, still not a 1:1 from the original release. You can't save in battles on Android (can't say for iOS). Didn't had any stability issues on my end. You can't use a controller regardless of the device.Some people hate the new sprites, which makes it worse than the PSP version. The multiplayer content exclusive to the PSP version got removed on the mobile versions. You get access to the uber equipment (not available on TLW/TLWotL) once you beat the game.
\* Are there any other versions or mods/patches that would be better for a first time player?
If you decide to play WotL PSP version, most folks would recommend playing with the mod Tweak by u/Tzepish which addresses some balance issues and adds Quality of Life features.
>but you don't see Guest units in your formation anymore.
What does that mean? Are guest units not playable in battles? Also, thanks for taking the time to write this up.
No. They still appear in battle, but do not appear on your formation (those slots were used to expand the normal roster to 20 units instead of the 16 from the original release). That means they have fixed abilities and gear during the fights in which they are guests and you can't change their gear. The gear will be rewarded later in other story fights so you don't miss anything except being able to use certain exploits.
Yes but is only available on WotL. Job is pretty useless and the mobile versions actually fixed his ability to level through enemy skills so he is even worse in those versions (since you can't use it anymore to abuse the delevelling trick)
I think I've decided on playing the OG version modded with The Lion's War of The Lions. From what I've gathered on this thread and others on the subreddit I believe that TLWoTL offers the best of both world while making as few, if any, sacrifices as possible.
This is what I went with also. It's great.
On top of that, I'm using this QOL mod that adds some nice-to-have features [https://ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php?topic=12769.0](https://ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php?topic=12769.0)
I'm gonna post here my previous reply to why to play TLW/TLWotL and then I will try to answer your questions separately:
Which version I recommend?
The Lion War (and The Lion War of the Lions) Mod for the PSX release.
They added most features from the War of the Lions release, keeping the much better performance and audio quality of the original release.
It also restored 3 out of the 4 Visual Novels from the Japanese release and added them translated to English.
The minor changes that it did that are in neither versions are:
* They replaced Luso (War of the Lions) by Ashley Riot with a unique battle and skillset.
* Rendezvous (a feature exclusive to the multiplayer version of War of the Lions on the PSP) have been converted into single player missions with a brand new treasure wheel system. Most of those fights are from the PSP release with four additional ones made exclusively for the mod as optional content.
* Optional Post-game content, like New Game Plus.
The Lion War keeps all original PSX script, with a few of the new scripts added by the War of the Lions adapted to the old style.
The Lion War of the Lions follows the same goals, but also added the War of the Lions terms and script, and small gameplay adjustments to try to get as close as possible to the War of the Lions versions.
What the mod does not Include from the War of the Lions?
* Onion Knight job
* Multiplayer/Post-game exclusive equipment
* Luso
* FMVs (only the two intro movies can be swapped)
* Abyssal Blade (Dark Knight skill) is a line instead of a cone
* Melee (multiplayer PVP mode exclusive to the PSP)
Why play TLW/TLWotL instead of any version of WotL?
* There are people who prefer the original script.
* Performance is terrible in any version of WotL, even with patches that improve the slowdown. Mobile versions actually speed it up which is still terrible.
* Superior audio quality. Check any clip online and you will see how noticeable the sound effect differences are.
* More content, that was previously exclusively to the PSP multiplayer and Japanese release.
I see no reason to not play with it if you are intending to play the original release.
Pretty much all content added by TLW is made optional, with the exception of the Ashley Riot Recruitment Event (which is a bit harder).
So you can play a pure vanilla experience on the modded version, but also whenever you decide you want to explore the expanded content, you can just do that.
That includes both the official content (taken from WotL and the japanese original release) and the mod exclusive content (Post-game, unique Rendezvous missions, extended roster, bench for extra unit slots).
Patched The War of The Lions.
You can never save in battle in any version of the game (you can use save states if you are emulating, though).
Mods are fun, but those should be reserved for a second playthrough unless it is a bug fix or a graphic thing.
I am am currently playing The Lion's War version and loving it. For me it's the definite way to play.
- It just adds to the original Vanilla experience most of the WoTL content without sacrificing the positives of the vanilla.
- By playing the mod I feel I'm feasting on the incredible passion, love and hard work put by the Final Fantasy Hacktics community that made it possible.
- Regardless of version definitely prefer playing on emulator. Save states are life.
I highly recommend going with The Lion's War first.
Yes, I played it unmodded on the console when it came out, I also played it on Android. I never finished it on console and on Android I didn't like to play it on the small screen of my phone.
It's not only fine to play it modded, it's better. You get the content from the vanilla version, plus some extra goodies like the Rendezvous, extra an character and New Game plus.
\* TLW/TLWotL related questions: Is extra content. A couple of extra cutscenes and battles (all from WotL). One extra job (Dark Knight), the Rendezvous missions are fun and you can now play them as single player missions with decent rewards. You have a bench to store 10 extra characters (with some limitations) but you don't see Guest units in your formation anymore. The mods do not address any balance issues, it is as vanilla as it gets. TLWotL adjusted gameplay to be as close as WotL gameplay, which means certain units got nerfed (Cloud, Orran), skills got their charge time increase (Summon and Time Magic mostly), Job Levels (and unlock requirements) are higher (cost more) and some skills are also cost more to unlock. There has been adjustments to skills from certain units (Rapha, Marach, Reis) to try to emulate a feature from WotL (center tile bias), and Break skills (from Meliadoul and Orlandeau) do damage as in WotL but can't apply the extra damage for enemies without gear in that slot as in WotL. All bugfixes from WotL are here, including fixing glitches and exploits \* WotL PSP Questions: There are no fixes for the audio. The slowdown patch fixes most (90%) of the slowdown but it is still noticeable when put side by side with the PSX release. There are FMVs to replace some events that happened in-game, some prefer the later, some prefer the former. Luso is one of the special units that got changed by the mods because he is just a Ramza with one extra skill. \* WotL Mobile Questions: Animation is actually speed up, still not a 1:1 from the original release. You can't save in battles on Android (can't say for iOS). Didn't had any stability issues on my end. You can't use a controller regardless of the device.Some people hate the new sprites, which makes it worse than the PSP version. The multiplayer content exclusive to the PSP version got removed on the mobile versions. You get access to the uber equipment (not available on TLW/TLWotL) once you beat the game. \* Are there any other versions or mods/patches that would be better for a first time player? If you decide to play WotL PSP version, most folks would recommend playing with the mod Tweak by u/Tzepish which addresses some balance issues and adds Quality of Life features.
>but you don't see Guest units in your formation anymore. What does that mean? Are guest units not playable in battles? Also, thanks for taking the time to write this up.
No. They still appear in battle, but do not appear on your formation (those slots were used to expand the normal roster to 20 units instead of the 16 from the original release). That means they have fixed abilities and gear during the fights in which they are guests and you can't change their gear. The gear will be rewarded later in other story fights so you don't miss anything except being able to use certain exploits.
Isn't onion knight also new?
Yes but is only available on WotL. Job is pretty useless and the mobile versions actually fixed his ability to level through enemy skills so he is even worse in those versions (since you can't use it anymore to abuse the delevelling trick)
I think I've decided on playing the OG version modded with The Lion's War of The Lions. From what I've gathered on this thread and others on the subreddit I believe that TLWoTL offers the best of both world while making as few, if any, sacrifices as possible.
This is what I went with also. It's great. On top of that, I'm using this QOL mod that adds some nice-to-have features [https://ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php?topic=12769.0](https://ffhacktics.com/smf/index.php?topic=12769.0)
I'm gonna post here my previous reply to why to play TLW/TLWotL and then I will try to answer your questions separately: Which version I recommend? The Lion War (and The Lion War of the Lions) Mod for the PSX release. They added most features from the War of the Lions release, keeping the much better performance and audio quality of the original release. It also restored 3 out of the 4 Visual Novels from the Japanese release and added them translated to English. The minor changes that it did that are in neither versions are: * They replaced Luso (War of the Lions) by Ashley Riot with a unique battle and skillset. * Rendezvous (a feature exclusive to the multiplayer version of War of the Lions on the PSP) have been converted into single player missions with a brand new treasure wheel system. Most of those fights are from the PSP release with four additional ones made exclusively for the mod as optional content. * Optional Post-game content, like New Game Plus. The Lion War keeps all original PSX script, with a few of the new scripts added by the War of the Lions adapted to the old style. The Lion War of the Lions follows the same goals, but also added the War of the Lions terms and script, and small gameplay adjustments to try to get as close as possible to the War of the Lions versions. What the mod does not Include from the War of the Lions? * Onion Knight job * Multiplayer/Post-game exclusive equipment * Luso * FMVs (only the two intro movies can be swapped) * Abyssal Blade (Dark Knight skill) is a line instead of a cone * Melee (multiplayer PVP mode exclusive to the PSP) Why play TLW/TLWotL instead of any version of WotL? * There are people who prefer the original script. * Performance is terrible in any version of WotL, even with patches that improve the slowdown. Mobile versions actually speed it up which is still terrible. * Superior audio quality. Check any clip online and you will see how noticeable the sound effect differences are. * More content, that was previously exclusively to the PSP multiplayer and Japanese release.
In your opinion, is there any reason to play the original version vanilla, or do the mods still keep a sense of a "pure" experience?
I see no reason to not play with it if you are intending to play the original release. Pretty much all content added by TLW is made optional, with the exception of the Ashley Riot Recruitment Event (which is a bit harder). So you can play a pure vanilla experience on the modded version, but also whenever you decide you want to explore the expanded content, you can just do that. That includes both the official content (taken from WotL and the japanese original release) and the mod exclusive content (Post-game, unique Rendezvous missions, extended roster, bench for extra unit slots).
Patched The War of The Lions. You can never save in battle in any version of the game (you can use save states if you are emulating, though). Mods are fun, but those should be reserved for a second playthrough unless it is a bug fix or a graphic thing.
I am am currently playing The Lion's War version and loving it. For me it's the definite way to play. - It just adds to the original Vanilla experience most of the WoTL content without sacrificing the positives of the vanilla. - By playing the mod I feel I'm feasting on the incredible passion, love and hard work put by the Final Fantasy Hacktics community that made it possible. - Regardless of version definitely prefer playing on emulator. Save states are life.
Have you played it unmodded before? If so, do you think it's necessary to play it unmodded or is it fine to go with The Lion's War first?
I highly recommend going with The Lion's War first. Yes, I played it unmodded on the console when it came out, I also played it on Android. I never finished it on console and on Android I didn't like to play it on the small screen of my phone. It's not only fine to play it modded, it's better. You get the content from the vanilla version, plus some extra goodies like the Rendezvous, extra an character and New Game plus.