I'm curious about this also. The PSP version has slowdown, I've heard, but also, a better translation and cool cutscenes.

The PS1 version is nonsensical at times anything else against eh PS1 version?

The PSP version of FFT has some *serious* slowdown in its default state. Unless you are willing to tinker around with unofficial fan patches, I might recommend the PS1 version for that alone. It adds up whenever the game chugs during a spell animation.

PSP version. The improved translation and added cut scene videos more than make up for the horrendous slowdown. It is such a shame that they couldn't get that slowdown figured out, otherwise it is as perfect a version of the game you are going to get. It even has a multiplayer mode that had some interesting ideas.

Invest in some good lancers for the final battle.

The slowdown is pretty rough.

War of the Lions has a way better script but I loved the game initially without it so you'd probably be fine too.

A warning though, it's a real hard game to go back to no matter where you play it.

It was painful to get through the PSP version because of the slowdown (every damn spell you cast!). But the extras that are included with it might make the game worth it if you're insanely patient.

I feel the PSOne version of FFTactics is a complete game and you simply can't go wrong with that one.

If you have a modded PSP you can fix the slowdown on the PSP version. It's also possible to do this with emulation.

Even if you don't have a modded console, I'd still get the PSP version. I looked at the list of differences here and wow, they really did a lot for that game and all you have to put up with is the slowdown. Granted, that slowdown is downright legendary, but it's still a turn-based game so it's just a matter of aesthetics and time. I wouldn't say that getting the PS1 version is a mistake, there are plenty of people who love and prefer that version, but it really seems like the PSP version is the better version of that game in all ways except performance.

Also, if you have a Playstation TV, I'm pretty sure you can play The War of the Lions on your TV instead of having to use a PSP/Vita, so there's that.

Do you want a piss-poor translation, or do you want to sit through spell animations for too long? The choice is yours my friend.

The problem with the slowdown is that it's more than just an irritant... it's something added onto one of the slowest playing games in the genre.

Man, I remember having played the PSP version but I must never have beaten it or just blocked out the slowdown because I don't remember it all.Not to hijack in any way, but I am curious: was the slowdown due to reading the UMD, or just the game in general? Might be a stupid question but, any difference in quality playing a digital version?

I guess playing War of the Lions on the Vita is not an option. Played it there and it seems fine. I don't recall any slow downs.

I have only played a little bit of the game but from what I can tell the PSP version is the way to go since the translation is much better than the PS1 original. The only problem the PSP version has is that there is a lot of slowdown but if you are playing the game on an emulator or a hacked PSP than you can apply a fan patch to the game that removes the slowdown, it is available on Rom Hacking Dot Net. There is also a patch that fixes the slowdown and reverts the game back to its original 4:3 aspect ratio, if you don't like the screeched widescreen, that you can download here.

So I would recommend playing the PSP version with one of these patches.

I was going to say the same thing. I played it on the Vita a few years ago and don't remember any bad slowdown. Though, it's also a 20 year old turn based strategy game, so maybe the slowdown just didn't bother me that much.

My understanding is that Square Enix hard-coded the slowdown in there to deal with slow UMD load times. So yes, it's because of slow UMD access speeds, but you can't brute force your way past it. You have to patch it out of the game because it's going to slowdown regardless of how much horsepower you throw at it (i.e. playing it on a Vita or emulator) or how fast the access speeds are (i.e. playing a digital copy instead of the original physical release).

A quick Google search for "war of the lions vita slowdown" reveals that yes, playing the digital version on the Vita still includes the slowdown.

@justin258: Wow, that's interesting. Thanks!

I know you were very insistent on These Are The Only Options but it's worth noting for others that the iOS ports also fixed this problem.

If I recall they were maybe made a little too fast but that's a much more tolerable issue.

Please, over here on the PSP side we call them dragoons.

@justin258:

That's interesting that it's not a traditional hardware limitation (CPU/GPU) but a limitation of the UMD. Still, I'm usually someone who notices and complains about frame-rate drops, but it really didn't bother me in this game. I'd take the slowdown in exchange for a competent translation any day. Though, it was a decade or so between my time playing it on the PS1 and the Vita, so maybe seeing them side by side it would bother me more.