Or you could just play the PS1 version where the combat is not nearly as sluggish. I'm tired of PSP being treated as the "default" version even though anything it offers over the original is invalidated by how sluggish it made the combat.

It's less that the combat is sluggish and more that it's so mind-bogglingly easy that turning effort down to the minimum is preferable to sitting through it. The PSP version is considered the "default" likely because of it being an official translation, not because of it improving upon anything in particular over the PS1 as an actual game.

I guess I might as well add that PSP emulation is generally considered better than PS1 emulation with the sheer QOL and ease of use PPSSPP has, and with the updated presentation (coinflip on whether someone prefers it) it's a lot easier to recommend giving the PSP version a shot as a pseudo-VN than telling someone to play a formerly obscure PS1 JRPG.

For reference though like, I'm personally planning to eventually replay this on PS1 more or less because of the same reasons that you described. I just don't think it's something that I'd feel so passionate about that I'd opt for the harder recommendation when talking to anyone about what is already a hard-to-recommend game.

@GingerAleBacklog The only thing sluggish about the PSP version compared to PS1 is the menus being clunky af. PS1 version has its own issues that make it equally as much of a chore as PSP. Not being able to skip animations and having to set up fusion spells manually every single time are the major ones. Sure the difficulty isn't as braindead but PS1 still isn't particularly challenging or designed that well that it becomes a game you play for the combat. It really is just best to play PSP, set it to easy, and treat it as a vn.

Why do you either have to play for the combat or the story, why not just play for both. I'm on the side of the PS1 version, I found that version much more fun to go through because the combat wasn't a total snore, it's not particularly great either but it was enough to be somewhat investing vs insanely sluggish and braindead. The script quality feels about the same outside of a handful of lines so if you want a good compromise for both aspects I'd just run with PS1 honestly.

Idk just wanted to chime in because I find it weird how generally when people talk about JRPGs they treat it like you can only play it for one aspect and not the entire experience as a whole.

cause most jrpgs have shit gameplay

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