Addendum:
Alright, it's time to wrap up the comparison between scripts for now and resume gameplay of the PS1 version afterwards. Here goes!
Last time, the Zenobians effortlessly stormed Amorika Castle and made short work of its defenders. Today, they proceed to free Duke Ronway, make him lord of the castle, then await his speech at its meeting hall.
Ronway: Sweeter still that Walstanian youths came to my aid. Reives, was it?
Ronway: Doubtless you and your friends are a gift from the Great Father himself.
Ronway: The Walstanian boon is great, and our future bright!
I kind of love how thick he lays the praise out here, especially when this is the very first topic of his speech.
Reives: We are not alone in our loyalty. Upon word of your Grace's release, many Walstanians have left their haunts and hideaways for Amorika.
Ronway: And there is still time before the Gargastani come to remedy my freedom, though not long, I fear. We must regroup.
(Ronway turns to the Zenobians.)
Ronway: Now I must ask if the tale our guests have told us is, indeed, the truth.
Lans: Upon my sword, it is. We are outcasts from our land.
Ronway: I do not doubt your sword. It is the whiskers of your companion that give me pause.
That's a pretty funny line, though I somewhat doubt the wisdom of making fun of a powerful wizard's appearance, even if he's friendly to you.
Ronway: I hear a diviner matching his description was ever at the side of King Tristan when your New Zenobia came into being two years past.
Ronway: And that you, Sir Lans, were Captain of the Holy Knights.
Ronway: Is the Saint King so brazen as to cast out the very men who placed him upon the throne?
While I've never heard of the Zenobian king being referred to as the "Saint King" before this, he is correct to note that both characters were promoted into high positions in the royal court, canonically speaking. That he even knows exactly what positions they occupy makes him come across as very well read on matters of international politics.
Warren: I, too, have heard tell of this diviner, but I am not he.
Ronway: Lodis plagues us with the Dark Knights Roslolian. How do we know you are not some new menace visited upon Valeria?
Ronway: If New Zenobia does not seek to usurp, I would have your proof.
Oh, and now he's going to question them directly about their motives. Thankfully for the Zenobians, like last time, Kachua is here to stop him from asking too many questions.
Kachua: Your Grace, these holy knights risked their own lives to win your freedom.
Lans: A man can claim knighthood only when he serves a worthy lord. It is for such a man that we seek.
Ronway: I have your word then, and its proof shall be in your deeds.
Ronway: You sought a reward-you shall have it, and employment besides.
Ronway: I would have you train our Walstanian loyals as guards and soldiers here in Amorika.
Lans: As you wish.
(The Zenobians leave. Ronway turns to the three protagonists.)
Ronway: Now, Reives, your father was an abuna in Griate, was he not?
Note: Abuna is a title granted to the archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. A rather odd thing to reference here, but hey, they already made Kachua a sibyl so...
Griate is called Golyat, presumably to create an allusion to "Goliath"? Not sure why, there's nothing remarkable about the town outside of it being the protagonists' home town. Hell, it will lose relevance in about a few scenes as the narrative moves onward.
Ronway: I met him myself, once. A wise man, Abuna Plancy.
Note: Plancy is Prancet in this translation. A pretty understandable change, if considerably less funny.
Ronway: What happened in Griate was...a tragedy.
And now he's laying deep onto the sympathy angle to sell his plans to the protagonists. Alright, pretty solid plan there.
Kachua: Please, your grace, you must avenge our father-no-all the people of Griate.
Ronway: Yet the enemy before us is Gargastan. They must come first.
Ronway: And for that, I will need knights. Knights...such as yourselves. Will you join my table at Amorika?
Vice: Us? Knights!?
Ronway: As young heroes of Walstania, you will serve as a shining example to your clansmen.
Ronway: I would have you become knights in my direct service. You will be the spear that strikes swift and true.
Ronway: Well, what say you?
He's really going all out in selling his plan and his narrative, isn't he?
Vice: O-Of course. I mean, as your wish, your Grace!
Vice: I know Reives's with me on this.
Ronway: Excellent.
Ronway: Now, if you are to be a knightly order, you will require a name.
We get 12 characters this time, which is better, but still not enough for a good name. I call it "Young Walsta", this time using its full form.
Ronway: The order of Young Walsta? Yes...A fine name. You'll go far, I'm certain.
Ronway: I have much for you to do. Your first task takes you to the town of Krizar, to the southwest.
Note: Krizar is called Krysaro. I find this a rather odd and needless change, especially since the new name is noticeably harder to parse.
Ronway: The Captain of my knights, Sir Leonard, has gone there in pursuit of the former overseer of this castle, a necromancer called Nybbas.
Note: Leonard is called Leonar. Much like the case with Bapalu, I think snapping out the last letter like that makes the name markedly worse - it sounds far more dignified with the "d" ending it.
Ronway: Truth be told, he's having a harder time of it than was expected.
Ronway: You'll be going to Krizar to aid him. Understood?
Ronway: Before you leave, you'll want to fill your ranks with soldiers from Amorika and purchase such gear as you'll require.
Ronway: I expect you have little in way of coin, so I'm giving you 30,000 Goth from the treasury.
Wow, he's even more generous than in the PS1 version!
Ronway: And...allow me to appoint a few of my own knights to serve under you. Leave as soon as you're ready.
(Vice gets up.)
Vice: You can count on us, your Grace. We won't let you down.
Ronway: Then may victory and glory await you, young heroes of Walstania.
So, overall that scene wasn't rewritten much, which is understandable. The original scene already mostly conveyed what it wanted to. What was added and altered here mostly ended up making the dialogue flow a bit better and more firmly depict Ronway as a leader capable of both making up and selling narratives to people, especially his own followers. Overall, those are good, though they do come at a slight cost of a longer script.
Reives: No, it is I who should thank you.
Lans: So you're off to aid one of the Duke's men. I regret we cannot join you.
Lans: Above all else, stay alive.
Lans: Win or lose, while there's life, there's hope.
(Reives nods.)
Reives: I'll try to remember that.
Canopus: Best not forget. The dead get no second chances.
Reives: If death were our aim, there are swifter ways to go about it than soldiery.
So you might've noticed that all references to training got omitted here, with the Zenobians instead stressing on our safety. That's because you can no longer train using just your own units. And this is honestly a pretty valid angle to take, considering how little experience the three protagonists have with battles.
Lans: True enough. Still, do not needlessly seek out danger. Enough will find you as it is.
Reives: Of course.
(The Zenobians depart into the castle. Reives glances at the woman standing on top of the steps, and she moves to address the protagonists.
Ravness: You are the heroes of Griate, are you not? I must thank you for saving his Grace the Duke.
Ravness: Indeed, accept my thanks on behalf of us all.
Meet Ravness. She's a character added entirely within the PSP remake, and likely the only such one. As for her relevance to the plot, well, it'll become quite clear later.
Reives: And you are...?
Ravness: Ravness Loxaerion, a knight in service of the Duke.
Ravness: I would ride to Leonard's aid myself, but his grace has other need of me. I fear the task falls to you.
Vice: No need of fear, friend. We took back this castle, didn't we?
Umm...is Vice not aware of how exactly that assault went down?
Ravness: In a manner of speaking, I suppose.
Vice: And what "manner" would that be?
Kachua: (turning to Vice) She and her fellow knights drew off the garrison defending the castle, else we would not have succeeded.
I'm not sure I buy this retcon. I mean, there was a pretty substantial force still when the Zenobians attacked.
Reives: If it were not for the sacrifice of others, we would be no heroes of Griate now.
Ravness: Make no mistake, I have high hopes for you.
Ravness: We must unite the people behind us if we are to put an end to this endless war.
Ravness: Word of your heroics emboldens them.
Vice: Then you hold us up as heroes to serve some stratagem, is that it?
I mean, I do expect Vice to be the one to make such assumptions, but it still seems odd. Did he get
that carried away by Ronway's narrative, or what?
Ravness: If you do not like it, give truth to the lie. Write your own fate on the battlefield.
(Ravness proceeds to leave. The protagonists get together, and Reives interrupts her halfway through.)
Reives: May fate smile on us both, Dame Ravness.
Note: Dame is an old word that refers to women of high stature. Which makes obvious sense here.
Ravness: His Grace provided you with war funds, yes? Remember, they do no good sitting in your coffers.
Ravness: Arms, spells, provisons...even a single magicked ring can mean the difference between victory and defeat.
I'm not sure we needed a shop tutorial here? It should be pretty obvious that buying things from shops is usually good.
(Reives nods. Ravness leaves the castle.)
Kachua: She thinks highly of herself. I pray we are not near when she falls from such height!
(Vice and Reives turn to look at her, surprised.)
So yeah, that exchange there pretty much summed up her entire character. She's well meaning, very straightforward, and a bit arrogant. I wish they didn't need to retcon how the assault at Amorika went down, nor make Vice needlessly suspicious of her, but what's present works for its purpose overall.
We get five units to join us, and most of them come sporting a class besides the starter Warrior/Amazon already. This is because classes are handled very differently in this - characters automatically get assigned the stats they would have if they were using their class for all of their levels. Indeed, now only class levels, weapon levels and element augment levels exist - characters no longer gain levels for themselves. Which seems like a decent system, except the way these are implemented cause lots of issues later on; for instance, quite a few "advanced" classes will start at level 1 and need to be grinded hard before being usable on the battlefield.
That bit of a tangent aside, we're now on the overworld, and free to march onto Krizar through Tanmas Hill. And next time, I'll finally return to the PS1 version! So look forward to that!