Hey there Sephirous, thanks for your interest in Rodimus' and my projects.
To sum things up, it's down to taste. Namingway Edition is based off of Project II, and thus uses its script for the most part. The v2.20 update changes haven't been implemented into Namingway Edition yet--they may not be since it's up to Rodimus' discretion--but pretty much, it's the same script with some minor alterations.
My goal was to stay as true as possible to a 1991 Nintendo-era script while keeping in line with most of their policies, such as:
- No religion (Allowances made in the following places: Rosa's command Pray, the Tower of Prayers and the concept of praying, the Cross item which cures Curse, possibly another allowance that I can't remember)
- No swearing (Not even for the concept of Hell)
- Names for items, spells, enemies, etc. have to be within the allowed character space
- All tutorial text kept, for better or for worse
- People ARE allowed to die, and death is openly referenced, so that's one major difference to my script as opposed to a 90's SNES-era game script
As for gameplay and exploration, I did do the following.
- Restored missing spells, commands, and items and the text associated with them
- Restored missing magic attached to weapons (i.e. Lunar Staff, Murasame and Defense Sword, and Elven Bow now cast Dispel, Armor, and Shell again, respectively)
- Restored missing items to shops, chests, and enemy drops
I did not do any of the below.
- Restore stripping dancer in Baron Town (though I'd like to, at this point)
- Restore original maps (Not even the Developers' Room, no; you find the Magazine in a chest in a dungeon someplace instead)
- Restore original enemy stats or battle scripts
- Restore original title screen
- Restore Asura's original effects (Rather than casting a full-party Armor, she casts a Mega-Cure instead)
Rodimus Primal actually based Namingway Edition off of Project II with the goal of having a modernized FFIV experience. He and his friends did all of the above that I did not do, plus more.
- Hold down the B Button to dash as opposed to tapping the L Button
- Gave all items, except key items, a description
- Modernized terms utilizing digraph tiles (For example, Fire3 is Firaga, Milon is Scarmiglione, Silver equipment is Mythril, Nuke is Flare)
If the latter appeals more to you and you have no nostalgia for FF terms circa 1991, I say go with Namingway Edition. It's a really polished job considering the limitations Rodimus had to suffer with!
However, if you'd like a bit neater of a presentation plus my original intent, Project II is the way to go.
There's something I must point out though. While Project II's script takes inspiration from the PS1, DS, GBA, and PSP translations, it is at its core a rewrite of Kaoru Moriyama's original translation from the SNES. It is by no means a retranslation. I replayed the opening recently and while I'm still very happy with my work, it's obvious that things have been pared down from what they once were, and it just doesn't have that solid fantasy feel to immerse you in the world.
If you want my honest-to-god opinion, though, I recommend the PC version above all. The new battle system is leagues above the original and the Augment system is great fun. Just give it the original soundtrack mod and the 25 FPS Battles mod though, for the love of all that is holy! 15 FPS battles are nearly unplayable and the "remastered" soundtrack is awful in my opinion.
So, to sum things up...
- If you want an original SNES-style take on terms and censorship, (Except for the concept of death.) go with Project II
- If you want a more modern take on FF terms with some minor censorship removal, (If I remember right, this basically equates to explicitly referencing the concept of Hell, maybe some "damns" in there for good measure someplace, and the spell Pearl and the Pearl Arrows are now Holy instead.) go with Namingway Edition
- The original author of Project II ultimately recommends you get the PC Steam version, with the 25 FPS Battle and Original SNES Soundtrack mods