Curious, since it seems like no one has done a PS4 or PC run.

Wasn't sure if this was lack of interest if they're just drastically slower for some reason.

Also, is Japanese considerably faster than English on PS3?

Tested the different versions and came up with some interesting discoveries.

The HD version is significantly faster in loads. Over 30 seconds faster by the end of the prologue alone.

However, there are things that aren't as swell.

1. You lose the ability to be able to buy and sell 10 of a single item. L2 + R2 scroll up and down a page in the inventory, instead.

2. Time of day is entirely different... Changes at different speeds. If you have strats built around shadow visual clues then you're going to really feel this one.

3. The biggest of all, enemy AI acts and reacts differently to the same scenario. As early as Tar Man this difference is noticeable. Essentially, running the exact same line during a HA as you would on the PS3 is going to give you different results.

So let's say I want to do the current strat for Tesla Tortoise (having Vash run right and fire his two rounds of scratch and then having Leanne run left while popping that scratch). In the PS3 version, Leanne will break the backside of the turtle if jumping and firing immediately. Super easy. This allows Vash to scratch from behind on the Tri-attack. However, on the HD version, that same action breaks the turtles left side. This is the side furthest from Vash. You can see how this changes the entire fight strategy.

This is only one example. There are a ton of these changes all the way to chapter 5 (where I stopped even considering HD as a running option).

Tl;Dr

The HD version has the potential to be faster by a good deal in loads but, instead, would require a reroute of most rooms and bosses in the game as the AI reacts differently. A reroute to have a similar efficient trip through each room and boss would make this the better version. However, until then, the original is the best option.