I've been interested in Tactics Ogre for a long time, but since it takes place after Ogre Battle, do I need to play that to understand things? I started playing Ogre Battle an hour ago, and it feels a little overwhelming. Guides talking about character progression, secret items, recruitment orders and liberation orders, perfect playthroughs required to get the best ending... odds are I'm not going to replay it, so I'm a little hesitant to get one of the other endings.

I'm not exactly a big fan of how slow Ogre Battle plays, or how many small things I have to keep track of within its clunky interface. Does sinking my teeth into Ogre Battle and getting the best ending really enrich the experience for Tactics Ogre and the other Ogre franchise games?