Maybe you are right. I have not tested all texture types/channels using my model renderer yet. I have no 3D software and am a modeller nooby, so I can't test it in such software. My conclusion is only based on looking at some textures and testing them in a custom written renderer. Maybe it also has to do with a fallback effect (possibly based on a SH4 gfx setting), normal mapping can be expensive - performance wise - on older gpu's.
As far as the lightmap, yes, it's indeed blended over the diffuse map.
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