[Phoenix Gamma]

There were times where they dealt 100+ damage per hit while I only had 400HP and a handful of potions. And I grinded.

The real problem is that there's just not enough time to react. For instance, there's a fish skeleton boss. He charges from one end of the room, and you need to run to the other end to hide in the blindspot of the attack. If you're anywhere in the middle of the room, you don't have time to run to the other end; You can't jump over him (giant fin on his back), and there's no other place to run. You have to take the hit. Mind you, this move looks exactly like another move, except that move stops short of hitting you if you stand still. So you have a 50% of getting an attack in or being attacked. Oh, and he can poison you if you get too close.

Meanwhile, the lighthouse crab was just "camp here and attack", and Albus, the rival, could be beaten by crouching. It's a great game, but the boss fights had the weirdest difficulty curve I've seen in a game.

With regards to FFIVDS, I'm pretty deep into it now. It's upsetting to see Cecil and Edward sit around and cry, even in the beginning of Square's long history of RPG stories. I'm afraid to use the new Augment system since they're permanant, but I love Auto-Battle. That's a nice touch. It's making some of the meaningless battles less bothersome.