Yup, same issue in FF8, though I’ve never tried to replay it. My party was always underpowered/undergeared.

I also messed up big time in the fight against Adel/Rinoa at Lunatic Pandora. I blasted through practically ALL my spells in that fight (and it took me multiple attempts). So now I’m at Ultimecia Castle and I have no spells to use and I know there are tons of minibosses in there, along with the final boss sequence. I softlocked myself.