What disk are you at, Sword 4 Hire? IMO the plot really gets going at the end if the first disk. The Junctioning system takes a while to get used to, and you really need to play cards and refine items to make it work. You can't just draw a few spells from a badnik and expect to be godlike, eh? Try keeping a full stock of a few spells (just set the controller to "memory" and hold down x)
No offense, but if you've seen those GF animations too many times, you are doing two things wrong.. 1- you're using them too much, 2- You're not using boost.
Also, it might want to sound OCD, but you might want to start over. If it's you're first time through you're bound to have missed a bunch of stuff even if you had the strat guide right in front of you. Plus you'd get to see that kickass opening with Seifer and Squall dueling.
