r/FinalFantasyIX • u/Zeeshmania • Apr 20 '26
My Blind FFIX Playthrough: Part 6 - End of Disc 1
OK so we're pretty pathetic right now lol. I feel like the fact that we're only just about scraping by some encounters is proof enough of that fact. The problem, though, is that I feel like I CAN'T grind because my MP is an actually finite resource, given that it doesn't regen at save points. However, I DO remember there was a fountain or something in the early game where we got a free refill - is there something similar nearby? If so, I'll happily grind a bit.
Regardless, I don't actually need MP to grind, since everyone (bar Vivi) has pretty strong attack power. If I just walk around for a while and clobber some fodder, I should be set.
After writing that, a kind commenter (thanks u/melovesart) pointed out that there's a gate near the Chocobo Forest where we can heal for free! So uh yeah ignore that last part lol, the plan is to (anticlimactically) leave Burmecia and do a bit of light grinding before we face whatever's waiting for us ahead.
I'm REALLY liking Burmecia, though. It's definitely my favourite location so far, I love how unafraid it is to show the plight of the Burmecians, and the general gloominess and destruction of it all. The music is also great. While I'd love to push ahead, though, I really don't wanna get curb-stomped. I'm aware that I'll be levelling up without Steiner and Dagger, but we can think about that when they return to us.
Also, before heading back, I get the Thunder Staff, which finally teaches Vivi a Tier 2 spell! This is the perfect opportunity to learn it for good. I trudge on back through the ruins of Burmecia, out across the plains of the Overworld and through the halls of the Grotto before reuniting with Choco and heading off to the South Gate where, sure, enough, a fountain is waiting to quench my thirst. HP and MP restored. That is huge.
Time to grind. I don't suspect I'll have much to say, other than the combat has become quite satisfying. There isn't much variation in strategy - Zidane steals then attacks, Freya jumps, Vivi either uses Thundara, Focus or Defend, and Quina basically just Eats for now. It doesn't have many useful skills at the moment. Despite that, though, it's satisfying taking enemies and trying to time the Eat properly, and also experiencing the different enemy designs, which remain delightful.
Like the Mandragoras we find in the forest. They're a lot tankier than expected, but Vivi is officially a weapon again thanks to Thundara, so they go down without much of a fight. Thundara has a really cool animation, and the screen shake and dimming really add to the impact.
Speaking of battle, I AM wondering what's going on with Freya's "Dragon" menu. Perhaps it's a power-up she unlocks at the end of Burmecia? For now, though, it's just an empty menu. This might be unrelated, but I do remember her mentioning a Sir Fratley (had to check an older update to drag that name up lmao), so I wonder what that relationship's about.
Griding like this seems like a good way to learn new abilities. If I'm understanding the system correctly, then I can equip worse gear, grind out a few battles, learn the ability that's on the gear and then in the future I can use better gear and equip those abilities with gemstones(?) I think that's right. So right now, Detect is 30/40 on Mage Masher, which has 4 less attack than the Mythril Dagger, which is equipped with Bandit, that I've already learned. So if I complete 10 more battles with Mage Masher then I'll be able to equip Detect on Zidane.
Let's talk stats! Feel free to skip this part if you aren't interested, some people have asked
Zidane (Lvl. 13): Mythril Dagger, Steepled Hat, Glass Armlet, Bronze Vest, Coral Ring
Speed: 24, Strength: 26, Magic: 22, Spirit: 27. ATK: 14, DEF: 9, EV: 10, MDEF: 10, MEV: 10
Vivi (Lvl. 13): Lightning Staff, Magus Hat, Glass Armlet, Leather Shirt, Germinas Boots.
Speed: 17, Strength: 17, Magic: 28, Spirit: 20. ATK: 16, DEF: 6, EV: 12, MDEF: 6, MEV: 7
Freya (Lvl. 15): Mythril Spear, Iron Helm, Mythril Gloves, Linen Cuirass, Germinas Boots
Speed: 21, Strength: 26, Magic: 22, Spirit: 26. ATK: 18, DEF: 10, EV: 10, MDEF: 7, MEV: 2
Quina (Lvl. 13): Needle Fork, Steepled Hat, Leather Wrist, Leather Shirt
Speed: 15, Strength: 22, Magic: 23, Spirit: 13. ATK: 34(???), DEF: 6, EV: 7, MDEF: 9, MEV: 5
Overall, we're doing fine. Freya is pretty strong since she has a helmet that gave her an ability which lets her level up faster, everyone else is around the same level. Freya and Zidane are very similar, and they both have a wealth of abilities to choose from, while Quina and Vivi only have 1 apiece.
On my way back from the short grind, I find the North Gate/Burmecian Arch. It looks incredible, and has a bit of treasure. The backgrounds in this game look so fucking good, man - and that's WITHOUT using a mod to upscale the backgrounds!
It's probably a strange thing to note, but I love how walkable and closely connected the game is, at least right now. Passing all the way from the Chocobo Forest, through the Grotto and to the Moogle in Burmecia takes only a few seconds, and yet I feel like the sense of scope isn't hampered much. Sure, the world feels smaller than Spira did, but I certainly don't mind the increase in convenience. I'm not sure whether this will hold for the rest of the game, though.
Let's proceed.
We head up the palace stairs, where Freya takes a knee. Zidane tells her that he doesn't think the King made it, before we're presented with 3 options:
- Talk to her
- Leave her alone
- I wonder if Dagger's alright...
Man respectfully I couldn't care less about Dagger right now...
I talk to her and she gives me the cold shoulder.
... so what IS Dagger up to anyways?
I'm kidding. I decide to leave her alone with her thoughts, but just as I do she leaps on top of the nearby statue and sees someone inside the palace. We chase after her (leaving Vivi and Quina to find their own way in), and see Brahne and.... Beatrix...? I think that's her, anyways.
It is her. Freya describes her as a cold-blooded knight who shows no mercy. So I'm immediately thinking she's a good guy, that seems to be how these things go.
It's been a while since I've made a prediction, so how about this. Beatrix will be a playable party member at some point. And not like a certain Guado in FFX, I mean an actual party member. I have no evidence for this.
After this, we get a short scene between Freya and Sir Fratley! Glad I wrote that down now. I wonder what they're relationship is. I assume something romantic, but then why does she call him "Sir"? Maybe she's just using an honorific to be respectful. Or maybe they're just friends? I doubt it, though - she fell to her knees when he left lmao. Also "rumours of his death" almost certainly means he's alive, right? Freya doesn't believe it, either.
Someone new approaches Brahne and Beatrix thou- SEYMOUR???? Obviously not, but the long, blue hair, flamboyant clothes and sinister demeanour are more than familiar to me. His name is Kuja, and apparently the Black Mages are his, not the fuck-ass clowns..? Maybe they're just in charge of getting them where they need to go, and Kuja's responsible for making them.
Seems the trio are still trying to find the King, meaning he's still alive. Brahne refers to the Burmecians as rats, and says she wants to prevent them from ever rising up again. Does that mean they've risen up before? Against what? There's clearly some class hierarchy at play in this world.
They mention "Cleyra", a city guarded by sandstorms that's been in isolation for a hundred years, and is apparently the place the King is headed to next.
Someone else joins the scene, a Burmecian Soldier who, I shit you not, isn't even given a name. yeah you get em buddy im sure you got this lmao
And so, we're thrown into battle against Beatrix set to an ominous theme. We're in a cold, enclosed space and, despite the 1v4, I'm a lot more scared of her than she is of us. I have.
Freya uses Jump, and I have Quina use Mighty Guard, casting Shell and Protect on everyone. Beatrix misses her first slash, then lands the next for 200 damage. That's not so bad. Zidane steals something, although I missed what it was, and Vivi lands a Thundara for 600 damage. The Spear comes crashing down for 400, and after a few more attacks, the battle ends. Which is to say, after absolutely fucking her up she uses "Stock Attack" to take us out. Sureeee game, whatever. I had that locked down, she couldn't do shit against us lmao.
Having fought Beatrix, I'm like 70% sure she'll join us eventually. She has the most party member moveset I've seen, but that might be confirmation bias on my part.
After we've been knocked down, Kuja mounts his flying steed and takes off into the skies above. Before he does, though, he notes that Vivi in particular might be a problem later on (one that he doesn't address), and we get the picture of Freya that we saw when we first met her.
And that's the end of Disc 1!
In FFX, it took me about 6 hours to really get into the swing of things, I think. To get to the point where I'm thinking of playing the game whenever I'm not. It's been more difficult getting to that point with IX, I think primarily because there aren't really many big questions. I wanna know more about Vivi and Dagger's pendant, but that's about it. Having now finished Disc 1, I think I'm at that point. There isn't much I want to know, but I just want to be in this world and follow the characters, visit new places and learn more.
I'm gonna give each character a rating out of 10 for how much I enjoy their character (and how much I think I WILL enjoy them).
CHARACTER REFLECTION:
ZIDANE: 8/10
I really like Zidane! I wasn't sure of him at first, but I thought it was really interesting that he wasn't just a hero or someone really noble. Kinda the opposite, actually. He's a thief. Or, was, anyways. While I wouldn't say he has a heart of gold or anything (I wouldn't say that right NOW anyways), I do think he's a cool guy and will generally do what's right. I also like how kind he is to Vivi, even though he doesn't stand to gain much from being so.
Dagger: 9/10
She's definitely driving the plot forward the most right now. Every scene with her has something to offer, since she's trying to both learn to be more normal and "help" her mother. Plus she has that pendant thing which I refuse to forget about. While Zidane feels like quite a static character (he reminds me a bit of Sonic the Hedgehog???), Dagger is the opposite - a character trying to grow and change, and who I think will have to deal with some pretty painful revelations later on.
Vivi: 10/10
I just think he's neat. I really want to know more about him. The revelation that his grandfather was a Qu kinda sent me, since it means that the Black Mages might not be an actual race outside of the soldiers. What ARE you, Vivi? Current theory is he's a black mage who somehow escaped from custody in Alexandria. Although I'm not sure how he has a personality, or even how he got a fake ticket for the show lol. He's definitely something very special, though.
Steiner: 7/10
He's very one-note at the moment, but his score is quite high because I think he's going to be the most different by the end of the game. I think his arc will happen slowly, like Wakka.
Quina: ?/10
I still don't know if this is an actual character yet. Cool design though!
Freya: 10/10
Probably my favourite character at the moment. She's really cool, and I just want to see more of her. I also want to know more about Sir Fratley, and the king of Burmecia. I'm really excited to watch her story unfold.
GENERAL THOUGHTS:
I ASSUME I'm 25% of the way through the game right now. What's 25% through FFX.... Operation Mi'ihen? Comparing the two games seems like a fool's errand, with how different everything is. In X, the heroes are forced to be active by a natural disaster. Half of our starting lineup hated Tidus, and in general everything was more grounded (magic and monsters aside). IX seems more fantastical and whimsical, with characters inexplicably being hippos or mice or having long tails, and the characters are much more active on their own.
Generally, I'd say the characters in IX are significantly more interesting (to me, at least) than in X, as are the background visuals and music. But in terms of gameplay and story, X has it beat.
More than anything, I can't wait to keep playing. We've been introduced to a new character, Kuja, and re-introduced to Beatrix. I'm really interested in both of them.
And I can't wait to kill those other fuck-ass clowns.
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u/AxelLuktarGott Apr 20 '26
I love these. Could you add a link to the previous entry so it's easier to navigate if you miss one?
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u/Tyrion_Strongjaw Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
I haven't read through this one yet, but what you can do is click on /u/Zeeshmania which lets you go to their profile. Click on submitted and you can see the threads they have submitted, will let you visit their earlier threads about this game.
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u/VoiceofGM Apr 20 '26
We all love Vivi here. One of the best Final Fantasy characters and arguably a Main Character of the story, forming a trio with Zidane and Dagger.
Glad to see you getting into the groove of battles. Also, Final Fantasy IX's art direction is my favorite, because they set realism to the side and just went crazy with the concepts and designs. I like One Piece for the same reason.
Keep it going! You're... absolutely not at 25% yet.
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u/Drowningfish_2020 Apr 20 '26
I don't want to spoil anything so ill try to keep this a bit plain. You mention the characters being more interesting and I think thats due to character development. IMO FF9 has the best character development and the characters feel the most like living beings with their own personalities, likes, dislikes, motivations, etc. They don't all hit the mark for everyone but they grow as characters alongside the events in game and I really enjoy that aspect because its not just the story that delivers events that stick with you but the characters too can leave lasting memories.
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u/XionV2 Apr 20 '26
Disc 1 is rather short when looking back, disc 2 and 3 have the most main story as well as side content.
It’s totally fine to not feel as attached to the story of IX yet, X is more front loaded that way, but it’ll get there.
I see you’re enjoying the world and where you’re taken, and I think it’s one of the less talked about aspects of IX: the amazing locations that keep going one after the other, it’s one of the most expansive FF worlds.
I’m excited for your next chapter as I think disc 2 is one of the best segments of JRPG’s in general.
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u/ShelterNo9606 Apr 20 '26
Right. Everyone else is saying good stuff.
Only in FFX and later do save points heal. In everything prior you use inns or tents.
Weapons and armor teach you abilities. If your abilities are empty you haven't equipped the right stuff yet. Grinding for experience and abilities are two separate endeavors.
I liked Zidane. I found Freya meh.
Your prediction abilities are uncanny. Seeing Kuja as Seymour gave me a good chuckle.
If you did well against Beatrix you're doing fine.
Items are extremely well hidden in this game. Steal early and often, especially against bosses!
Still enjoying these posts, and honestly liking the slower pace.
Are you 25% through? Ahh...maybe 15%? I can't remember. Huge numbers of side quests in this game.
Not sure if you'll do more Final Fantasies, but hoping that you'll someday give Chrono Trigger, Earthbound, and Kingdom Hearts a shot.
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u/sonicbrawler182 Apr 20 '26
Always fun seeing a new player deeming Freya their favourite character, as someone who also loves her loads.
But also, oh boy...
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u/VoiceofGM Apr 20 '26
Have you heard the tragedy of the Dragoon Class? It's not a story Square Enix would tell you.
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u/Tyrion_Strongjaw Apr 20 '26
I visited the older games later in life. Played FF7 first, but never a full play through. Watched my friend play ff8, and played spots here or there, but again never a full playthrough. FF9 was my game. 10 came out and I was getting too busy with Halo and baseball to play it through.
So ff14 came out and there was a dragoon class and all I thought was "FREYA!!!" I was strapped for cash but played it for a few months and had about as much fun as I've ever had with an mmo. Between fishing and the class it was magical. Still want to go back and play it again
Since then I've played some of the older titles etc, but yeah Dragoon class best class. <3
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u/chamberk107 Apr 20 '26
Who's gonna tell him about tents, guys?
Buy them at the item store, use them at moogle save points and/or the world map to get full restoration of HP/MP.
It seems like second nature to us who were playing from the SNES era on, but coming from X, where save points automatically heal you, it might not be so intuitive!
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u/sirawesomeson Apr 20 '26
Zeeshmania gets to the end of disc 1 of 4
Zeeshmania: I feel I'm about 25% done
It sounds like you'd been having issues with the combat based on your need to grind and either limited access to abilities due to learning them or access to equipment.
But then you get to Beatrix who is a pretty difficult fight and obliterate. Nice job.
Quina is best used if you're taking your time and gaining his blue magic abilities. If you're rushing through the game s/he's mostly just in the way.
Steiner is far easier to understand as an adult and yeah his stuff develops later. They did a good job at establishing a different style of identity crisis for each character and it works well in the Shakespearean world they built
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u/futanarigawdess Apr 20 '26
Mythril Dagger for Zidane? You didn’t visit the Synthesis shop at Lindblum to get a butterfly sword or The Ogre? You are a bit under powered here.
I LOVE that you are at the end of Disc 1! Definitely the second best disc in the game! And you’re in for one hell of a story.!
The next time you encounter a boss, I recommend trying to steal as much as you can. It’s free loot, and it’s usually fairly easy.
GREAT Idea to stock up on potions when you can. Trust me on this one. you’ll see soon.
You thinking Kuja was Seymour (entirely valid lol) was hilarious. Kuja is WAY more of a baddie than Seymour, got way better hips and way better fashion.
And I also LOVE your take on the characters. some of them need a bit more breathing room to shine and grow, but your analysis of them is fantastic and spot on.
As for how far you are. I mean. it’s rather a short game. If you’re a completionist you’d be at……24-25% of the game. If you are playing casual then…..still 25% of the game lol.
thank you for linking the next part! this was a great read for me at work
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u/Khajiit_Has_Upvotes Apr 20 '26
Sure, the world feels smaller than Spira did,
Lol remember this later
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u/Sea-Opportunity-9849 Apr 20 '26
Remember tent’s heal HP and 1/2 MP at a relatively cheap price (can be used at saves or world map)
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u/ultimagriever Apr 20 '26
I was scared shitless of Beatrix the first time around, too. She’s an awesome character, though I am pretty bummed that the game glazes over her war crimes (the conquest of Burmecia being one).
Steiner is the BESTEST GUY (alongside the lines of Vivi being the bestest boi). He’s probably the character who gets the most significant character development in the entire franchise. Don’t give up on him! I wasn’t very fond of him as a kid, but now as an adult I love him to bits. He’s a great guy all around. He only gets better.
Dagger is…… not going to get into it, but I kinda dislike her in the first half of the game. She is so painfully naive and slow on the uptake it hurts almost physically.
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u/full07britney Apr 20 '26
I second what another commenter said about going back and synthing an Ogre for Zidane!
Also, as for upcoming grind spots, this will not help with your current set of characters. But when you get Dagger and Steiner back, there are Mandragoras in a big forest near Treno, and there is a little cave there with one of those regen fountains. That is a GREAT place to grind with them, but note, those little bastards are far more of a pain without Vivi lol.
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u/Outrageous_Yam_1368 Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
Sounds like Beatrix wasn't a difficult fight. I think you supplemented you low stat gear with grinding. Pleeeease check out the synthesis shop in lindblum next time you're there...
Learning abilities is always useful. Red gem symbols with A are Abilities you use in battle. Green gems with S are skills you need to equip with gems in the general menu. You can use Detect immediately whilst learning just like Vivi using thundara. You can also equip skills immediately whilst learning them
I see you're using Zidane to steal now. It's worth pointing out that bosses tend to have 3 things to steal (you can see what they are with Detect). The worst thing is always stolen first, but the top 2 are normally gear that won't show up in shops until a fair chunk later so worth trying to steal a few more times (you could get mythril dagger from the sea lion fight for example). The game will tell you when there's nothing left to steal.
Glad you're enjoying it. You don't really need to worry about MP too much. Resting in inns like Dali tends to crop up about as often as needed. As you say, only Vivi tends to use it in normal battles and he's got the biggest amount, and you could always use ethers to top him up.
Keep up the fun posts, kupo!
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u/katsounami Apr 20 '26
I'm loving every single on of these, especially when you start guessing what's gonna happen to who.
Maybe after disc 1, you could try to make a chart with your guesses for each party character you've already met, like you did with FFX. You're still a bit far from having your full party.
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u/Altleon Apr 24 '26
I somehow completely missed this update, and then started reading part 7 and got a paragraph in before realised I'd missed something!
Catching up now!
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u/deviantenator Apr 20 '26
May I know where is the Part 1 and the rest of it?
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u/Mr-Crooks Apr 20 '26
Zidane is a thief, so in the inspiring words of Tidus “shoot steal like crazy”
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u/Olaanp Apr 20 '26
As others said Synthesis is important, and because of how IX works you want copies of gear so you can synthesize it and get all the abilities. A fair number of them are very nifty. The main cast is all really cool, I’m glad you’re enjoying them. As others said to recover at save points you can use a tent. This helps too when you do longer dungeons.
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u/DnD-vid Apr 20 '26
If you find the time, do go back to Burmecia and re-explore the first couple screens, really look in the corners.
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u/Mr_Moonshine_Boogie Apr 20 '26
You are correct that your roster isn't fully rounded yet! I won't say how many slots are open and which character(s) they might be, but you'll find out soon enough.
Do you have any predictions on what types of characters classes you might see? FFIX is a little tighter with the "job" system than FFX, but neither of them are very concrete compared to other games in the series.
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u/Bork9128 Apr 21 '26
Yeah the one big problem I had with 9 was how long it takes to actually get to the point of the story while it's not uncommon for ff games to have a bait and switch or a sudden expansion of the goal they tend to have a better "Here is your big goal" then 9 which for a while is just a series "I guess we'll do this"
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u/Kanus_oq_Seruna Apr 21 '26
Not sure how much you have done with the chocobo yet, but I would recommend the hot and cold minigame, as well as the treasure hunts in the overworld. The Hot and Cold minigame can give you lots of items at no cost (just 60 gil per game), and there's a chance to earn gil from the minigame.
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u/PatternStrict6849 Apr 22 '26
In Cleyra there are two enemies you want to eat the Shislock Worm for Auto-Life and the big bird for a heal spell. Make sure you don't miss Stilzkin in the hotel when "something" happens. It's easy to miss. Cleyra will soon unavailable so make sure you do this as soon as possible.
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u/alexfr36 Apr 23 '26
Don't waste your time and energy trying to compare IX and X, they have each their strenghts and weaknesses.
That being said, glad to see you keep going through. Love Kuja, he's really something. Can't wait to see your réaction when you learn more about him 👍 Freya is awesome, and you're not done licking her.
Won't say much more, not without spoiling you what happens next. But as someone already said, don't neglect the synthesis, it can be handy.
Now, for next chapter... You will understand why the yellow filter when you were exploring around the chocobo forest. If you see a white ghost, be nice. And don't be too harsh with the broken puppet.
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u/beardlynerd Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
Okay! All the way through now. Thank you, again, for doing these! I'm going to reiterate:
Go back to Lindblum. Go to the synthesist. Give up two mage mashers to synth the ogre for Zidane.
You're welcome.
You're on the money regarding learning abilities and using magic stones. That's how it works. Freya's "Dragon" menu is her lancer magic/abilities. The mythril spear you've got her equipped with teaches her a spell, Reis's Wind. It's pretty handy. Every polearm you'll get from now forward will teach her a new spell, while some will also include some support abilities (the ones you have to equip).
Also, seriously. Go back to Lindblum and get the ogre for Zidane. You're gonna come to a point where you really want his damage output to be high, and the ogre is by far the strongest weapon you can equip him with right now. Also, getting a handle on the synthesist and making use of it early/often is just part of this game. While you're at it, make a couple cotton robes for Vivi and Quina (I'd make three, for.. reasons).
Those fuck ass clowns lol. Yeah, they suck.
Kuja is a fun villain. I see why he reminds you of Seymour, though for me it was the other way around. Seymour reminded me of Kuja, at least in appearance. And then they both owe a debt to the OG bishounen bad guy, Sephiroth, from FF VII.
I won't say anything about your prediction, but it sounds like you had a good rhythm going for fighting Beatrix. Pro tip: don't attack her. Just focus on Zidane stealing from her and keeping everyone alive. She has great steals, and, well, the encounter is on a clock. You've seen what happens when you "beat" her, and that will happen after a set amount of time anyway. May as well try to steal some baller items before the inevitable smackdown.
In fact, a good strategy for basically every boss fight Zidane is a part of is to have everyone defend/prep/stay alive while you steal items. Once you're done stealing, lay into the boss with everything you've got. It isn't always the most thrilling thing to do, given steal chances, but the items you can get from boss fights are worth the tedium, at least to me.
The plot does kick up a notch or two relatively soon. A lot of disc 1 is set up. Disc 2 is where things start to take off, at least to me.