I loved this game in the PS1 and I don't remember it being so tricky... but I admit I gave up on it when I got to the racing with chocobos, training chocobos, cross-breeding chocobos. I got so fed up on that grind and repeat task that I gave up on the game from one day to the next. 😶
You can get away with not changing characters in the early stages of the game but later on, you will get whooped even by trash mobs if you are waiting for the AI to use some skills.... because they never will.
One of the few games I saw with really Intelligent AI on that matter is Dragon's Dogma. In that game, your team will actually use the skills and potions you set up for them! 🤗
Do you own this game?
Right now I'm still stuck with the PS3 so I haven't played the newest ones.