I really liked the way you learned blue magic in FFIX. It was better than the last four FF's, since it still had a challenge to it, and it wasn't as annoying as waiting for the monster to use a spell on you. The fact that pretty much every monster in the game will teach you a spell is a plus.

BTW, how does White Wind work? In FFV-FFVII, it healed everyone by an amount equal to the caster's current HP, but in FFIX it seems to be something completely different.

LV5 Death, LV4 Holy, Night (when everyone has Insomniac), Aqua Breath, Earth Shaker, White Wind, Frog Drop, Pumpkin Head, and LV3 Def-less are all great for certain situations.