btw, do you have any other tips of this kind to make the game easier?
This doens't help for early in the game (and you may or may not already know it) but do nothing, when possible, but steal with zidane. By the time you get the thievery skill (I can't remember with which of his weapons) you will do a guaranteed 9,999 damage (based on some formula involving the number of times you have stolen successfully).