Unbreakable

Biggs was the first of the name changes.
Whelk, I had a hard time not getting bored, with the added health and weaker shots, what I did to change that was triple the amount of time Whelk is out of his shell. This makes him more aggressive and reduces wait time.
Marshall I made sure was always beatable even in a 1 hp team scenario. Mog can still ensnare him, so no soft-locks would happen.
I put a lot of thought into putting in the dash patch, and favored sprint shoes. Do I sacrifice move speed for combat related relic? Its another layer of decision making that adds more depth. I am considering making the item slightly more combat relative, or just patching it out. It deserves a bit more consideration, agreed.
Desert is deadly if you are unlucky, having stop on both your characters for instance. At least you have Ice, to deal with these nasty critters. Or you could run through it and not get a single encounter.
Magitek battle seems at the right place, and if you've leveled Terra enough Lightning is available.
Having Leafers and Darkwinds throwing status effects your way was my way of saying, "You'll need to get some status clearing items from that castle." The game forces you to be prepared, and having adequate supplies is essential.
Everything does have a harder to run flag, and I've reduced the run success too. In the original you can run from battles unscathed. Running should have a negative consequence. I liked the thought I had playing with this setting, "I'm taking so much time and damage running, I'd be better off killing the brutes." I started using actions for some of my running characters to cover my retreat.
Don't even think about climbing that mountain without at least 70 tonics.

P.S. I'm replaying this myself and am coming up with a number of issues. Some multi-target spell users in groups are just too strong, for instance. Beware the Lich.