FFVI: Divergent Paths

I love this idea so much! Even if they aren't much more than esper re-hashes (like Ifrit v. Kefka in Thamasa) it's still a cool concept. I'm guessing that it'll be a pretty severe difficulty ramp to make it worthwhile. My only concern is that a fight entirely against espers with Leo acting autonomously could go very badly if he just refuses to Runic.

When a character fights autonomously, they actually follow a script. I'm thinking of giving Leo a basic script that says 2/3 chance of Runic, 1/3 chance of Fight, and then giving him a Rune Blade for MP Critical hits and a Black Belt for counterattacks. Remember that Celes can Jump in Divergent Paths, and if you did your job right when you stormed the Magitek factory, she has a few healing spells. The Espers, in turn, will choose between 2 spells and attack, then repeat. It seems simplistic, but a combination like that can still lead to a surprisingly satisfying gameplay loop.

The Espers will definitely be recolors, and I'm tossing around going a "4 Fiends" route, as a callback to earlier Final Fantasy games. If I go the FF1 route,then I can use:
Kraken - Recolored Ultros Sprite
Marilith - Recolored Ogor Sprite
Lich - Recolored Hidon Sprite
Timamat - Czar Dragon Sprite

I may choose to do original names though, with a Fire/Ice/Bolt/Bio schema. I've been looking for places to add in another Moogle Charm and Moogle Lure, so this is perfect. I'll just need to figure out 2 other relics to drop. If you have suggestions, please give them.

My first instinct for "items that are good but not too good" would be Pod Bracelet and Gold Hairpin. Perhaps Marvel Shoes, since IIRC there's normally nowhere to get them other than the coliseum/Ragnarok summon.