I guess the difference is the guide. I winged everything. Will probably replay one day in the distant future with a guide (same thing I do with Atelier games - play through once on my own, then replay with a guide)
Re. bosses, I S-Craft spam the bosses, but I still remember struggling on the. Also some bosses after that but I can't remember which ones.Ghost boss in Legram Cathedral
Oh, yeah. That one was annoying. Think he wiped my whole party right at the start because I didn't have the right gear. Some 'weaken monsters' may have been used .
I went for the platinum and that play for 100 hours trophy was seriously annoying. Had to slow down everything. Glad they ditched that in the sequel.