Final Fantasy II (Dawn of Souls) [Games]

I am very slowly working my way through the Final Fantasy series on my DS. Last May, I finished the first one. This week I finally got around to finishing the second one. This time, the world is under the crushing heel of an evil emperor, and the heroes (three created at the beginning, with a fourth spot for characters rotating in and out) are conscripted by the rebellion to overthrow him. Unlike the first game, this one sticks to a purely fantasy setting, so no robots or time-travel. There's no classes, and the experience system is somewhat unusual (there's a small random chance after every fight that an ability or skill will improve, with the chance altered by what happened during the fight--probably the most realistic, actually, but not necessarily the most satisfying from the player's perspective). The graphics are actually pretty good for a game of its era, especially cut-scenes and spell effects. As before, I found myself getting stuck a couple of times and having to shamefully seek recourse in an online walkthrough--how did my skills atrophy so much from when I was a teenager? One of the frustrating things about the combat system is that a fight takes place every few steps you take and you never "clear" an area, which means that exploration and back-tracking can be a tedious process. Another mildly irksome thing is that, like Return of the King, there are a few false endings where you think you're done and ready to move on only to learn there's more to go. Anyway, after 24 hours and fifteen minutes of gameplay (59,523 steps), here's how my characters ended up:

ELRIC 2314 Hit Points, 102 Magic Points, 99 Attack, 11-99% Accuracy, 70 Defense, 5-99% Evasion, 12-60% Magic Defense. Equipment: Sun Blade, Diamond Shield, Genji Helm, Power Vest, Giant's Glove (this was my front rank warrior)

JULY 2655 Hit Points, 169 Magic Points, 182 Attack, 10-99% Accuracy, 107 Defense, 5-71% Evasion, 12-65% Magic Defense. Equipment: Defender, Cat Claws, Twist Headband, Dragon Armor, Genji Gloves (my primary spellcaster, specializing in Fire)

BRYN 3146 Hit Points, 50 Magic Points, 109 Attack, 10-99% Accuracy, 96 Defense, 5-41% Evasion, 12-60% Magic Defense. Equipment: Rune Axe, Ice Shield, Giant's Helm, Genji Armor, Giant's Glove (my axe specialist and second-string spellcaster, specializing in Thunder)

TAIM 2126 Hit Points, 37 Magic Points, 167 Attack, 10-99% Accuracy, 85 Defense, 4-0% Evasion (?), 8-7% Magic Defense. Equipment: Ice Brand, Poison Axe, Diamon Helm, Diamond Armor, Diamond Gloves (filled the rotating spot at the end of the game)