I had the SNES FFII shortly after it came out. However, I didn't beat Zeromus until probably 6-7 years later. Obviously, I hadn't been trying the whole time. I got to him several times, and got served up something fierce. But eventually, I got him, and I couldn't believe it! Now I can breeze past him no problem, even without a great party.
I played through it the first time with my older brother who can't pronounce anything right. To this day, I still say Damcyan as "DAM-i-kin", Eblan as "EM-blin", Chocobo as "KO-ko-bo" and Kainazzo as "kee-yan-AH-zo". I know they're wrong, but it's habit now. Though I maintain that Chocobo is right.