I honestly don't know why so many people don't like the skill-up system of FF II. It's really simple and honestly is not bad at all. I actually like the fact that they let your characters use any weapons you want. From my experience, you can just go through the game naturally [without having to do training sessions], and the skill-up system just ends up taking care of itself. I never had to struggle with any boss in particular either. The only hardcore leveling I'm doing is to level spells for Ultima, only because I'm curious to see how much damage it can dish out.

The story is also a heck of a lot more interesting than FF I as well.