FF2: I keep thinking about proper jobs...

[Endonian]

Instead of focusing on "Job types" focus on "battle types." Maria is meant to be a mage, yes. But that leaves her other stats lagging behind. Firion can be a good warrior, but he also has a capacity for magic. Again, it's up to you, but the team i always used was:
Firion, All weapons and Black Magic
Maria, Staves, bows, knives and white magic
Guy, Axes, Bare hands and a little bit of white magic, only to be used in emergencies
Leon, Obvious
And don't forget about the shields trick for mastering weapons. Just master the magic FIRST.

[ReloadPsi]

Just search YouTube for HCBailly Final Fantasy II and go with that. He probably has the most efficient setup I've ever seen for that game.

[Benjirino~!]

As far as the four 'main' characters go...

Firion is a Paladin, he's got the stats to wield a sword and be your curer. He's not the one you need to prioritise hitting the enemy with, so he can switch to white magic spells when need be.

Maria is a Black Mage, she's back row material thanks to her bow, and is by far the strongest of the four in magic.

Leon is a Dark Knight/Dragoon combo, which basically makes him the coolest guy in the series in my estimation. Though he's initially stronger with axes and bows, his best weapon actually winds up being a spear. He has little MP to begin with, but this does build up, and can be used effectively as a status changer for your opponents.

Guy is a classic Berserker but with an axe, but since I tend to like to double class all my characters except black mages, I also tend to make him a green mage, giving him protection and boosting spells, mostly that he can use on himself (though Firion tends to get the essential ones too).

Of course, any of them could be any number of classes (for example, my team doesn't include a dedicated white mage, which some people would insist is essential for particularly tough boss battles), but that's how I tend to play it.

[Pike]

My current playthrough of this game is so bizarre. Guy is a wimp with his axe so I just have him cast spells while Maria dishes out some serious damage with her staff.

Yeah I dunno.

EDIT: I just realized that this thread was started in 2005. Well then!

[Tigmafuzz]

My current playthrough of this game is so bizarre. Guy is a wimp with his axe so I just have him cast spells while Maria dishes out some serious damage with her staff.

Yeah I dunno.

EDIT: I just realized that this thread was started in 2005. Well then!

You can thank Endonian for the six-year bump.