For this I've only played the GBA and PSP versions, so I can't speak to the original. The growth system here developed into something much better in the SaGa games, but so much of it is ill-considered. Speed increases when you dodge attacks and HP increases more the more damage you take, but armor decreases damage taken and also decreases evasion, so wearing armor is usually counterproductive. This is incredibly silly, but also kind of funny to figure out and take advantage of. It feels like this system was only implemented because the idea of getting better at the things you do sounds intuitive, but it was never considered how this would actually work in-game. Each spell having to be leveled individually also makes more situational spells pretty cumbersome, and most spells are situational.

Most enemies are pretty ineffectual at dealing damage if you know how to take advantage of the system. But eventually they start spamming status effects, including AoE instant death that can be impossible to prevent, which is about where my patience runs out.