Actually they didn't rescale anything to the bosses. That is how hard the original Japanese version was. The DS version is the better version imo. Try both out for a little while and see which one you like better.

The ds version I'm getting that one too.

DS version... I wish they had used high quality sprites instead but it's really great game, imo. ^^

Yes, exactly.  I haven't spent any time grinding in the DS version, except when trying to obtain the rare items (which doesn't really count).  Five Pink Tails, bitches!

Also: Slow and Blink are your friends, easily two of the most useful spells in the game.

Jesus, how many Stardust thingers did you have to buy to get THAT? Or whatever is the name of the item that casts Comet.

Actually, I only had to use Stardust while I was getting the first one; after that, I was strong enough to win just by auto-battling.

Wow.

Did you protect from Berserk, or what? Those battles always kicked the Hell out of me, and I'd love to hear your strategy.

Nah... Crystal Mail protects Cecil from Berserk, but it didn't matter all that much anyway. If you have strong enough physical attacks (Rosa + Artemis Bow + Artemis Arrows = awesome), you can just power through. I was at a pretty high level and had an Onion Sword for Kain, which also helped. I wouldn't even pay attention to the battle, just let it run while I was doing something else; only occasionally did anyone actually die during a fight (usually Rydia).

EDIT: Counter is definitely key as well; having it equipped on Cecil is incredibly useful.  I started off combining Counter with Kick, but ultimately I found using just straight attacks to be more effective.

EDIT EDIT:  Now that I think of it, Crystal Mail is critical, as if Cecil is Berserk he won't use Counter.

It's actually pretty amusing having five Adamant Armors in addition to five Cursed Rings, so that literally any spell used against you with a magical element will actually heal your characters.

Five Adamant Armors sounds like it would make the Proto-Babil fight actually winnable.