For some reason, whenever I think of that game, I always first remember the Puppet Master and Dire Clowns.
Blasphemy! That's Shining Force 1.
...which is still great. And yeah, that's the battle in Shining Force 1 that always sticks with me too. Blasted Freeze 3. Or was it Freeze 4? All I remember was him repeatedly stomping my force when I was eight.