Dragon Quest VII

• Talk to everyone. This is the most Dragon Quest of any Dragon Quest game and there's multiple occasions where I got stuck for a while because I missed someone in the second floor of the church or whatever.

• The game is 80% vignettes to 20% 'main plot' so if you aren't feeling the side stories, save yourself the time and go play something else

• Teach Ruff healing spells! He won't learn any on his own but his speed stat is obscene, and it's probably the best thing to be doing with his MP.
  Also some people will leave the party at inopportune times. Not Ruff.

• Monster taming can be unlocked through somewhere around midgame so until then don't grind monsters hoping they want to be friends.

• Any skills you learn from a Basic class are permanent and can be used if you change classes, but anything you learn as an Advanced class can only be used while you're that class. Anything learned from a Monster class is learned forever, and those are where all of the cool/rare powers are

• Equipment is by character rather than by class, and character stat differences are more pronounced than, say, FFV, so you can make Maribel a Fighter but honestly you shouldn't.

• ABC: Always Be party Chatting.