So, with the release of DQVI announced for NA, I figure I should give you some hints on how to not get OHKO'd by the rather nasty bosses (*COUGH*MUDO,JAMIRAS,SCOTTANDCO,ETC*COUGH*)

1.) Most importantly, DO NOT USE BARBARA/ASHLYNN UNTIL SHE GETS A LITTLE HP!- I'm dead serious, for a good chunk of the game (or unless they change her in the DS version which they really should) she sucks. Usually I'm tolerant towards cute girls (like Maya) but dear God, her HP is so low, that she can't take one random encounter monster hit without dying (or at least in my experience). On the bright side though, she does make a pretty pimp Mage, but so does Chamoro with a little patience.

2.) Muriel vs Chamoro- Hmm.. use them both! Or at least until you get Terry (who doesn't come until very, very late game which you can replace Muriel or Chamoro your choice for more tankin') Chamoro is built for pure magical purposes,learns Vivify (Zing?) at an early stage and can take 100x better hits than Barbara/Ashlynn could ever take. I chose to replace Muriel because she is sort of a mix of everything and her dancing skills (if you make her a Dancer which is recommended) aren't as useful as Chamoro's pure magic (assuming you make him as a Priest -> Wizard then a Sage.)

3.) Hassan, all day, every day, 24/7- No, I'm not being narcissistic, Hassan is one of few pure physical attackers who you don't need to rely on monster transformations or anything else for that matter. Unlike the hero who is rather weak anyway, all you need with Hassan is the attack button (or Spirit Punch if you want to test your luck.) Also, he has the highest HP growths human wise and can literally take 2x the amount of damage than anyone (or 1000x if you're talking about Barbara. D< )

Of course there could be more hints, but these are the most important that come to my mind, stay away from Barbara (assuming she still sucks in the DS version), Use Chamoro and Muriel for healer until you (if you want) to replace one or the other for a pure attacker, and USE HASSAN FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!