Dragon Fantasy: Volumes of Westeria

Story-related and cannot be missed.

This chapter is the toughest of the bunch, so you might as well get it out of the way first.

Tips (This assumes you are going for The Hard Way also):

• You will probably want to grind until level 14 or 15 before moving north.
• In the remake, you can start capturing creatures after passing through the mountains to the north of where you start. This will help immensely. You will need to find/buy capture nets. There are a few basic ones in chests and pots in the towns and dungeons. With these you have to get the creature near death before it will work. There is a person in the front of Lakehaven who sells perfect capture nets that have a 100% success rate and can be used any time in battle. However, every time you buy one from him, the next will double in price. The best creatures in the early game are Wolfman, Slimy Tentacle, and Mr Slicy/Dicey. Once you get further in the game, there will be a recruiting center where you can drop off and pick up more creatures.
• For safety's sake, always carry extra herbs, antidotes, ropes, wyvern powders, and (if you can afford it) potato juice on hand. Traveling between cities can be a slog and you don't want to lose half your gold by not having enough on hand to prevent yourself from dying.
• Grind a bit before going anywhere new. As this game is supposed to be a homage to Dragon Quest/Final Fantasy, monsters get tough rather quickly, so don't try to do a speed run.
• Pay attention to who has the first turn as it will stay that way for the whole battle. For enemies that take a turn before Ogden, keep an eye on your HP and heal earlier to compensate.