Up front, I have not read any guides for playing this game and probably won't.
I like going into a game blind... but sometimes, there are games that I wish I had read a guide... or there are some games that practically need a guide to be played.
This is one of those that I wish had a basic guide, because the 'tutorials' are pretty lame. I'm not talking 'walk through'... I just want something that points out time wasters and things that should be done.

To me, the best game is one you can pick up and play without being punished for not knowing something the game doesn't tell you... or for not playing it how 'everyone else' plays it.
I only go looking for a guide when I get stuck... so for me, a guide like this wouldn't have mattered if it was available before. But, maybe there are people that check the guides for starter tips but don't want a full on walk through.

I will try to remember to add sections as I progress through the game, basically updating to where I am at. I will also go back and note or edit in previous sections anything that I later found needs to be corrected.

Note : Even if I do decide to read someone else's guide (probably if I get stuck on something), then if I decide it should also be in my guide, I will first verify that it works and attribute the guide I got it from.
This also applies to someone commenting on this guide for an edit... I will first need to confirm in game and then will attribute the commenter.
And, I'll be honest, I may just forget to come back to this guide...

These are things that should be done from the start. I will add/remove as I find necessary.

Currently Updated to : Starting Out

> Pub Side Quests
Accept all of them, all the time.
I have not seen any evidence of punishment for sitting on a quest.
When submitting (reporting) completed quests, after submitting all currently completed go straight back to the quest list and accept all that are available again.
You will be returning to areas for grinding levels, so might as well get extra coins and items for doing it.
Note : Just because you can submit a quest, doesn't mean you should. You may want some of those fetch quest items for crafting, or you may already be carrying all you can of a reward item (Return Wing).

> Limit Selling
Only sell things for the following reasons:
1) Reached or almost reached carry limit. Example : Return wings are a limit of 10, so use them regularly or sell a few from time to time.
2) For some reason, need a little bit of extra cash. But, probably better to go complete a few quests.
3) You really just want to...

I say this because more often it is better to use it in crafting or turning it in for fetch quests.
Example:
Herb Sprouts sell for 50g each. 2 gets you 100g, 5 gets you 250g.
Or submit the fetch quest for 2 Herb Sprouts and get 100g plus a Cherub's Feather. (Sells for 220g)
Or submit the fetch quest for 5 Herb Sprouts and get 150g plus a Cherub's Feather plus a decorative head piece. (Sells for 200g)
Or craft 4 Herb Sprouts into a Potion. (200g to Buy)

> Lola in the Plaza
Every time she is selling information about a fairy/fury, buy it.
Do not advance the main story until you have bought what she is selling. Go grind, sell stuff or anything to buy it.
I missed out on the first thing she sells (cost 100g) because I couldn't afford it and figured I'd get the funds in the main story and come get the side thing she sells. Nope, all gone. It moved me on to the next price by the time she offered again.

> Suspend Logic
The story telling is lacking a little. I've noted a few minor inconsistencies. The thing is, there are also a few inconsistencies that the game acknowledges and will poke fun at... so the writers know there is some goofs in the story telling and fixing them would probably break the story they wanted to make.

Skip this is you don't care about opinions.

> Not an RPG
When I play a role playing game, I look for one of two things to be true:
1) I can put myself in the shoes of one of the characters, usually the main character.
2) I feel like the guide for the character(s).
In this case, I can't relate to the main character and feel like I'm just here to push 'advance'.

Decision making?
I guess I'll buy new equipment, because why not?
What would be better equipment? I don't know, because I can only guess what the stats do. Besides, does 19 physical defence matter more than 6 physical defence when the character has over 200 already?
(Rhetorical questions, I'm sure someone has looked at code or something to find out how the stats work for min/maxing.)

> Frivolous Mechanics
Whether I just find them useless or redundant, there are some mechanics that I feel like are a waste.

- Three sources of gold.
1) Fights reward with gold. This is the main income as it is constantly just happening.
2) Pub quests reward gold. This is the second income, as it can just be ignored.
3) Selling. While it makes sense and should be included, it is the least lucrative source.

- Advanced attacks through the menus... takes extra time and may have extended animations, for the same damage output as a regular attack.

Perhaps these are better balanced for mid or late game, so I'll note them as applicable in each stage of the game.

Minor Spoiler : Pre-Fourth Character
(The game tells you, pretty quickly, about swapping in characters and such, so this is only a spoiler if you haven't started playing yet.)

These are the things I learned during the first part of the game, before I reached the fourth character.

>>> Fairize (Transform)
Don't bother with it outside of boss battles.
The animation can't be skipped.
Most of the time, in a regular battle I can make 2-3 attacks to end the fight... or sit through the animation and then make 2-3 attacks to end the fight.
In a boss battle, it can actually be worth sitting through the animation. It might shave 1-3 attacks off on a boss fight you are the right level for.

If the boss fight is far higher level than you, then you may get to sit through the animation 2-3 times per character, burn through a ton of items, and still get crushed without getting halfway through the boss' health.
(Yeah, one of the Lola purchases I made crushed me. My first game over, and only so far.)

>>> Fairize Accumulation
This is reset every fight. So, you can't go accumulate a charge to take into a boss fight.
This is the main reason it is so pointless in regular fights... by the time it is charged and ready to use, there probably is only one or two foes left at half health or less.

>>> Multi-Stage Bosses
This is related to the Fairize accumulation.
There are a few bosses that have multiple stages to them... and for every stage, it is a new fight.
That means, Fairize gets reset, so don't bother saving it. If a boss is at half health or more, use the Fairize... if it is under a quarter, it may not be worth sitting through the animation.

>>> Weapon Improvement
Combos... get Combos.
+5 Attack? Why when you can instead attack a second time?
Sure, get a some others stuff as well... but the ability to do combos will increase your damage output more than anything else.

>>> Healing
There are 'challenges' for healing in battle, so do it... but...
- Healing magic is kind of lame, since it heals a percentage of the target's health. If a character with 900 health takes 300 damage, a 30% heal gets you nowhere.
If it takes all the enemies to do that 300 damage and your other party member(s) can stick to damage output, then it is fine.
- Healing items are better and worse.
A Potion heals 500. Early on, this is fine to pop in a fight. Later on, it is better to use them between fights because spending a turn healing 500 and losing 450 by the next turn is not good.
Yes, this is true in all games... but in a game where magic healing is percentage based, items get more used.

>>> Challenges
Some of these you will just complete without trying... like 'be part of the battle start' or 'walk'. But, some of them will require intentionally trying to complete.
But, don't stress about them... because most of the rewards won't make much difference. I mean, +10 SP might be enough to squeeze out one more magic attack... but maybe not... and does it matter?

>>> Specials
I don't like these, but some have uses.

Fang : Serious Face - Tested in a handful of regular fights.
Tutorial : Normal attacks cost 30 SP and do 50% more damage.
Testing : I'm not sure where it is applied, since actual test results looked like 20% to 80% increase in damage.
Maybe useful in boss battles (untested). In theory, it is trading 1 turn to activate to then do the damage in 2 turns that would normally take 3 turns. Well, in testing it did help in solo-battles since I didn't have the other characters fight... so he killing enemies in 1-2 turns each instead of 2-3 turns.

Tiara : Barrier - Tested in a handful of regular fights.
Tutorial : Her defences will skyrocket.
Testing : She takes about 20% less damage... and is completely useless! She can't use magic, items, or even switch out... until she drops the barrier. So, trading 1 turn to take slightly less damage to drop it again and do what you should have done in instead of the barrier.
Still, use it for her 'challenge' bonuses... maybe.

Harley : Analyze - About as useful as it is in any game.
At the very least, you can see if if it is weaker to physical or magical attacks... and what element it is weak to, if at all.
Mostly useful for checking during combat... not needed to fill out the almanac of enemy info. Might fill in the ??? under drops, but that will take a bit for me to test.

Fourth Char : Full Swing - Tested in one regular fight.
Tutorial : Double damage, half accuracy.
Testing : Not sure where double is applied, because I saw 0% to 50% more damage... on the few landed hits. I made like 30 attacks and hit maybe 4 of them... not a trade off I like to make, but maybe there will be equipment and buffs to up accuracy... maybe.

>>> Equipment
Not sure if armour and accessory matter.
Fang at level 10, I have his starting accessory (Favorite Gloves) on him. I have upgraded his armour, but does 19 Def matter over 6 Def? He has 299 Def with the 6 Def armour... or 312 Def with the 19 Def armour. Yes, every little bit matters... but how much? I have no idea how much less damage he might be taking.

>>> Equipment : Fairies
Might as well equip them. The point of the game is to collect them, so might as well.
At level 1 they aren't much, but by level 4 they are better than any of the equipment I can get. They increase PAtk, MAtk, PDef and MDef.
Currently, I have :
- Two level 1 fairies that will provide 10 points total across the four stats.
- One level 2 fairy with 28 points total.
- Two level 4 fairies, one with 40 points and the other with 56 points.
- One level 5 fairy with 70 points.

>>> Fury / Fairy Use for Revival
I recommend getting the experience and gold boost (Angel's Luck) as soon as you are willing.
There is some matching of fairy to revival use that can be done... like adding more fire protection to one that has fire support. This has nice synergy, particularly after the fairy levels up and it gains more fire protection.
You could also argue to do the opposite, put water protection on the fire support. Then, it reduces a little of the water weakness it gives as it gains fire protection through levels. But, that also means a little less fire protection overall. Since protection from one gives weakness to the 'opposite'.

>>> Shopping
Before buying something:
1) Can you get it from a quest instead?
2) Can you craft it instead?
3) Do you really need more?
Items that remove debuffs (such as antidote) might be worth picking up a handful... but they can probably be gotten in the area you need them and the debuff may wear off over time anyway.

As of this point (just got 4th character), I have not bought and debuff removal items. I've only encountered poison, and got antidotes in the area and for the most part just let poison wear off over time. Sometimes I use an antidote... usually after battle if I got poisoned right near the end of the fight.Not sure if poison has a turn limit or if there is a stat roll for it... but about I usually don't have issue with the damage per turn.

I've bought some equipment, crafted some. The biggest purchase was the items to complete a Pub Quest. 3000g to get the items, but it bumped me to the next tier of quests.
I've sold a couple spare costume things, because you only really need one of each... if you want to collect them. Honestly, you could sell any that you don't intend to use. I like keeping one of each that I get, but don't intend to costume hunt. But, some can be gotten repeatedly from Pub Quests, so those can be farmed to sell if needed.

>>>
That is what I would have liked to know going into the start of the game.