Dragon Warrior 7.
Except I'm allowing myself 1 cheat: If I have seen a monster that drops hearts, I am allowed to use the debug menu to change my characters to the corresponding monster class, even if I have not reached Dharma yet.
Currently, in Engow (the second area you unlock, not counting the encounter-free Estard Island that you start with), and my current class routes so far have been:
* Hero: Slime to ConfuHit -> Florajay
* Mariblel: Lipsy to SickLick -> Florajay
* I've been leaving Kiefter in No Class (got to have one character without stat penalties, and also because of what happens later)
Some notes:
* Early game is more difficult due to the stat penalties of lower rank classes. In the first dungeon with encounters, I ran out of healing and had to run from encounters.
* Second boss is really easy because I can just have Maribel lick it (eww?), causing it to not get that many turns.
* ConfuHit is *really* good; on non-resistant enemies, it's reliable confusion *and* damage, at no cost. Once I get a Boomerang, I'll be able to hit all enemies at once with it (only skill that works that way).
* Maribel has Heal from Florajay; that's going to be quite helpful this early. (She does learn the spell normally, but at a higher level than the hero.)
* Not at that point yet, but mastering Florajay is one way to get a 0 MP party wide healing skill, at a point in the game where you ordinarily wouldn't have *any* party healing option.