Tips. Advice. Ways. Everyone has them. They are the easiest topics newspapers and magazines can cover. The editor of my university newspaper does it from time to time. I pulled three magazines from my parents' shelf to demonstrate. "12 Tips for a low-upkeep pond" reads the March 2010 issue of The Family Handyman. The October 2010 issue of Essence has "7 Breast Cancer Tips to Save Your Life" and an April 2010 issue of the same magazine has "9 Ways to Save Money & Time Online". It seems tip articles are used to fill in space when nothing else will do. That, or they can take broad subjects and narrow them down to a few hundred words. While video game websites like GameFAQs and Gamespot offer great  advice from gamers, sometimes it's best not to listen to them.

A friend of mine started playing DragonQuest IX last week, sitting beside another friend who had already successfuly navigated the game's world. For clarity, I'll call him Tip Man. As soon as he saw Dragon Quest IX, Tip Man immediately went into advice mode.

First, he suggested that my friend switch vocations as soon as he unlocks the Alltrades Abbey. The minstrel vocation, the trade you are at the start of the game, is weak, Tip Man observed, and the monk and warrior vocations are much better. My friend should take advantage of the many vocations' abililties. Second, Tip Man asked if my friend had connected to DQVC--an online feature in which you can download new quests to your game. Tip Man suggested that my friend download the new content whenever the opportunity came. Finally, Tip Man completed his mission with noting the importance of fighting monsters to gain experience. My friend took his advice with a few nods and some comments.

I, however, was annoyed. I didn't follow some of those tips. I liked my minstrel; I thought he was a strong character and useful in boss battles. I was actually reluctant to change vocations until I learned that I could be a ranger. I never connected to DQVC because I haven't taken the time to switch the WPA security key to WEP on my wireless router. Still, I enjoyed the sixty quests I found--I really didn't need anymore. The last tip is standard issue with almost any role-playing game, and he was right about using varied abilities, but I stilled wanted to stand up and yell, "Just let the man play the game!"

I have nothing against advice, or tips. They are very useful. But the advice Tip Man gave were a matter of choice. Dragon Quest IX gives gamers more freedom than previous games in the series. If you want to make a party of mages, make a party of mages. If you want your main character to have pink hair with yellow eyes and fight battles in their boxers and undershirt, you can do that.

In games where emphasis is on freedom rather than a linear, no-other-way story, advice on choice shouldn't be said. Vocations, quests, the fashion of characters, what abilities skill points should go to is a matter of personal taste and strategy.

Being further along in Dragon Quest IX, I could have given my friend advice. I didn't. I wanted him to to just play the game and discover the world himself. He asked me once how to progress in the story when he got stuck. I gave him a hint and then let him go.

For a game that has as much freedom as Dragon Quest IX, the best tips are in the instruction manual, page 16 and 17.

1. Talk to Townsfolk

2. Find your Way across the Far-Flung Field

3. Beat Beasts to Build Brawn

4. Varied Vocations Allow for an Abundance of Abilities

A set of basic, universal priniciples to steer the gamer. Nothing more.