I must say, it all boils down to where the game will be easiest. It is easier to begin with the red mage (or two) but in the end, the game is simpler with a black mage (and a white mage). In the beginning, the red mage can learn all the same spells as a black and white mage AND has much better stats. But as time goes on, he begins to weaken. His progress from level to level would look much like a "square root" graph on a calculator. He accels nowhere. He has average stats, average equipability, average magic. At the end of the game (using Kn, Ma, RW, WW), I had him using the Masamune and still doing MUCH less damage than everyone else, except WW, who was healing and stat-enhancing. I mean, for crying out loud, his best weapon is... the Sun Sword? He cant equip anything special. On the other hand, The Knight has the Excalibur, the Ninja has the Sasuke/Katana, the Master can get in about 8 hits and do more damage than a Knight with the Masamune, the Black Wizard has the Cat Claw and insanely powerful magic, and the White Wizard has Thor's Hammer. The Red Wizard is simly an easy start to the game. I would suggest as a party: Fighter(Warrior), Black Belt(Monk), White Mage, and (depending on how you want the difficulty to be in the beginning and end of the game) either the Black Mage or the Red Mage. I would only be the Theif if you are looking for a challenge in the beginning.