Final Fantasy Tactics Walkthrough

This is your first real battle where you need to set up (and mostly control) your battle party independently. A common mistake for this first battle is cause for an instant restart, so when you're placing your units, be sure to add more than just Ramza by using the controls (by default with a gamepad, using the shoulder buttons L1 and R1) to place as many as possible.  Bring one Chemist and make the rest Squires.  The Chemist should stay out of harm's way and heal the squires, Ramza, and Delita when they get low, while allowing everyone else to attack.  

You can split your troops and send half on one side of the river and half to the other, but it's easier if you keep them all together so the enemy has to come to you.  Kill the enemy Chemist first, because he'll heal the Squires as you damage them.  When the Chemist is dead, focus on the Squires one by one until you win the battle.

The battle will likely end faster if you bring just one Chemist, to increase your physical attack abilities. If you struggle with bringing just a single Chemist, you can consider bringing both but this may also result in the battle dragging on long enough to exhaust your healing items, which will make the second Chemist all but useless.

This battle can be frustrating, and it's not shocking if it results in being your first experience with having a character KOed. If this happens, they need to be brought back to life before their countdown timer ends, or they'll be lost forever - at this point in the game, when you have precious few items, you'll want to balance either finishing the battle ASAP to avoid the countdown, or wait as long as possible to bring them back. Avoid losing characters by being more free with your Potions, as they're cheaper and can be restocked immediately after this battle (and most battles).

If you lose Delita, though, remember that he is a guest and can not expire; this means that if you have the upper hand already you can use his absence to your benefit by prolonging the battle to wait for enemies to expire and then collecting the treasure chests or crystals that they leave behind. Don't plan on this as plan 'A,', though, because losing him too early will make the fight much more difficult. There's no penalty to knocking him out yourself if you really want to use the opportunity to grind JP and crystals or chests.

After the battle is over, the world map is available with the next target Igros Castle, where Ramza's two brothers, Zalbag and Dycedarg, reside along with his sister, Alma.  

Don't go anywhere yet, though! Use the funds you won from the battle to restock any healing items you used up. Don't worry about buying other things for now, as Gil is at a premium for a while and most of your battles will play out like this for Chapter 1. Also take the time to see if anyone can learn new abilities before leaving, especially Yell for Ramza because that's an ability that can be useful in any battle where you might have a turn where he otherwise can't do much.

When you attempt to move, a flashback cutscene occurs with Ramza, Zalbag, Dycedarg, and Alma at the deathbed of their father, Balbanes.  There, Balbanes tells Zalbag and Dycedarg that even though Ramza is their half brother, they need to treat him as one of the family, something that Ramza hasn't always felt.