The first fight in the ruins with the 4 thugs, can you win it?
Sure. And I don't even remember having had much of an issue with that. Then again, timing might be a factor, considering the whole auto-balancing/-leveling of mobs thing (which is kind of ass, if you ask me...). Or maybe you should run into some more mobs first, to (auto-)aquire some useful skills (not exactly sure what triggers those... just make sure your mp/tp bars are mostly full all the time, so shit can auto fire at will when the time is right). Torso throw (I think) is pretty good with a fairly high stun (or paralize) rate - which is fairly op throughout the whole game, until you get those multi hit weapons (masquerade and kings claws or something), from which point on it's not even funny anymore. lol.
The lewd skills, now those are funny. Graffiti my ass. And each time you have to hit d to timeskip and ctrl-skip through the whole fucking thing. This game really is kind of ass. But also funny. Don't forget to sell that fucking engagement ring and always have Louis (Luis?) in your team too when you go whore that bitch out to whoever. For 100 bucks. No need to hide anything from Louis - he takes it like a champ. Every single time. bwahahaha.
Oh, and maybe make sure you wear the blazer, until you get the swimsuit later on for auto mp regen, which is super important. Then again, no idea if you already can have the blazer this early, and where to get it to begin with.
Oh, oh: and keep in mind that you can easily/quickly save-scum those fucking chests. Maybe you should.