I'm trying to play through the game while trying to get at least one of each item (obviously some items are either/or types). I'm following an FAQ that suggests that I lose the first three Fort Condor battles to get the Vagrisk Claws the boss carry. I did that but I discovered that I didn't need to deploy any soldiers at all! I could just let the enemy troops march up the hill and storm the fort, then take on the boss each time.

So in a sense, it's better to lose than win the mini-game because you can still win against the boss and you don't have to spend money on troops. Can you fight all the Fort Condor battles this way? Even the last one for the huge materia?