Like the first one but better.
The game felt not easier, but more convenient with the addition of leader skills, and stronger consumable items, which you can buy. I still found myself closer to a game over more often in this game than in the first, though I can certainly blame a lot of that on trying really hard to play fast, that is what the game wants you to do, judging by the ranking system (as well as the new soul cannon mechanic).

I didn't expect to beat the game in four days, it just happened to me.
I actually still haven't 100%'d the first game... I should get to that.

The game has a lot of mechanics to keep track of but it reaches basically the exact balance I would want it to.
This game was recommended to me on a whim and I fell in love with it.
World's first RPG where I managed SP (MP) and actually enjoyed it.

Will be doing more playthroughs to 100% it.

I beat the damn thing on maddening. WARNING! Do not do this.
A while back, but mostly forgot to update my review here.

I'm going to do a chapter by chapter overview, but first; the story. It's fine. I enjoyed it. Not revolutionary but I think it was very interesting for a short story. The characters. They're good, I like them a lot, they're carrying the rating.

Anyways, Xenologue 1: Learning experience. You can even do this one without any real preparation, it's kinda like a tutorial. You can take it slow or try and rush the boss as soon as he's in range.

Xenologue 2: This map introduces some running themes, the pace is slow, the enemies are bulky and numerous, you'll wish you could inherit skills/carry over bond levels for the two dragons and the winds. Also it's a defeat boss map, like all the others, but that's not too important yet.

Xenologue 3: Bridge. There are 500 billion enemies and you have about 60~80 hit on all of them. This map is terrible, and will filter out anyone who isn't explicitly prepared. The start is terrible, but don't use your rewind here, just reset if something goes wrong early on. The middle section, after you deal with the reinforcements, is a breather where you charge up all your engages on the cannoneers. Then the top of the map is also terrible. Rush the bosses or die, I strongly recommend bringing a good soren user to plug the bottom during the end part of the map to give you some more time.

Xenologue 4: Honestly I don't even really have an explanation for this one. You deal with enemies from the right, then the big wyverns from the left and hopefully you last long enough so that the bosses come to you. Moving forward in this map is generally a mistake. Just be patient, and try not to die. The Camilla user is scarier as a unit but the Soren user can outrange you with bolting, it's best to just get hit by cataclysm since that is at least 3 range rather than 5.

Xenologue 5: This map is a slog. Don't take Nel out of the box, it'll ruin everything (or warp ragnarok anyone else into the box either). Move as a group, maybe keep someone behind to heal Alear, slow and steady is the name of the game here. And it sure is slow. Nel should have no problem surviving as long as you're constantly moving forward, but you can physic her too if you must.

Xenologue 6: The end of terrible. This time you'll need everything figured out. Move too fast, and the enemies from behind will run you over, move too slow and you instantly die. Not to mention, in maddening, you actually need to traverse the entire map. Bring a healthy amount of rescue users too, you will need it. On the first area, you may want to try and take out the Tiki user before he gives a revival stone to the boss, but don't waste your breath (haha) on trying to move up from there. The Hector user is really hard to take out, especially with piercing glare, which he will use to block your path. I somehow made him move down and get deleted alongside that section of the map, which did give the boss his proc skill but saved me the trouble of dealing with him. From there you go the middle section, which is just a rush forward, the Chrom user is irrelevant, just beat him up on the way. The miniboss without an emblem should arrive at around this time, try not to waste too much effort on them. You should still not go up from here, despite what may seem logical, the "middle section" extends really far up and it is an unreasonable ask to get everyone up there. So you're heading down towards the Camilla user, she will use dark inferno, avoiding it is worse than just powering through, just make sure the fire doesn't slow down you too much (dragon veins of your own, or chloe, with clear the way, are advised). I should mention around here that trying to minimize how many enemies are deleted when the boss moves is not worth it unless it is literally in your way. That said, the bottom right area also extends really far up, so this is another mad dash, this time there's a lot of enemies above and below, too, because things can't get better. If you've somehow made it to the top right then you're probably home free. Step over to the final area, and hold off the Veronica and Soren users. Also there's a miniboss with the Rivals bracelet in the top area, approach with care. The boss will take a stop at the top left before moving onto the final position, so if you're here too early, you might have to hang on for a long time.

All that said, it was fun, would not recommend.

The closest main-line Fire Emblem gets to the gameplay of FEH battles. The break system is much better than traditional weapon triangle because it results in you getting hit by low 20s on player phase less. The stats grow and it feels good to use units, on hard you can get away with nearly anything, but maddening takes a little more planning to not be really rough (even in my first playthrough where I had maybe two units that one-rounded enemies, it was still entirely possible). The inheritable skill system, now that you can actually get some SP is extremely good, it hits the same sweet spot as FEH's best where it lets you customize units without making everyone feel the same (with the added bonus of not being a gacha game). 30 Avoid terrain can be aggravating but really only when you're not thinking about it, and by late-game where it may be harder to play around it, you have options to deal with it (Divine Pulse, Engage attacks, -avoid dragon vein).
In terms of writing the story isn't a ground-breaking masterpiece but it works and, alongside the cast, is more than enough to carry the excellent gameplay.
My main complaint with this game is that the jump from maddening to hard is really steep. Once you know how the game works hard can feel a little unfulfilling, but it's still a decent sandbox experience nonetheless.
A game I have yet to stop loving even after half a dozen playthroughs, it was so good I stopped playing Fire Emblem Heroes.