The start to an excellent series, While it may have not aged the best I still personally believe that everyone interested in the series should at least play through it at least once. Even if you have to get used to slow gameplay and story (or lack there of)
Playing as intended where you don't reset on unit death is optimal for really enjoying this game personally, primarily due to the slowness of gameplay.
However despite this, it's very charming and has very great moments that make this game one that can still be enjoyed to this day.