My 1st impressions after beating Pokemon Conquest. A concept so crazy that it worked.
Literally the whole main game is a tutorial to teach you the basics of what you are going to do post game. This kinda makes post game a big downer in the way people expected cake. I just grew so attached to my units, and having to start over from scratch really doesn't feel worth it, but overtime with two post game episodes under my belt I have to say it could be worse. Sure, I may have lost all linking percentages, and everything may feel like a lie, but it is for the greater good. If I had all my broken units there would be no challenge in the game, and post game certainly offers so much more then what the main game lets on. See, in the main game the AI is terribad, nearly never responding to empty castles or putting up a great fight. Post game however, changes everything, enemies are more aggressive and strategy is a lot more involved. As well, I barely scratched the surface of post game missions, with nearly 4 pages full of side missions and already 25 hours under my belt you beat this would take a large amount of time to complete all the episodes conquest has to offer.
As for the main game itself, it's a little disappointing that it ends up being one big tutorial, but it does give you the opportunity to do what you want and leave you room for grinding. That can help in post game if you plan things correctly, but only if you actually plan it. Really wish a lot more strategy games did make you play through a main story like Conquest did though, as its an easier way to not baby a player, and actually adds to the game more than it hinders it. In a way, it's like Lyn's story in FE7, pretty much acting as its own game, but sets up for the bigger adventure, without just throwing you in the deep end. The story itself is also a little bit interesting as it provides for a nice little history on Nobunga, but blends ruthless dictatorship with cutesy pokemon sprites so it ends up being a lot more light-hearted than what history would like you to believe. But that's probably why Conquest is so interesting, blending two things that shouldn't match make for an interesting recipe, it could end up horrible like Street Fighter in 3D or wonderful like Kingdom Hearts.Conquest's gameplay is also quite addictive, just finding each units best link or as I like to call it, OTP (one true pairing), and managing units to go to certain castles really burns a lot of your time, and you find yourself picking it up for 10 minutes only to find a hour has gone by. And really that's something that doesn't happen to me often, but Conquest is just one of those games that gets you wrapped up in itself.
Conclusion: Pokemon Conquest works so well that it wraps you into things that may seem tedious at first, but makes them come out as fun in the end.With tons of episodes for post game, getting the best out of resources, fighting and defending from enemies, and making sure you make your army the best they can be, conquest gives you so much to handle that you will never be truly bored of it. Conquest is also the best spin-off Pokemon has had since Pokemon Snap, and while it's a bit of a shame it took so long, it is well worth looking into for any Pokemon fan or tactic RPGer.