Everyone has that handful of games, books, or shows that they love with all of their heart even though they have some problems, and this is one of mine. This game is what it looks like on the tin to some degree, but I also feel like it's more than that. Outside of the harem nonsense, the characters in this game are fairly fleshed out, fun, and interesting. I get the sense that they all genuinely care about each other for legitimate reasons, rather than just because they're plot-mandated best friends or romantic interests. There are a lot of conversations that can play out between the characters to progress your relationship with them. They're much more in the vein of persona social links than fire emblem supports, and I personally (heh) really love that. The strategy portion of this game is pretty fun too. There are some abilities that break the game in half, but I don't think this compromises the game very much. There's a pretty sizable difficulty spike about halfway into the game that helps to compensate for the strong abilities and the last few bosses are really tough. Each character has their own unique gimmicks that are fun to learn how to use, and you have a light degree of customization that you can do with them through their equipment.

If harem anime BS really bothers you, then this probably isn't for you. But if you can tolerate and look past it, I think this is a gem worth trying out. This game is a pretty good example of "don't judge a book by it's cover".