i will never be able to speak on what playing the game like without knowing that immunize is game-breaking, maybe i would've enjoyed the game less.
but as someone who played the game knowing that immunize is game-breaking: it's a very enjoyable game. party compositions are fun to make, and there's a lot of skill/build variety to have. my biggest gripe with this system is that there's a huge lack of transparency in what skills will actually do (i.e. protector's en garde, how much medic's patch up heals, general percents for skill activations across the board, etc.) that gets rectified later in the series. there's a lot of joy in making your own map of a dungeon and finding hidden nooks and shortcuts within it. this is very much a game about the experience rather than a concrete narrative, but the narrative still has moments that stand out.
the only other complaint i can levy off the top of my head is that endgame drops from bonus bosses are miserable to farm. not necessarily because the bosses are hard (well, they are, but by endgame you're going to be fine if you know what you're doing), but because either reaching the boss just to fight them takes several minutes and/or the drops in question have extremely low odds of being obtained. again, this is something that later games in the series address and correct (god etrian odyssey III is so fucking good), but it stands out if you're a completionist like me. it's such a problem that, having played this game twice and gone for 100% both times, i've hit a huge wall on receiving a rare drop from a bonus boss, both times a different drop. it sounds very nitpicky on paper to bring this up, but it's worth mentioning.
beyond that, this is a game that i would recommend to anyone who enjoys challenge (immunize knowledge or not) and/or wants a hands-off JRPG. as a series veteran, i will maintain that this game (or whichever is your first EO game, probably) is brutally difficult for the first like.... 6-10 hours and then immediately becomes more doable, so if you do play it, please be aware that it has a learning curve to reach. but otherwise, high marks and a recommendation from me.
but as someone who played the game knowing that immunize is game-breaking: it's a very enjoyable game. party compositions are fun to make, and there's a lot of skill/build variety to have. my biggest gripe with this system is that there's a huge lack of transparency in what skills will actually do (i.e. protector's en garde, how much medic's patch up heals, general percents for skill activations across the board, etc.) that gets rectified later in the series. there's a lot of joy in making your own map of a dungeon and finding hidden nooks and shortcuts within it. this is very much a game about the experience rather than a concrete narrative, but the narrative still has moments that stand out.
the only other complaint i can levy off the top of my head is that endgame drops from bonus bosses are miserable to farm. not necessarily because the bosses are hard (well, they are, but by endgame you're going to be fine if you know what you're doing), but because either reaching the boss just to fight them takes several minutes and/or the drops in question have extremely low odds of being obtained. again, this is something that later games in the series address and correct (god etrian odyssey III is so fucking good), but it stands out if you're a completionist like me. it's such a problem that, having played this game twice and gone for 100% both times, i've hit a huge wall on receiving a rare drop from a bonus boss, both times a different drop. it sounds very nitpicky on paper to bring this up, but it's worth mentioning.
beyond that, this is a game that i would recommend to anyone who enjoys challenge (immunize knowledge or not) and/or wants a hands-off JRPG. as a series veteran, i will maintain that this game (or whichever is your first EO game, probably) is brutally difficult for the first like.... 6-10 hours and then immediately becomes more doable, so if you do play it, please be aware that it has a learning curve to reach. but otherwise, high marks and a recommendation from me.