Fun and challenging, but not great.
I've played about 20 hours, and am up to the ambush on the Valmese, but I honestly wouldn't call this game great.
The story is okay. It starts with your custom made character, and Chrom fighting a boss. You then, for some reason, attack Chrom. Chrom tells you it isn't your fault, and to leave. You are watching this cut scene through your character's eyes, and in stunning, anime style graphics. It's truly amazing.
The next thing you know, you wake up in a paddock, and you meet Lissa, Frederick, and Chrom. None of you remember each other, and you don't even know your name. However, you somehow know Chrom's name. "It came to you".
Through out the game, you make allies, go into battle, and build an army. The story is decent, but it sounds like Fable 3 to me.
The cut scene movie style graphics is probably what's great about this. The other cut scenes with text boxes are eyesores compared to the others. I cannot focus on the characters and the text at the same time. It was annoying.
Gameplay was simply fantastic. Tactical, and a lot of strategy is needed. To make it harder, if either your character, or Chrom die, it's game over. You can buy, sell, trade items, train with other teammates, talk in the barracks, and even get married and have kids.
This game has two modes. One, for newcomers, one, for experienced players.
Another good thing is, if you have lots of gold, you can summon spirits of legendary warriors to the world. You can battle them, buy from them, or even recruit them to your army.
I've recruited King Marth (Level 30) and Hector (Level 28) to my army, and they can't be killed. I only use them in really hard battles, because it feels like you're cheating otherwise.
It's a good game. Not, great, but good. Worthy of an eight.
Movie Cutscene Graphics: 10/10.
Normal Cutscene Graphics: 6.5/10.
Gameplay: 9/10.
Online: 5/10 (Only Streetpass).
Controls: 8/10.
Overall: 8/10.