I played Awakening on Hard Mode without a lot of grinding so I didn't have too much of a problem with the balance. However, I did try Lunatic afterwards and I kept on getting my ass kicked. I don't really have a problem with the grinding even though it does make the game easier but I opted not to grind all that much.
I also really liked the DLC chapters. Seeing characters from previous games and having them fight alongside you is awesome, I didn't feel it was overpriced either. I also enjoyed the story, characters and support system a lot.
I completely disagree on Shadow Dragon > Awakening. Shadow Dragon felt very dull when I played it now granted, it's a remake of a Famicom game but I still enjoyed Awakening a whole lot more. I do agree that some units can be ridiculously over powered. Coming from a big FE fan for about 5 years now, I didn't have a lot of problems with Awakening it's one of my favorite FE games although, my favorite is still Fire Emblem: Sword of Seals.







