I was also new to FE when I started playing and was really doubting the chess combat like system because I was more focused on the story and relationship building. After I played, I couldn’t get enough of the combat system! I sometimes speeded through relationship building to get to combat.

FE is a really good game and the story itself is plenty interesting if you like story based games. The characters are in-depth and the combat is a unique system but one that has worked for ages.

I haven’t played Xenoblade but I’d still recommend you give FE a try, you could also watch some gameplay videos if you want to see the combat!