I'm thinking of getting march of the black queen but I'm worried that I may not like it. The only strategy games I've played are shining force 1 and 2. I tend to get confused and frustrated with overly complicated games. I also heard something about the battles being automatic where the player doesn't really control the battles. Should I steer clear or go for it?

I'd go for it.

I found it complicated at first, but if you're patient this is rewarding enough, quite lengthy, much content and technically good and worthy those 900 pts.

Keep in mind, it's a realtime strategy RPG though, so beware you have many buttons to get used to and need a bit of practice navigating all those menus. The gameplay mechanics are difficult to understand if you don't read the instructions or better yet, ask for help on the internet.

I say it's not the most complicated strategy game, it's far from being Koei-like, but it's complicated enough to make it deep and interesting throughout. Multiple endings, different stories, hidden characters and lots of secrets are nice additions to make it even worth multiple playthroughs.

PS: You have control in battle (set strategy, use tarot cards, flee)

Yeah, after Fire Emblem, I was a little disappointed in the story aspect of this one, but it really grew on me. I still need to finish it, but it's got a fun board-game aspect to it and I'd certainly recommend it.

It's not really all that complicated, actually. It's just that you have to pay attention to multiple things at once, and have to use a bit of foresight when planning your routes(something you have to do in every strategy game, anyways). I liked it quite a bit, and I'm terrible at strategy games.