CORNERS NEXT 
But yeah, seriously, 2 layers for tiles is pretty good for most things like this. Square also used 2 layers in FFTA to make the diagonal bits you can go behind and whatnot. Works very well.
Some stuff does not read well tho. What are the blue tiles in the top right? I have no idea.
And the units look a bit low in colour atm compared to the lush background tiles (very nice for what is done).
I think keeping black or very dark outlines is a good idea, but I would add a bit more colour to them and get rid of the white skin probably.
Perhaps instead of black outline try how a quite saturated dark blue and red would look.
Yeah the sprites are still untouched, but what you've suggested is exactly the direction I am thinking of taking them.
The blue things are meant to be rice paddies. To be clear: pools of water with rows of rice plants shooting up coloured to the owning player's team colour. I admit I kind of neglected them in the colourisation process. I've attempted to rectify the issues a bit in this latest update.
I have to say that I really like the idea of different tiles giving different advantages for different units. I love the way the menus look and the style of the graphics and the choice of colors in the environment in the later pictures, buckets of better than the snow thing imo. It feels as if the uniforms of the two sides should differ more from each other; though I'm not sure what you had in mind with the background story.
Will the maps be of that size? (I'm a sucker for big maps)
Different uniforms, would be cool for flavour. A bit of extra work though. I'll add it to the "maybe" pile.
Story-wise there are 7 main commander characters, each with their own motives and methods. A single-player campaign would likely involve the player playing as each commander in sequence as all of their actions lead towards a central plot, likely catalysed by western nation influence. Probably a couple of sub-plots throughout it for a bit more flexibility in the mission structures.
As for map size, the mockup demonstrates a very small map, designed for a quick game. It's arranged like a campaign mission though, since the sides have assymmetrical assets (blue has power units, red has sneaky units but a mobility advantage with the boats). So I guess this would be an example of a very early campaign mission. Later in the campaign the map size would get quite a bit larger.
If you've ever played Advance Wars you have an idea of how large the maps can get in that (around 3-4 screens across and down). I've always loved a GIGANTIC map thrown in strategy games for fun's sake.
Are you serious? This style looks amazing and unique. Not every game has to have insanely saturated color and stuff. This is more subtle.
I understand your reservations regarding the style change. A part of me felt the same way. I liked the parallel the greyscale drew to the traditional Japanese illustrations I linked to in an earlier post. But I still feel like moving it towards this colourful style has given much more flexibility with the graphics. Plus its fun to work with!
It's a shame to see those wonderfully gray hues go, but your new edits do look wonderful. (Especially those cherry blossom forests. 
)
The only issue I see is that the grass's hue seems a little too overpowering, perhaps a slight darkening could be helpful.
I am loving the way this project is coming along, and CANNOT WAIT to actually play it! 
Yeah trying to communicate the cherry blossoms in the greyscale palette was very difficult. Now I think they're my favourite tile in the set.
I have recently changed monitors and I think it displays colours much less saturated than normal, so it's possible I'm compensating for that in the palette and its getting NEON on other screens. I did make a saturation adjustment in the last update, but maybe I need to take it a bit further.
Until then, a new update:
Been fleshing out the tileset a lot more. Tweaked the rice paddies a little to (hopefully) improve readability. Added CORNERS to the shores. Polished the other bamboo tile.
Rivers are traversable by infantry and cavalry, though they offer the worst defense rating and require a lot of movement points to cross.
Not much of an obvious update, but it was actually a surprising amount of work. Most of my time has been spent programming. Still taking a while to come to grips with the language, but I have made steps towards a basic level editor program.
Actually here's a bit more of an update:
Added Embassy building. The green player controls 3 of them near his Castle. These produce western-style units such as Arquebus Infantry, Howitzers and Gatling Guns. The green commander specialises in Embassy units, but is much weaker at commanding Dojo units. The red commander specialises in the use of cavalry. This level give each commander terrain that favours them near their castle, but becomes much more difficult as they approach enemy territory. There are two high-value areas in the neutral corners of the map. One has a shrine, which gives excellent counter-attacking and infiltrating units that are key to securing ground in the unfavourable enemy territory. The other area contains villages and rice paddies, both vital economic boosts.
The Shrine is easier to reach for the green player, but the red player has a Dock to give them an attack-path that leads straight to the heart of green's base. Ships are very vulnerable to Howitzers, however, so if red is going to try for a blitzkrieg landing, he has to time it around green moving away from his base. Boats are also quite expensive, so securing the extra villages is helpful if red wants to abuse his sea advantage.
*Ahem*, getting a little carried away explaining that. I also lowered the saturation of the grass a little. Is it not enough? Too much?
Thank you to everyone for the feedback and encouragement!
