Perspective is important, but not as important as the story. From what you've described it sounds to me that working in 1st person will force you to alter the way you naturally want to tell the story. Chances are those changes will read like gimmicks. I would not do that. Go with what feels natural. If the story is good, the rest will flow. jon

 
~jon
My Blog - Mad Utopia Writing in a new era.