I think there should be ways to gear Noctis towards being more MP heavy with the skill tree, so I'm not worried at all about stuff like that.
That is true, it's an RPG after all, no matter how flashy combat may look, so improving your stats and build will probably have a big impact on your playstyle.
Only thing I had a problem with combat wise was magic. My aim was terrible but I also didn't know being locked on automatically has you throw it in that direction
I hate the way magic works in this game, really hate, it's so boring.
Which is a shame, I love the environmental effects it has, but using it is just... meh.
The one aspect of Versus' combat from 2011 that I still think is better than what we have in the final game is magic, it seemed much more like, you know, magic, than this grenade bullshit.
Oh damn, you really explored the depth of the combat, as much or more than I did. The bolded was my experience as well, and I found the shield a deeply satisfying addition thanks to it. I really get what you're saying about aerial combat, and I think you're right. In the long run its greatest utility will be letting us fight enemies or weak points we couldn't otherwise reach, which isn't well demonstrated by the iron giant who is not tall enough and cannot fly. I just wish that it didn't have such a steep MP cost since tactically there's not much in the way of a reason to use it at this stage against any enemy you can fight with your feet on the ground. You lose a lot more options than you gain and I'd prefer a balance.
...You already mentioned that though so I'm just rambling. It's better to have this aerial combat system than no option at all. I don't like feeling as though my feet are glued to the ground in action games.
Oh yeah, I think I sounded like a shield hater now, but it's actually really cool, it's so satisfying to land a parry with it, I love it! What makes it boring to me is that it's a tad too strong, at least against that particular enemy. If they find a fun balance with enemies' strenghts and weaknesses, it might actually get quite complex and fun to juggle all of the options and remember to switch to that playstyle when fighting only that particular kind of enemy, and doing so against something not as weak to it would get your ass kicked. That could be a blast.
Any other game I'd say it's madness to try to analyze and understand the combat system when you can only fight one fucking enemy, but we've been waiting for so long that I can't help but overthink every tiny bit of gameplay I can get my hands on.
EDIT: And flying enemies??? HGGGGNNNNN, that shit would be amazing to fight against. Please, S-E!