So my impressions through 004-A but first a little background.
I'm in my 30's now and don't find myself having a lot of time to play games these days. To that end, I don't even really consider myself a "hardcore" gamer anymore; I play a lot of games but don't finish a good portion, pay attention to GAF and gaming news, but I don't max out my play experience by doing the hardest settings, or go for super hard achievements or anything anymore.
Having said that, W101 frustrated me at the beginning. I really enjoyed the concept initially. I thought having a game reminiscent of Japanese Kamen Rider-esque shows and serials, in addition to a good mix up of Western super hero tropes was a great idea, and I loved how vivid and bright the game was. Unfortunately, playing through 001 and 002 was not a great experience. Despite the spectacle and larger than life set pieces, I thought that the environments started to drag on. I also didn't have a clear idea of how to do certain things and pull off moves. The game was extremely demanding... not that it was hard per se. There was enough health support and you could use items or continue pretty regularly to stumble your way to the end, but a lot of times that's exactly what I was doing. Rather, the demanding portion was that the game just dumped you in without really any idea of what you're doing or how to proceed to do it with any sort of fluidity.
But things changed. Somewhere between 002-003 something just clicked and I started to figure out things. I stumbled accidentally on how to do the Stinger and Rising (which the tutorials in the menu really don't give you any idea how to do; I was pushing B and A at the same time, not sequentially) and then was able string things together... and then my mind opened to the possibilities. The first time I did a Hand Stinger to sword rising to gun stinger with a Unite Tombstone and destroyed a Die Dough-Goo in one sequence was an amazing and fulfilling experience, and I knew I wanted more. It also helped that I thought that 003, especially with the boss battle was more diverse and I saw the game starting to open up at that point.
The game is not perfect and I understand the mixed reviews. They don't explain things well at all. Sometimes it gets too zoomed out and makes things really difficult to coordinate and attack. But all in all, it's a game that you grow into as much as it grows on you.
Excited to keep on playing.