I'm enjoying the heck out of this game. The portraits and the full images of the 'mon are very cute. The petting games are just right, I think. Basically what I have to do is pet different body parts and see what works and what doesn't. And with no meter, I have to study the facial expression and the speech reactions I get, which I actually think is more better than a meter. It feels more like a real intimate experience. I feel like I'm really getting to know these characters, thank to the above and thanks to the dialogue.
I actually don't much care for the combat in the dungeons. It seems too repetitive and I get kidna bored and I wish I could just skip it. But that's ok, I don't like the combat in any of the canon games either. I'm just not a guy that finds combat engaging in general.