I'm looking forward to being able to read this thread properly, but I've just finished Act I and have beaten the first major boss in Act II.
I really do like this. I'm just starting to think about my Pictos and how they interact with the abilities of the characters. But the thing I'm really enjoying about the combat system is that you can work your way into fights with parries once you figure out the timing. I fought what seemed to be an option flaming nevron at the beginning of Act 2, and its first attack nearly wiped out my whole party. It was then nice enough to heal with all the burn it was inflicting on me. At that point the fight was unwinnable, but I was able to work my way into it and beat him on my first try once I got the timing down and worked around the burn. Same with the first major Act II boss. In both phases I worked my way in and got into a rhythm. It's a subtle change being able to parry and dodge, but it works so well with the traditional turn based mechanics.