I thought the gameplay of the first IMMENSELY improved upon playing the game on harder difficulties. My first playthrough was on medium, I think, and I found the game to be easy enough that I just spammed the same attack over and over again. On the 'insane' difficulty, I found I actually had to block and strategize attacks. It was also insanely frustrating in places (Kazdan Paratus took me 5 hours. Literally) but it was more rewarding.

You should bump up the difficulty and see if the gameplay doesn't improve for you.