I'm only a few hours in (I just arrived in Asgard and had my first run-in with Alice), but so far I'm really enjoying the game...at least once Emil stopped being as much of a total pansy. I have to say, though, that Marta has to be the easiest girl in the history of the franchise, even taking the crown from Phantasia's Arche (and that's saying something). I really miss Symphonia's cel-shading, because the game is noticeably uglier without it and looks more like an early-Playstation 2 game than a Wii game. However, the character animation is leagues beyond even what was present in Tales of the Abyss (and certainly blows away the animation in Symphonia), and my god there's a lot of voice. The vocal casting is excellent, the script is snappy and genuinely funny, and we finally have what looks like all the in-game skits voice-acting (which makes a world of difference).
The Wii Pointer stuff, though, is nearly useless. I only use the Phantom Hourglass-style movement when I'm running around a monster-less area and don't feel like using the Nunchuck at the moment. It's too unreliable to use anywhere else.