I believe I'm most of the way through the game, and so far, the only time I haven't been having fun is when a late mission asks me to use a trick I've been ignoring all game long. I'm not sure if the ideal solution would have been to have us use the trick more in the early game, or not to require it at all, but either way, I'm now struggling to do my least-practiced thing up my least favorite obstacle.
I'm confident it'll be right back to fun when I clear it.
edit: I was right. Cleared it, straight back to fun.