Did you play the Gamecube original or the HD remake?
I'm constantly fighting with myself as to whether to give this game a full on go or not.
I downloaded the demo from PSN and the controls really seemed to put me off. The felt quite slow and floaty maybe, I can't quite remember now. But something was definitely weird about how Jade controlled compared to similar games like Starfox Adventures and Zelda.
The demo ended when you take the hovercraft out on the lake, but walking around the lighthouse had been a bit of a chore... I did quite enjoy the combat section.
I dunno it just didn't grab me straightaway like I hoped it would, maybe you need to get further into it?