I was seriously about to trade this in for NSMBU until I read this. I'm about halfway through Operation 003 and I'm just not liking the game at all. The controls and and some of the design decisions that were made are so goddamn frustrating. Especially the controls. Having to draw shapes just to change your damn weapon is aggravating as fuck. Admittedly though I don't outright hate the game like I did the first two hours in. Maybe if I get further I'll even start to like the game!
I played the demo quite a few times before playing the full game, so I had overcome the admittedly steep learning curve.
First of all, don't use the touchscreen. Use the right stick. Shapes don't have to be precise. When you realize this, it becomes like a fighting game, but much simpler. Take it from someone who has a hard time pulling off hadokens!
FIST -- Quick circle on the right stick.
SWORD -- Quick tap in any direction.
GUN -- Quick tap up, then right.
WHIP -- Wiggle the stick up.
HAMMER -- Quick tap up, then a circle.
CLAWS -- Tap right. Then left. Then right.
BOMB -- Quick circle, then tap up.
Then activate each morph by tapping A. The longer you hold any of the directions, the bigger the "shape," and the stronger the morph. You need more heroes and more gauge to make bigger morphs, of course.
Remember, you don't need to be precise. Also remember, the game goes into slow-mo when you make shapes, and it does NOT have to be one continuous movement. For example, when making the claws, you can tap in one direction, then stop, then the opposite direction, then stop, and then the final direction, before hitting A.
Once you realize this, and start using the stick, making morphs is easy. At that point, it becomes about HOW you use them.
Use the fist and hammer to soften up armored foes. The fist can block fire attacks and throw fireballs back at the enemy; the hammer can shield you from missiles falling from above. Use the sword to swat aside small enemies, cleave through gelatinous foes, and deflect laser beams. Use the gun to shoot flying foes or gather up enemy bombs and fire them back. Use the whip to rip away spiky armor, and the claws to pry open enemy defenses. Use the bombs to slow down speedy targets.
Use the X button repeatedly to swarm enemies with your men. Keep tapping X, swarming them over and over, until they grow stunned, and then staggered. When they're disabled with stars whirling about their head, they're easy to launch into the air with a Wonder Rising -- jumping with B, and then hitting with A -- and once in the air, you can launch them higher with a second Wonder Rising, or quickly crank out different Unite Morphs, activating them with the X button instead of A so that the computer AI dishes them out while you continue to attack with your main morph. You can have fists, swords, guns, etc, all working at the same time in this fashion.
With Unite Guts, you can bounce back tank missiles, and even the tanks themselves when they charge or jump on you. If you see an enemy wind up a punting kick or raise a clenched fist, you can throw them off-balance blocking in this fashion. You can dodge many attacks you can't block using Unite Spring. With the Dodge Mine equipped on the Custom Block (see your sub-menus), you'll even leave a mine when you dodge that makes enemies flash purple. When they flash purple, you can circle them like you'd circle civilians, and recruit them to your cause. And if you're surrounded by explosions, dash with Y and your group will tighten up into a compact formation that makes it easier to navigate a perilous environment.
Also know you can control the camera: L and R toggle between various levels of zoom, and when exploring the interior of a building on the GamePad, use L to center the camera behind your character.
These are just starter tips. I recommend replaying the first level until you get the hang of things. At some point, everything will CLICK. After that, it's smooth sailing!