Yeah, I can see that turning someone off. I just don't know if noob in this case means, "new to this series but well-versed in the genre" or "new to this style of game all together, and need something easily accessible"
I vivdly recall dying to the Matador 27 times before finally taking him down, and even when I did win, 3 out of 4 characters were KO'd, and the other (My main guy) had 4hp left.
... and I literally danced in the middle of the room.
From there, you can at least plan out elemental defenses and the types of demons you use, so the difficulty is more open to how you approach the game. Thor is a very difficult fight without the right set-up, but is a cakewalk if you are immune to lightning. But the Matador fight is so early in the game that all you can do is keep fighting and hoping that he doesn't decide to kill you.
So, Matador (and Trumpeteer) aside, I actually think the game is pretty managable if you use magatma/demons wisely.
