If all you want is challenging combat, play an adventure/action game. No level gaining, no grinding, you'll be in bliss.
Most of the RPG conventions stuck in the game serve no purpose other than enabling the words "RPG" to be stuck on the cover. The weapon shops, for example, serve no purpose. The towns serve little purpose. The combat is just a thinly veiled excuse to look at porn. The levelling system is a joke. I didn't like the game, but that's just personal preference. But when I say it's an incredibly weak RPG, that's a fact.