GAMER LOUNGE 20XX (NO CASUALS!!)

[Koh]

Sounds a lot like Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru, where combat is basically just "are you stronger than this enemy? Y/N".

It's pretty much exactly like this game, except you don't have a battle scene.  It's just you beat the enemy and take damage or not, or you simply can't pass through them, take damage, and need to level up.  It's more puzzle and secret oriented.  I did personally wish the combat was more interesting myself, but the puzzles do lend themselves well.  They require you to really inspect the environment, and there's no handholding.