i'm not sure.. it sounds a little like nepheshel, but that was only translated recently, and it's not quite as dense as what you describe.. if you figure it out please let me know lol
there's a big difficulty spike at the vampire, could that be what you mean? from there on it becomes a little less about running around dodging encounters and plundering as many treasures as you can, and more about figuring out how to use your huge gear collection to nullify boss threats and deal tolerable damage to them.. i liked the balance of that part of the game, but it definitely starts putting different and rather significant demands on players