How can the uninspired still be profound? I have absolutely no idea. Or maybe I’m just not thinking about it. Well,  if we’re talking about female rockers, are there any new ones out there now who are worth talking about? I’ve gotta be honest, I don’t pay a lot of attention to “new” or “pop” music though of course I still get plenty of exposure thanks to the recent trend of overusing vocal music in tv and movies. (which I frown on) And so within my limited sphere of notice I’m not thinking of any real rockers out there (of either sex) who are under, let’s say 30. There are some people who really rock doing other kinds of music like say Amy Winehouse but actual rock singers… Well if you think of any then feel free to share.

For something totally unrelated, I recently decided to play a bit of Chrono Trigger, the classic SNES game which is now 12 years old it seems. It has been perhaps a few years since I last played the game at all but I’ve played it so many times that… Anyway, the game has aged better than I expected. I attribute this to a pathological attention to detail which I hadn’t appreciated as such until today. With that said I guess it’s still worthy of being my favorite RPG since I really can’t think of a better total package. Then again, I’m not trying too hard. I do really like Shadow Hearts 2 though. I wouldn’t be uncomfortable calling that the best rpg on PS2. The original playstation though… I’m drawing a blank. I probably played more rpgs on that system than any other, however none of them have called me back or remained in my mind that I feel like calling “best on the system”… FF7 and 9 weren’t bad though. Not that it matters. So kids, if you get the chance give Chrono Trigger a try. Best RPG on the GBA is Mother 3 by default, it’s also the only game I’ve just mentioned which I never beat.

So to continue with old games, it is really really annoying to try and play Epica Stella only using the slash attack. I fubbed on it honestly and somehow I’ve just ended out with weird and barely functional equipment and stat combinations. I now theorize that it might be important to place an emphasis on getting the attack blocking skills as early as feasible. However if you’ve got high enough hp (oddly current and max hp seem to play a large part in the AI’s counter decisions while power is almost a non-factor unless it will be a death blow) and hit rate (just needs to be around 60% or so) the enemy still won’t counter-attack you no matter what you use. As expected the main difficulties of trying to lead a slash only campaign are dealing solid damage, getting the maximum amount of money possible and the actions of the NPCs which are “helping you out” in more than half the game’s missions. This really is why people hated this game, unless you know exactly which stats need to be raised to approximately what levels (16 BAS and 10 AGL = attack twice for Randy, Russel, Andrew, Zeira, Sharon, Grado) in order to get the better attacks and abilities then you are really left with mediocre prospects and frustrating battles. More feasible restriction campaigns would be the highly usable and almost immediately attainable flare bomb (which not all units would be able to use since the special units have fixed elemental stones which are not fire but for one) for single attacks, and the general non-stone reliant attacks as a whole.

Yes children, making things harder for yourself in a video game is pretty much an exercise in futility. Then again, video games are on the whole a waste of time in the first place so do whatever you enjoy. But if you don’t enjoy it, then it’s not worth it eh?