Let's try this out.

I've always had this nagging urge to maintain some sort of blog and although I've kept a LiveJournal for many years now, I very seldom update it. I feel like LiveJournal is primarily an outlet to discuss one's personal life, or at least that is the precedent I have set and I don't feel comfortable changing it. I don't consider myself an interesting person by a long shot; what could I possibly have to say (about myself) that would intrigue anyone? I maintain that there is nothing. That is not to say that I won't ever update my LiveJournal again, but I'm hoping that this blog will be an impetus for me to start writing more frequently. But what will I write about, you ask? Video games, of course.

Today (and I use the word in the loosest sense, since I began at 7 PM and it is now 10 AM the following morning) was essentially a marathon gaming session. First I tackled 2008's Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, beginning from the save point right outside the final dungeon. This turned into an hours-long endeavor when I realized the final boss was a huge pain and would require lots of grinding. Still, I did eventually emerge victorious, much to my relief. I purchased the game not long after its original release and although I progressed quickly through the majority of the game, my frustration prevented me from continuing past a certain dungeon for oh, two years or so. I had been wanting to finish it for a very long time, but every time I revisited it, I found myself lacking the determination to continue. Persona 4 is not the most difficult game I have ever played, but it punishes those who do not wish to grind, much like its direct predecessor Persona 3. After completing it, I can safely say it ranks as one of my top RPGs, but it is of course not without its flaws, and I prefer Persona 3 in some ways. After all, there had to have been some reason I shelved the game for so long.

After the long grind of Persona 4's final boss battle, I was jubilant with victory. I was on a roll, I thought! So, I decided to resume my playthrough of Radiant Historia, a recent RPG release on the Nintendo DS. This game was originally hyped (by a Gamestop employee) as being similar to the legendary Chrono Trigger, but despite the game's involvement with time travel, I must disagree. Still, it's a very good game, probably the best Nintendo DS RPG I have played, but again, not without its flaws. It's nearly 11 AM now and I just finished the final boss fight (which was a breeze) after laboriously completing sidequest after sidequest (not such a breeze) in order to achieve the coveted "Complete" status that is so often out of my reach.

I am very tired. I will try to go into more details about these games tomorrow, and talk about what I'm tackling next.