I am getting angry here, this game is really hard! First, the chessboard checker game where you get the seashell was really frustrating, it probably took me and hour to fianlly get that shell. I had to play the chessboard part twice, because I had the third chapter crash technical prolems, it wouldn't open up when I tried to restore it, so I had to play chapter 3 all over again. Now I am at the tower aracade sequence, riding the white horse like a hero with those two smoking black dragon things behind me biting at me. I keep getting killed, and i'm having trouble getting my mouse to obey dodge commands. I am worried because I failed to get Alexander's strength and Rosella's voice. I think I need to enchant the shears like the book says with earth and fire to cut Alexander's hair. Every time i try to get Rosella's voice with the shell and nightshade flower, she dies.
Yeah you can't do that stuff until later so you're totally fine where you are. It may help for you to lower your graphics settings as much as possible while in this sequence as we really push the game to what the actual system requirements are during this scene.
You don't need the hair and voice to get through the arcade sequence.
As far as Rosella's voice goes, make sure you read ALL the available books in the shop carefully. :)
Don't worry- there's no one way streets with TSL. If you're in the arcade sequence, then you've triggered all the events up till now that you had to :) I think there's a save game floating around the place if you can't get past that scene. IT is reasonably high end. My computer was fine with it, but mine is a pretty new computer (2 years old now I think?)