[quote name='BrerDan']
I've never played a full fledged RPG (just Zelda type games), and happened to be looking at the first Star Ocean on Amazon that morning--so when I saw the Second for $4.99--had to pick it up. Now I need to get the First One. It looks like I could play Star Ocean Second without playing the First one though.....and reviews make it sound like it could be a decent beginner RPG (most FF games I look at make it sound like there is little to no tutorial)[/QUOTE]
I would play SO1 first. SO2 takes place a few years afterward and involves 2 characters from the first game.
I'm in the minority of star ocean gamers because I liked SO3 the best, SO 4 second best, followed by SO1, and SO2 (I still think this is a great game). Most star ocean fans regard SO2 as the best game in the series.