New to the series. Is this a good game to start with?

[Sturm]

I'm just worried that I won't have any idea what's going on with the plot. Is this friendly for new players?

[AH-1 Cobra]

It's as good of a place to start as any. Any of these SO games can be played just fine as a stand alone.

[Sturm]

Also, how does it handle on the Steam Deck?

[AH-1 Cobra]

Originally posted by Sturm:

Also, how does it handle on the Steam Deck?

No clue how it runs on the deck, but I haven't heard any complaints about deck performance on this game.

[Terra]

Everybody back in 1998 played it first, since Star Ocean 1 wasn't released in English until 2007.

The only thing you'd miss is that the father of one of the protagonists, Claude, was a party member in the first game.

[Almighty Boof]

This was a lot of our first game to start with. This one has always been the best Star Ocean in the minds of many SO fans. If you would rather not start with the "best" one, you may want to play a different one first. The order doesn't really matter. The series more follows themes, similar to how Final Fantasy has Cid and Chocobos; although, all SO series is confirmed to be in the same universe.

[CAPZ087]

Originally posted by Sturm:

Also, how does it handle on the Steam Deck?

I played this game from start to finish on the Steam Deck and I can say it runs beautifully. Absolutely no issues.

[This PC]

The best.

[Vyadhi]

This game is considered by many to be the high point of the series, so yes.

[The Faceless Man]

Originally posted by Sturm:

I'm just worried that I won't have any idea what's going on with the plot.

The first game can be skipped.

[valium]

It plays perfectly on the Steam Deck, as long as it is not played on an SD card.