Good advice. I got bored with CoD 4 again and on your assurance decided to tough Star Ocean out. Took me 6 or 7 spins (at least) to get into it and now I'm enjoying it quite a bit. About 7 hours in and I'm starting to get a feel for the game... finally. But honestly, there's still a lot to learn. I've never played many JRPG's outside the Zelda series, if that even counts, but man, the complexity of this game and its leveling system is kicking my ass. It's fun, but I might as well be studying for the Bar exam or something. A whole of a lot to absorb.
And yeah, the cut scenes absolutely suck ass, but I'm not skipping em... yet. It's kind of like sitting through a ty movie out of spite for the fact you paid for it. Maybe I'll get fed up enough to walk out on them, but not yet.