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It's pretty similar to the ES series. There's some relevance of past games, but is still a whole new story.
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Nope there's backstory on them and a characters list telling you whose who. Plus if you really wanna there are dozens of recap vids on YouTube to get you up to speed. Never played 1 and only played 2 for an hour or so and yet I don't feel as though I've missed out on any of the story up to this point. Each game is almost like a book a continuation of a story but at the same time a separate entry.
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No there is plenty of lore in novels if you care for it