Some games have decent recaps or disconnected stories which mean you can start from the latest release and still have the full experience.

In Fallout for example, with the 3D games, you can start wherever and because it's a new protagonist and location every time you aren't missing a ton. The disconnect is slightly more noticeable going from Fallout to Fallout 2 (the isometric titles) however because of how the games build on top of each other.

What I am wondering about are series where you really do need to start from the beginning (or some early point) to get the full experience.

Can you think of any examples that are truly difficult?

Maybe they started on DOS, MSX, or the NES and their latest releases are on the PS5 and Xbox Series X and on top of that the genre shifted.

This is obviously going to vary from person to person. Like with The Elder Scrolls series for example. People might argue for different starting points.

For context I am playing The Witcher 2 and I feel like I'm missing a notable part of the story. That might be because it's a fantasy game though and it isn't based in our world.

It made me think of Metal Gear and Final Fantasy. Two popular series where I don't know how interconnected the games are.