Really looking forward to this, always wanted to get into this series. Sounds weird but the fighting game is what got me interested in the characters. Love the presentation style of everything too.
Should I play any of the others before this comes out? Was looking into 3 but it doesn't look like they tie together. Are the games difficult for an average RPG player?
The story isn't tied to the others. There are a couple recurring characters but they may as well be new ones as there's never mention of past games. You'll have no problem just playing this one.
The games are more difficult than your standard JRPGs, but you should be okay as long as you're patient with it.