How much series info is needed for kai?

I'm pretty new to the series and I'm on the final stretch of daybreak, and I'm absolutely loving it, top 3 game for me. I have daybreak 2 pre-ordered and I know kai is the most recent games in the series. With it coming out globally likely before 2026, I don't think I'll have enough time to jam in sky, crossbell, cold steel, and reverie between when I finish daybreak 2 and kai's release. I want to play kai as soon as I can because of spoilers and the daybreak cast, so I'm trying to figure out the most important games needed. I'm pretty sure reverie is a must play before kai, so is it best to play the entire cold steel series before it, or can I skip to 3 and watch a 6 hour video series explaining 1 and 2?

I want to mostly refrain from sky because of the upcoming remake, so if the story events don't include information exclusive to sky, I'd rather wait. And based off just tid bits of info in daybreak from antagonists, news papers, and references, I don't think crossbell is the most important series to play, but I could be wrong.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.