If playing it for the historical significance of the series isn't enough to get you interested, I'd suggest just playing newer games. Obviously, as a 20+ year old game, it's not going to introduce much that you don't already have in surplus in newer games. If you aren't interested in seeing...
A significant part of it is that it set the foundation for everything you noticed in the more recent games. Lots of items and mechanics were introduced that are still used in modern games, as well as those that came since.
I will acknowledge the sword swinging thing, you can be right next to...