Vortex Sound Research

Hi there, as above, I'm a total beginner in the synth scene, and I'd like to understand what basic setup I might actually need to start out.For instance, for things like retro synth and similar, do I need both a Hardware Synth AND sequencer?

Or a good DAW plus some extras (for example Cubase, Retrologue, and so on) + a hardware synthesizer (and a Drum machine) would be sufficient to start out?

Or SW synth and HW sequencer, alternatively?

Thanks for any recommendations