You know, I really was about to pull that trigger, until the internet bill suddenly dropped and now have to wait a week. I guess I’ll start on 1.5 to 2.5. But my question is, do I REALLY need 2.8 or can I got from 2.5 straight to 3 + DLC without a HUGE hole in the story? I don’t care about spoilers (if anything, I sometimes start stories backwards), but I do hate plot holes no matter the story.
@@mr.jellyfish5544 I’d say you can skip re:coded and backcover (for now lol). Unfortunately these are both movies in the hd collection so I wouldn’t recommend skipping any of the games really. 2.8 is Dream Drop Distance, 0.2, and Backcover. DDD is VITAL. It is the set up for kh3 and introduces the wonky time travel mechanic of this universe which is hard to understand with all the context, you don’t want to go into 3 with less. 0.2 is the prologue to kh3 and is basically a glorified tech demo for 3 and is only a few hours long. You may actually be able to skip this one because I think you can get everything about it with context clues Backcover has plot that’s part of a now defunct mobile game and some slight elements of the khux part of things come into play in 3 but it’s not major and you can catch up with all things khux later BONUS: I feel very strongly that kingdom hearts 2 should be played before watching 358/2 days BONUS BONUS: if you aren’t vibing with the card gameplay system in Chain of Memories, just watch a cutscene comp or read a summary. CoM is important because it introduces some characters but it’s largely self contained and not worth suffering for.
Neat idea for a video! But heads-up for new players - this video absolutely contains spoilers. Nothing stated outright, but shows several climactic and significant moments. if in doubt, playing in release order will get you on the same page as the rest of the community. 💙
@@GR8NE55 Yeah, it's unfortunately pretty common. But if this editing style relies on people simply forgetting, then it doesn't seem worth the risk. As a vague example, there's a particular shot edited in here from KH3 that's a pay-off to something setup in the first few hours of KH1. If this video inspired someone to start playing, it would be very easy for their mind to automatically connect the dots and spoil it. Not everything is a spoiler, but I think it's better to assume everything is a spoiler, just to give everyone their best chance at enjoying something.
@@MattAndre24 you're mistaking Re:Coded for Re:Chain of Memory buddy, Re:Coded is about why Mickey made the letter calling Riku and Sora at the end of KH2
I dont understand why people like to say kingdom hearts is hard to get into. Sure it's funny to think about how complicated the story can get, but as long as you play them "in order", you dont really have anything to worry about; and "in order" is pretty flexible. Release order, chronological order, or the recommended "dark seeker saga" order are all fine, and even then there are games where the order doesnt matter, as long as you get to it before dream drop distance and play 3 last. It isn't hard to get into, you just need the proper context, much like how it's kind of uncomfortable jumping into the latest season of a TV show without seeing any of the earlier episodes, or exclusively watching end game/infinity war; it's meant to tell a larger story over multiple entries, so as long as you start at the right point it's all okay I do appriciate square putting this out there to make the "proper order" discoverable outside of a reddit thread or wiki page
I think they might just be overwhelmed with the number of games (as well as the length) to get through and, thus, consider it hard to get into. I felt like that for a while before deciding to just say "eff it. Let's just do it." I'm on KH2 right now, and I'm having an amazing time. Nomura hasn't missed so far. I'm just ploughing through all the games.
@@PhoenixWrightAceAttorney I think people play too many games from the series in consecutive, you know? They don't have time to think about the story or read the reports and extra lore in the game
@@LucasSantana-ws8po Yeah, you don't have to play them in consecutive order if the story isn't what you play the games for, but for me, a good chunk of what made me want to get into Kingdom Hearts to begin with, was because of the story. I've heard a lot about it and wanted to see for myself. I probably won't read the secret reports unless I get so invested that I feel the need to. Of course, at the end of the day, just play the games however you'd like.
Nothing like reading "no spoilers"in the title and having several extremely serious spoilers for various games used for background footage. Also YES there is an intended play order, you absolutely need to play the games in release order. You CAN play them in any order, but if you want to actually understand what's going on, I really don't recommend it.
And obviously, we don't talk about X (Chi), Union X (Cross), Dark Road or the future Missing-Link who are entirely canon and important for the lore. And right now, we avoid Melody of Memory cause it's not on Steam. 🙃
At least in the beginning of the video, if you pay attention, the chart shows the correct order to play (release order) and it counts the Mobile Games as well, but unfortunately, leaves Melody of Memory outside of the chart
I swear, one of these days square needs to learn to release these mobile games outside of mobile. The 2 final fantasy 7 mobile games are kinda lost (the one non cannon kh game is lost in time too)
@@ms.pirate my biggest dream is for them to remake the mobile phone games to modern hardware and put them on PC and just stop making new one altogether
X can't be played outside of Japan, so there was no purpose to put it into that video they didn't talk about UX or Dark Road but they still put it on the plan at 1:07 they didn't talk about Missing-Link and Melody of Memory because they are not part of the Dark Seeker Saga
Never thought I’d see Square acknowledge the game order… Edit: They put Days after kh2 thank goodness! But why did they put UXDR in the lists but then not talk about them in the video proper? And where’s Melody of Memory?
I was 7 years old when the first one came out, I remember begging my mom to get it for me after seeing the commercial on Disney Channel. The first video game that I ACTUALLY FELL IN LOVE WITH. I’m 29 now.
Wow, they actually recommended the correct order, release order. I fully expected them to pull some nonsense like Days before KH2 just because that's how it's set up in the collection itself.
I agree with and standby the central point of “play in whatever order you want” but, I just have to say, saying 358/2 Days takes place “chronologically before” Chain of Memories is a little wild. That’s like saying Hawkeye takes place chronologically between The Avengers and Iron Man 3 because the opening takes place during the latter, or that Eternals is chronologically before everything else because it technically starts before everything else.
It's one of those games that overlaps with others. It starts after Hollow Bastion in KH1 but the majority of days is AFTER CoM. So sure, chronologically it starts before CoM but it ends well after it.
THANK YOU, SQUARE!! I remember playing KH and II as a younger person and am excited to introduce my own children to the story. This really helps, bc it was overwhelming trying to figure out the new play order. Starting Dark Seeker now! ❤
I want to add, people aren't sticklers about the play order to be mean or anything. It's just that certain aspects are lost if you jump into a random point of an ongoing story is all. Sure every Kingdom hearts game is someone's first, but I think that's circumstantial- sometimes someone only has access to certain games, or sometimes someone doesn't know any better. Sometimes you might not care until the series until you played the game that looked most appealing to get into. But I don't think that means we should be *recommending* people play in any order as if it doesn't impact anything. That being said, I appreciate an official Square source actually recommending release order. It's just the way the story of the series was designed is all.
From a gameplay mechanics perspective, highly recommend release order. I imagine going to Kingdom Hearts 1 after Birth By Sleep will feel very slow or janky gameplay-wise.
So because they forgot - KH X (game only in Japan) is a game that came out before KH Unchained (which then became named Union Cross, which then later added Dark Road story). So “chronologically” it’s KH X first, then it’s the Back Cover movie, then Union Cross/Dark Road as they said. Also KH Melody of Memories is the newest game not in this list for some reason - it takes place after the KH3 ReMind DLC. KH Missing Link isn’t out yet but is supposed to take place after Union Cross, and KH4 obviously will be the latest entry in story whenever that comes out.
Release order. Always release order. Just get the collections of Steam or wherever and play them. The summaries in those collections of the more obscure games are fine, or if you're really dedicated you can track them down and play them, but... release order.
This is how I Play the Series: Kingdom Hearts 1, Chain Of Memories, Kingdom Hearts 2, 358/2 Days, and then Birth By Sleep. Those are the only Kingdom Hearts Games that I Genuinely Love and that's my Preferred Order to Play them in. And OMFG.... Birth By Sleep's Intro is without a doubt my FAVORITE Intro in The Kingdom Hearts Series..! 😍
Y'all. I don't think it's a problem to start with 3. I was more familiar with Toy story and Tangled. I think it really is great to show off the best parts about it! It was enough to get me to play all the others. I'm glad they acknowledged my personal path
Play the original 358/2 if you can, the movie Nomura put inside the 1.5 remix is incomplete with few important scenes missing (the Roxas day off, his battle with a blue hair guy, etc.).
I was literally just searching this up while I got the notification for this. I bought the bundle years ago on PS4 and I just binged 22 Mainline FF games and their companion games so I thought I’d try Kingdom Hearts in order but didn’t know the order. That’s FF1-10, 10-2, 12, 13, 13-2, Lightning Returns, 15, 16, 7 Remake/Rebirth, Crisis Core, Type-0 and Strangers of Paradise (all with the platinum trophy and I plan on doing the same with Kingdom Hearts.) took me 13 months
@Duckman8213 Yes I know, I should've been more specific - I was just confirming that you actually _played_ every single one of them - for context: I plan to cover the entire series too, but I am not sure if it'll be possible to play every single game especially the earlier ones (because I'm not sure if they're all accessible in one bundle, for one platform?), and might have to watch playthroughs of them instead. I am yet to do some research to determine that, but since we're already talking about this: Which platform did you play FF1-10 on? If they're available in a bundle or something of the sort, that'll be great! I've been interested in FF for many years now but haven't gotten the chance to actually play a game yet, so I'd appreciate your insight. :)
@@umaima_m every FF game from the mainline series is available on the PS4/5 except for FF13 Trilogy which I played on the PS3. I got the platinum trophy on all the games and I played them all in order except for 16 because it came out right after I finished the pixel remasters 1-6. FF6 is my favorite with FF4 and 9. I bought the psychical copy for everything except 1-7 because they aren’t available in physical format on the PS4.
I absolutely love that they put 2 before Days, I've seen so many people experience the Days story before 2 these days and I feel like it really takes away from the intro of 2...
@@ms.piratethe thing is the games throw around terminology like you are already familiar with the concepts that have been established from the first games that released. Even in the Final Fantasy Remake games they act like you have already played the older games and are familiar with the world and characters even though these might be someone’s first final fantasy game, you wouldn’t start a book series in the middle because you know you are missing out on story context, just because you can start with any game doesn’t mean you should.
You know you can mix the story a little play Kingdom hearts first then go to kingdom hearts 358/2 days then on the part when Axel is going on a special mission then go to Kingdom heart re:chain of memories after that continue playing kingdom hearts 358/2 days then you go to Kingdom hearts 2
I like that square tries to push that you can start with wtv, we dont gotta be so inflexible... However its ventus, then terra and then aqua. I will not accept any other order
To be clear, the best way to experience 358/2 Days and Re:Coded is Melon Mix. I doubt Square would have a problem with you downloading the ROM since they decided not to port it due to the repetitive nature and you’ll already own the movies anyway, so hit up sites I will not mention and get playing. Or rather, wait a few months until 358 is fully playable and wait a year for Coded. It’ll be worth the wait, considering you get extra story stuff not featured in the movies. Also, once you’re done with Coded, check the movie, as an extra scene was added.
if i had to say the best order IMO would be Birth By Sleep > Union X story > KH Back Cover > KH1 > 358/2 Days > Chain of Memories > KH2 > ReCoded > Dream Drop Distance > KH .2 Fragmentary Passage > KH3
I would like to present my two dissenting opinions on the kingdom hearts play order. 1: The best order to play the characters in BBS is not Terra, Ventus, Aqua, but Ventus, Terra, Aqua. This allows you to have a little bit of unresolved mystery surrounding Terra's story, wondering why he would do what he does, before getting the answers on his story. 2: The play order of Days, Re:coded, and BBS are all mutually interchangeable
Sonare al meme del fan que sabe mas que el creador, pero en efecto, la parte UX como fan discrepo totalmente. 1. Despues del 3D y el 0.2 ver desde el episodio 1 hasta la guerra (previo a lo qie pasa a ser UX). 2. Ver la pelicula Back Cover. 3. Jugar KH3 (sin los episodios del R+M) 4. Todo lo que falta del UX 5. Jugar R+M 6. Jugar DR 7. Jugar Dark Road. Para mi esa es la mejor experiencia y mas relacionada al orden de salida.
Kingdom Hearts Chronological Timeline Order Back Cover Union Cross + Dark Road Missing Link (IMPORTANT INFO FOR KH 4) Birth by Sleep + Fragmented Passage Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories + 358/2 Days Kingdom Hearts 2 Recoded Dream Drop Distance Kingdom Hearts 3 + Remind + Melody of Memory Kingdom Hearts 4 Verum Rex (which is technically Final Fantasy Versus 13) may be set before KH 3 And if you want a more in depth tale of the franchise, the nanga and novels are available. Hopefully an anime soon too among films included
For new players nothing in this video is considered spoilers have a great time enjoying this game from a Real Huge KH fan too another this game was amazing from start to finish & thank you Nomura thank you Disney & Thank you Square Enix
Would you like to maybe update Union Cross so the Theater Mode doesn’t require jumping back and forth between 14 different menus? (And fix the two videos that are just out of order in the Global version, “A New Partner” and Reunion: Hero of Olympus”)
I played all the Kingdom Hearts games on the switch (which is on cloud) which I played all the KH games except Re:chain of memories because I haven't gotten used to the cards system.
If you want the narrative experience to be cohesive, don't do chronological. Follow release order, and DO NOT skip the mobile game stories. If you're playing Kingdom Hearts for the first time, starting with any game other than the original will leave you feeling lost. Much like reading a book series, these stories are not designed to be experienced non-sequentially. You CAN play them out of order, but your experience will not be as intended. Especially because games will harken back to previous titles EVEN IF THEY ARE PREQUELS.
I don't think it matters whether you do Back Cover or 0.2 first. They don't really have any bearing on each other, so unlike with Days/KH2, I don't see an issue with how the HD collections ordered them.
Bro people need to just play them in release order. Idk why people make it so difficult, same with Metal Gear. People can’t use their damn minds for some reason.
I started by playing both the first game and Birth by sleep(Ventus' route) simultanously; because I consider both of them the first steps of the story by their own ways; Re:Coded looks to be the most optional, according to my research, so I recomend to skip it with no questions ...I'm just saying
For experience sake, play KH2 before KH358/2Days. That is the only wish of mine I can give to anyone playing. I would say release order as well, but if you truly want to pick your own route... my wish is to play KH2 before days. i promise you, it will be worth it
I don't get people saying that it's easy to grasp the story, back then it felt like anthologies of different plotlines unless you were rich enough to buy different consoles, which they finally solved via the compilation My main grip is that they finally had the chance for a soft reboot after KH3 to improve and design a a straightforward new arc, and instead decided to build up a new arc for the main games using the lore of a mobile game that you can't even play anymore...
Start at any of this Kh1 Kh com Kh 358 days Kh bbs If you started at the side games, go back to kh1 then continue to any of the list plus kh2 then the rest of the games after kh2 which is kh2.8 then you can play kh3
Kingdom Hearts 1 is the starting point for first timers, if you want to do story Do KH1 Mobile Games BBS 0.2 Prolly CoM Days KH2 Re:Coded Dream Drop Distance Missed games KH3 If your normal you should do release order For me I do Kh1 CoM Days or 2 Other One BBS DDD Anything else I care about 3
1. Kingdom Hearts 2. Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories 3. Kingdom Hearts II 4. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days 5. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep 6. Kingdom Hearts coded (only one not in release order, as it released before 358/2 Days) 7. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance 8. Kingdom Hearts χ (no longer playable) 9. Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage- 10. Kingdom Hearts III 11. Kingdom Hearts Dark Road 12. Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory
No way this reached the stage where square had to intervene
But once again, Sephiroth intervened.
What are you talking about? Square Enix America made a order list multiple times on their site over the years. You just haven't been following.
@@Saitenji Too good, you got me there
@@rob19ny I have, it's just odd that they have to remind us multiple times
@@Nobodylikesme246 The existence of your original post and the key words you used suggest this is your first time. Just saying.
"Don't worry this video is spoiler free, anyway so Kingdom Hearts 2 starts right after Mickey gets decapitated"
omg you here ?? hello ! I'm a big fan of yours !!!
"spoiler free" "kh 0.5 takes place after the dramatic events of Kindgom hearts birth by sleep"
underrated comment 😂
So it's not spoiler free and they forgot to include kingdom hearts v-cast? this video is a scam.
@@sleeplessgamer4120 v cast? wtf lmaoo you straight trippin boi
I like how this video was released on July 13th... You know, 7/13. NOMURA! /j
HE CAN'T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THIS!!!!!!
DAMN YOU NOMURA, YOU GOT US AGAIN
YIKES
NOMURA ARE YOU CEREAL?!
WHICH IS ALSO MY BIRTHDAYYYY
"spoiler free we promise" says while proceeding to show the final cutscene of KH1 within the first few seconds...
No context = no spoilers
You only know it's the final cutscene if you've played it before.
@@GR8NE55 yeah but from all the footage they couls have chosen from why would they choose that scene, it doesn't make any sense
@@ConnectedSims23this, have yet to touch a KH game, so I don’t understand the context of that scene at all.
“You can start wherever. If you want to start with kingdom hearts 3, go for it!” DO NOT DO THIS.
the amount of people about to complain about the story because they only played KH3 😖
@mochabites man I played all of the games, and I still complained about the story. 💀
You know, I really was about to pull that trigger, until the internet bill suddenly dropped and now have to wait a week. I guess I’ll start on 1.5 to 2.5. But my question is, do I REALLY need 2.8 or can I got from 2.5 straight to 3 + DLC without a HUGE hole in the story? I don’t care about spoilers (if anything, I sometimes start stories backwards), but I do hate plot holes no matter the story.
@@mr.jellyfish5544 I’d say you can skip re:coded and backcover (for now lol). Unfortunately these are both movies in the hd collection so I wouldn’t recommend skipping any of the games really.
2.8 is Dream Drop Distance, 0.2, and Backcover. DDD is VITAL. It is the set up for kh3 and introduces the wonky time travel mechanic of this universe which is hard to understand with all the context, you don’t want to go into 3 with less.
0.2 is the prologue to kh3 and is basically a glorified tech demo for 3 and is only a few hours long. You may actually be able to skip this one because I think you can get everything about it with context clues
Backcover has plot that’s part of a now defunct mobile game and some slight elements of the khux part of things come into play in 3 but it’s not major and you can catch up with all things khux later
BONUS: I feel very strongly that kingdom hearts 2 should be played before watching 358/2 days
BONUS BONUS: if you aren’t vibing with the card gameplay system in Chain of Memories, just watch a cutscene comp or read a summary. CoM is important because it introduces some characters but it’s largely self contained and not worth suffering for.
I only played BBS and I don't understand how I'm supposed to play KX3 after that, considering that I have NO IDEA who Sora is
Neat idea for a video! But heads-up for new players - this video absolutely contains spoilers. Nothing stated outright, but shows several climactic and significant moments. if in doubt, playing in release order will get you on the same page as the rest of the community. 💙
Movie and game trailers do the exact same thing, and without context or having played through these games before, you don't really know.
@@GR8NE55 Yeah, it's unfortunately pretty common. But if this editing style relies on people simply forgetting, then it doesn't seem worth the risk. As a vague example, there's a particular shot edited in here from KH3 that's a pay-off to something setup in the first few hours of KH1. If this video inspired someone to start playing, it would be very easy for their mind to automatically connect the dots and spoil it.
Not everything is a spoiler, but I think it's better to assume everything is a spoiler, just to give everyone their best chance at enjoying something.
Yo Square Enix knows that playing the released order is the best way to play the series
The fact that they didn't mention Re:Coded is hilarious to me.
I mean considering the whole point lore-wise is to forget it, like… Literally actually.
Wait, no, yes they did. Look at the slides for Dark Seeker Saga and Chronological. It IS listed. It’s just a side story though, not *essential*.
@@MattAndre24 you're mistaking Re:Coded for Re:Chain of Memory buddy, Re:Coded is about why Mickey made the letter calling Riku and Sora at the end of KH2
@@FreyRosfield …Yes.
*"we don't talk about re coded"*
I dont understand why people like to say kingdom hearts is hard to get into. Sure it's funny to think about how complicated the story can get, but as long as you play them "in order", you dont really have anything to worry about; and "in order" is pretty flexible. Release order, chronological order, or the recommended "dark seeker saga" order are all fine, and even then there are games where the order doesnt matter, as long as you get to it before dream drop distance and play 3 last.
It isn't hard to get into, you just need the proper context, much like how it's kind of uncomfortable jumping into the latest season of a TV show without seeing any of the earlier episodes, or exclusively watching end game/infinity war; it's meant to tell a larger story over multiple entries, so as long as you start at the right point it's all okay
I do appriciate square putting this out there to make the "proper order" discoverable outside of a reddit thread or wiki page
Ngl, I got into kingdom hearts when everyone was waiting for KH3. I agree, Its easy to get into as long as you pay attention
People play those games not paying attention, that's why they don't get it
I think they might just be overwhelmed with the number of games (as well as the length) to get through and, thus, consider it hard to get into.
I felt like that for a while before deciding to just say "eff it. Let's just do it." I'm on KH2 right now, and I'm having an amazing time. Nomura hasn't missed so far. I'm just ploughing through all the games.
@@PhoenixWrightAceAttorney I think people play too many games from the series in consecutive, you know? They don't have time to think about the story or read the reports and extra lore in the game
@@LucasSantana-ws8po Yeah, you don't have to play them in consecutive order if the story isn't what you play the games for, but for me, a good chunk of what made me want to get into Kingdom Hearts to begin with, was because of the story. I've heard a lot about it and wanted to see for myself. I probably won't read the secret reports unless I get so invested that I feel the need to.
Of course, at the end of the day, just play the games however you'd like.
Nothing like reading "no spoilers"in the title and having several extremely serious spoilers for various games used for background footage.
Also YES there is an intended play order, you absolutely need to play the games in release order. You CAN play them in any order, but if you want to actually understand what's going on, I really don't recommend it.
No spoilers.
Anyway here's Sora and Riku defeating Xemnas.
And obviously, we don't talk about X (Chi), Union X (Cross), Dark Road or the future Missing-Link who are entirely canon and important for the lore. And right now, we avoid Melody of Memory cause it's not on Steam. 🙃
At least in the beginning of the video, if you pay attention, the chart shows the correct order to play (release order) and it counts the Mobile Games as well, but unfortunately, leaves Melody of Memory outside of the chart
I swear, one of these days square needs to learn to release these mobile games outside of mobile. The 2 final fantasy 7 mobile games are kinda lost (the one non cannon kh game is lost in time too)
@@ms.pirate They also need to translate on other languages than english...
@@ms.pirate my biggest dream is for them to remake the mobile phone games to modern hardware and put them on PC and just stop making new one altogether
X can't be played outside of Japan, so there was no purpose to put it into that video
they didn't talk about UX or Dark Road but they still put it on the plan at 1:07
they didn't talk about Missing-Link and Melody of Memory because they are not part of the Dark Seeker Saga
Never thought I’d see Square acknowledge the game order…
Edit: They put Days after kh2 thank goodness!
But why did they put UXDR in the lists but then not talk about them in the video proper? And where’s Melody of Memory?
I think they wanted to specifically talk about the games included in the collection on Steam since that's the newest release.
They only care about the ones they put in collections to sell more copies.
not just that but you can't play Union Cross anymore, only watch the cutscenes
I was 7 years old when the first one came out, I remember begging my mom to get it for me after seeing the commercial on Disney Channel.
The first video game that I ACTUALLY FELL IN LOVE WITH.
I’m 29 now.
A whole life.
I wasn't even born when kh1 came out. I was 1 when kh2 came out
@@robercuenca812 a whooooole life indeed has gone by.
@@rosies69 interesting! Which game in the series was your first? (:
I was six when the first game came out, but i definitely remember the commercial on Disney Channel
I love that they mess up right away 0:48 isn't kingdom hearts 2 final mix, its kingdom hearts re: chain of memory, but tgat shows how they cared
Wow, they actually recommended the correct order, release order. I fully expected them to pull some nonsense like Days before KH2 just because that's how it's set up in the collection itself.
This series teaches me a lot about hope and friendship growing up. I can honestly say that I am a better person because of KH.
I like how this video is spoiler free but the final and launch trailer of III spoils almost the final act of the game
I agree with and standby the central point of “play in whatever order you want” but, I just have to say, saying 358/2 Days takes place “chronologically before” Chain of Memories is a little wild.
That’s like saying Hawkeye takes place chronologically between The Avengers and Iron Man 3 because the opening takes place during the latter, or that Eternals is chronologically before everything else because it technically starts before everything else.
It's one of those games that overlaps with others. It starts after Hollow Bastion in KH1 but the majority of days is AFTER CoM.
So sure, chronologically it starts before CoM but it ends well after it.
This helps me cause I started with 358/2 days and I’ve been wanting to play the games from the beginning
THANK YOU, SQUARE!!
I remember playing KH and II as a younger person and am excited to introduce my own children to the story. This really helps, bc it was overwhelming trying to figure out the new play order.
Starting Dark Seeker now! ❤
"you forgot about Re:Coded" no they did not, they omitted it on the spoken part but the planning at 1:01 clearly shows it right after Birth by Sleep
I’m a veteran in this series so I just play the series in timeline order now
Man, how the flip are we getting a timeline/play order video from SE before a single hint of news of Pre-Registration for Missing Link?
I can't believe the intended order is the order that the story was written in. What a twist.
I want to add, people aren't sticklers about the play order to be mean or anything. It's just that certain aspects are lost if you jump into a random point of an ongoing story is all. Sure every Kingdom hearts game is someone's first, but I think that's circumstantial- sometimes someone only has access to certain games, or sometimes someone doesn't know any better. Sometimes you might not care until the series until you played the game that looked most appealing to get into.
But I don't think that means we should be *recommending* people play in any order as if it doesn't impact anything.
That being said, I appreciate an official Square source actually recommending release order. It's just the way the story of the series was designed is all.
You did re:coded dirty 🤣🤣 and no mention of Melody of Memories.... Anywhere 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Melody of Memories isnt part of the Dark Seeker Saga
recoded was not real, its canon but it never really happened in the sense that all of the data was deleted.
@@DannyMJ34 true but still a written mention would been nice lol
@@TRVPHAUS well Mickey told everything to the real Sora via letter lol
@@TRVPHAUSno it didnt,this is how the characters remembered who namine is,and is also mentioned on ddd
This is actually really good! In the right order for new players. Glad Square decided to do this
This certainly helps! It's chronological order for me.
4:40 SHE SAID IT! SHE SAID THE LIIIIIIIINE!
From a gameplay mechanics perspective, highly recommend release order. I imagine going to Kingdom Hearts 1 after Birth By Sleep will feel very slow or janky gameplay-wise.
Birth by Sleep's the janky one tbh
So because they forgot - KH X (game only in Japan) is a game that came out before KH Unchained (which then became named Union Cross, which then later added Dark Road story).
So “chronologically” it’s KH X first, then it’s the Back Cover movie, then Union Cross/Dark Road as they said.
Also KH Melody of Memories is the newest game not in this list for some reason - it takes place after the KH3 ReMind DLC.
KH Missing Link isn’t out yet but is supposed to take place after Union Cross, and KH4 obviously will be the latest entry in story whenever that comes out.
I like your sweet message about kingdom hearts
Release order. Always release order. Just get the collections of Steam or wherever and play them. The summaries in those collections of the more obscure games are fine, or if you're really dedicated you can track them down and play them, but... release order.
This is how I Play the Series:
Kingdom Hearts 1, Chain Of Memories, Kingdom Hearts 2, 358/2 Days, and then Birth By Sleep.
Those are the only Kingdom Hearts Games that I Genuinely Love and that's my Preferred Order to Play them in.
And OMFG.... Birth By Sleep's Intro is without a doubt my FAVORITE Intro in The Kingdom Hearts Series..! 😍
Y'all. I don't think it's a problem to start with 3. I was more familiar with Toy story and Tangled. I think it really is great to show off the best parts about it! It was enough to get me to play all the others. I'm glad they acknowledged my personal path
That's how I started cause it was on gamepass 😭😭😭
“Spoiler Free”
So anyway, here’s a visual presentation of the most important moments of the franchise.
Play the original 358/2 if you can, the movie Nomura put inside the 1.5 remix is incomplete with few important scenes missing (the Roxas day off, his battle with a blue hair guy, etc.).
Blue Hair Guy is Saïx or Riku?? 💔
@@longlovelive77 Saix. That Battle Is also mentioned in other games but Is only shown on Nintendo DS version of the game
Soo... what about that "missing link pre registration information coming soon" I formation...?
4:37 Damm even square knows the strats 💀
I was literally just searching this up while I got the notification for this. I bought the bundle years ago on PS4 and I just binged 22 Mainline FF games and their companion games so I thought I’d try Kingdom Hearts in order but didn’t know the order.
That’s FF1-10, 10-2, 12, 13, 13-2, Lightning Returns, 15, 16, 7 Remake/Rebirth, Crisis Core, Type-0 and Strangers of Paradise (all with the platinum trophy and I plan on doing the same with Kingdom Hearts.) took me 13 months
Whoa, the entire FF series? That's amazing! Did you play every single game?
@@umaima_m I already listed them
@Duckman8213 Yes I know, I should've been more specific - I was just confirming that you actually _played_ every single one of them - for context: I plan to cover the entire series too, but I am not sure if it'll be possible to play every single game especially the earlier ones (because I'm not sure if they're all accessible in one bundle, for one platform?), and might have to watch playthroughs of them instead. I am yet to do some research to determine that, but since we're already talking about this: Which platform did you play FF1-10 on? If they're available in a bundle or something of the sort, that'll be great! I've been interested in FF for many years now but haven't gotten the chance to actually play a game yet, so I'd appreciate your insight. :)
@@umaima_m every FF game from the mainline series is available on the PS4/5 except for FF13 Trilogy which I played on the PS3. I got the platinum trophy on all the games and I played them all in order except for 16 because it came out right after I finished the pixel remasters 1-6. FF6 is my favorite with FF4 and 9. I bought the psychical copy for everything except 1-7 because they aren’t available in physical format on the PS4.
@Duckman8213 Awesome, thanks for sharing! And enjoy your playthrough of KH, you're going to love it! 😁
I absolutely love that they put 2 before Days, I've seen so many people experience the Days story before 2 these days and I feel like it really takes away from the intro of 2...
They only suggested playing in release order. They also provided the chronological order, where Days is before 2.
@@TriforceWisdom64 I watched the video, thanks.
Got all of it Memorized?
I'll save you 5 minutes. The answer is always release order.
Agreed
Square actually said "where ever you wanna begin" in the video. So people could end up wanting to play from birth by sleep 🤷♀️
@@ms.piratethe thing is the games throw around terminology like you are already familiar with the concepts that have been established from the first games that released. Even in the Final Fantasy Remake games they act like you have already played the older games and are familiar with the world and characters even though these might be someone’s first final fantasy game, you wouldn’t start a book series in the middle because you know you are missing out on story context, just because you can start with any game doesn’t mean you should.
@@MarcusSanchez2525
You know you can mix the story a little play Kingdom hearts first then go to kingdom hearts 358/2 days then on the part when Axel is going on a special mission then go to Kingdom heart re:chain of memories after that continue playing kingdom hearts 358/2 days then you go to Kingdom hearts 2
This music is so calming.
For best experience, and to keep the mysterious elements from being ruined, release order is recommended.
I like that square tries to push that you can start with wtv, we dont gotta be so inflexible... However its ventus, then terra and then aqua. I will not accept any other order
Original publishing order, next question.
Wow an official answer 🤯
To be clear, the best way to experience 358/2 Days and Re:Coded is Melon Mix. I doubt Square would have a problem with you downloading the ROM since they decided not to port it due to the repetitive nature and you’ll already own the movies anyway, so hit up sites I will not mention and get playing. Or rather, wait a few months until 358 is fully playable and wait a year for Coded. It’ll be worth the wait, considering you get extra story stuff not featured in the movies. Also, once you’re done with Coded, check the movie, as an extra scene was added.
if i had to say the best order IMO would be
Birth By Sleep > Union X story > KH Back Cover > KH1 > 358/2 Days > Chain of Memories > KH2 > ReCoded > Dream Drop Distance > KH .2 Fragmentary Passage > KH3
I would like to present my two dissenting opinions on the kingdom hearts play order.
1: The best order to play the characters in BBS is not Terra, Ventus, Aqua, but Ventus, Terra, Aqua. This allows you to have a little bit of unresolved mystery surrounding Terra's story, wondering why he would do what he does, before getting the answers on his story.
2: The play order of Days, Re:coded, and BBS are all mutually interchangeable
The title says spoiler free, however I did NOT know Mickey Mouse was in kingdom hearts. Shame on you, Square Enix 🤬
As a long time fan, I approve of this video.
We know with which one to start just focus on Missing Link right now they are probably different developers but still just in case
Sonare al meme del fan que sabe mas que el creador, pero en efecto, la parte UX como fan discrepo totalmente.
1. Despues del 3D y el 0.2 ver desde el episodio 1 hasta la guerra (previo a lo qie pasa a ser UX).
2. Ver la pelicula Back Cover.
3. Jugar KH3 (sin los episodios del R+M)
4. Todo lo que falta del UX
5. Jugar R+M
6. Jugar DR
7. Jugar Dark Road.
Para mi esa es la mejor experiencia y mas relacionada al orden de salida.
Kingdom Hearts Chronological Timeline Order
Back Cover
Union Cross + Dark Road
Missing Link (IMPORTANT INFO FOR KH 4)
Birth by Sleep + Fragmented Passage
Kingdom Hearts
Chain of Memories + 358/2 Days
Kingdom Hearts 2
Recoded
Dream Drop Distance
Kingdom Hearts 3 + Remind + Melody of Memory
Kingdom Hearts 4
Verum Rex (which is technically Final Fantasy Versus 13) may be set before KH 3
And if you want a more in depth tale of the franchise, the nanga and novels are available. Hopefully an anime soon too among films included
the story release order and the game release order and the two best ways to play this series PERIOD
i’m glad square enix is finally admitting the 1.5 and 2.5 collection has the games in the wrong order
Only took 21 years, but finally they've given us an official statement.
Release order. Saved you the time.
For new players nothing in this video is considered spoilers have a great time enjoying this game from a Real Huge KH fan too another this game was amazing from start to finish & thank you Nomura thank you Disney & Thank you Square Enix
2:11 I always thought it was "358 half days"
The voice over for this video sounds very familiar 😊
Fans: coded is not important to understand the series
Fanboys: noooo, is extremely important, you understand nothing!
Square:
Would you like to maybe update Union Cross so the Theater Mode doesn’t require jumping back and forth between 14 different menus? (And fix the two videos that are just out of order in the Global version, “A New Partner” and Reunion: Hero of Olympus”)
Can confirm that you can play them in any order. The story makes the same amount of sense no matter what the order is.
What order did you play
@@starvoltnexus3139 I played 1, then 2, then 365/2, DDD, 3, Final Chapter Proligue and finally, Chain of Memories just to say I did.
Fair enough😂
Thats a dumb state, but you surely can have it
square said go play in order of release
I played all the Kingdom Hearts games on the switch (which is on cloud) which I played all the KH games except Re:chain of memories because I haven't gotten used to the cards system.
holy transitions
kh2 and kd 365/2 where all i ever really played and 3 made mostly sense and 2 was where i started.
Crazy I just got this recommended after buying 1.5 + 2.5 HD remix
Glad to know going intk these games are open ended
Feels good to start the game before any of the others came out
My favorite video game series of all time and I still can’t explain the story to people 😂 but I get it 😅
If you want the narrative experience to be cohesive, don't do chronological. Follow release order, and DO NOT skip the mobile game stories.
If you're playing Kingdom Hearts for the first time, starting with any game other than the original will leave you feeling lost.
Much like reading a book series, these stories are not designed to be experienced non-sequentially.
You CAN play them out of order, but your experience will not be as intended. Especially because games will harken back to previous titles EVEN IF THEY ARE PREQUELS.
I don't think it matters whether you do Back Cover or 0.2 first. They don't really have any bearing on each other, so unlike with Days/KH2, I don't see an issue with how the HD collections ordered them.
How to tell the lore's overcomplicated: when the creators themselves have to make a trailer to explain the timeline.
Bro people need to just play them in release order. Idk why people make it so difficult, same with Metal Gear. People can’t use their damn minds for some reason.
I love KH Days! Square pls remaster it!! :V
I started by playing both the first game and Birth by sleep(Ventus' route) simultanously; because I consider both of them the first steps of the story by their own ways; Re:Coded looks to be the most optional, according to my research, so I recomend to skip it with no questions
...I'm just saying
I started on birth by sleep, and I wanted to go back and play even more but these names man got my brain hurting
For experience sake, play KH2 before KH358/2Days. That is the only wish of mine I can give to anyone playing. I would say release order as well, but if you truly want to pick your own route... my wish is to play KH2 before days. i promise you, it will be worth it
Okay i believe you
"While many fans say theres one way to experiance the story, we have our recommended way" *echoes what order fans suggest*
They really backed themselves in a corner with this series. As i fan i can't name any other game franchise that this that get this treatment
Best Series ever 😊
I don't get people saying that it's easy to grasp the story, back then it felt like anthologies of different plotlines unless you were rich enough to buy different consoles, which they finally solved via the compilation
My main grip is that they finally had the chance for a soft reboot after KH3 to improve and design a a straightforward new arc, and instead decided to build up a new arc for the main games using the lore of a mobile game that you can't even play anymore...
This company odd obsession of putting important stuff all over place will never make sense to me
Kingdom Hearts χ / Unchained χ / Union χ
Kingdom Hearts Dark Road
Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep A Fragmentary Passage
Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Kingdom Hearts 2
Kingdom Hearts Recoded
Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance
Kingdom Hearts 3
Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory
Start at any of this
Kh1
Kh com
Kh 358 days
Kh bbs
If you started at the side games, go back to kh1 then continue to any of the list plus kh2 then the rest of the games after kh2 which is kh2.8 then you can play kh3
This is the correct order.
1. Kingdom Hearts JP (PS2)
2. Kingdom Hearts ENG (PS2)
3. Kingdom Hearts Final Mix (PS2)
4. CoM (GBA)
5. Kingdom Hearts II JP (PS2)
6. Kingdom Hearts II ENG (PS2)
7. Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix (PS2)
8. Re:CoM
9. BBS JP (PSP)
10. BBS ENG (PSP)
11. BBSFM (PSP)
12. KH 1.5 (PS3)
13. KH 2.5 (PS3)
14. KH χ (Mobile)
15. KHDDD (3DS)
16. KH 1.5+2.5 (PS4)
17. KH 2.8 (PS4)
18. KH3 (everything)
19. KHMoM (everything)
I know I messed up the order, but I'm not fixing it.
Square Enix has hired people to explain the kingdom Hearts lore to devs and I think this is their first product.
"They're also available on Nintendo Switch as Cloud Versions!"
A heart never truely forgets, huh
Kingdom Hearts 1 is the starting point for first timers, if you want to do story
Do
KH1
Mobile Games
BBS
0.2 Prolly
CoM
Days
KH2
Re:Coded
Dream Drop Distance
Missed games
KH3
If your normal you should do release order
For me I do
Kh1
CoM
Days or 2
Other One
BBS
DDD
Anything else I care about
3
no mention of recoded?
You should put Just Cause 2 on Switch it will be the best open world on the console
Do not hesitate to give us some news about kh4 Square X)))
Release order. Saved you five minutes.
1. Kingdom Hearts
2. Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
3. Kingdom Hearts II
4. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
5. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
6. Kingdom Hearts coded (only one not in release order, as it released before 358/2 Days)
7. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
8. Kingdom Hearts χ (no longer playable)
9. Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage-
10. Kingdom Hearts III
11. Kingdom Hearts Dark Road
12. Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory
Putting on my nerd glasses to say you missed Union χ because χ and Union χ are actually different games
Just wow very wow indeed very interesting and incredible 😅 KH game series lits ❤🎉
Set your heart Ablaze 🔥