So in light of the new developments for the next game, I decided to do another Kingdom Hearts post and this one will no doubt be the most challenging. One of the biggest problems people have with the game, is how complicated the timeline is and it's been a huge problem even for the people who actually generally do a good job with explaining things. So I thought I would try and get it to all make sense in preparation for the next game. It may be called Kingdom Hearts III but its not the third game overall. So grab your keyblades and let's get to it:
So first up is Kingdom Hearts X:
This mobile game that originally was exclusive to Japan until recently, serves as the start of the timeline taking place 100 years before the other games as well as the Keyblade War. It tells how an unknown Keyblade master comes across a book dubbed "the Book of Prophecies" which he bestows to 5 of his 6 apprentices before disappearing. As the name implies, the book is able to predict and manifest objects and people from the future. As one prophecy predicts of the world's destruction, these five apprentices use the power from the book to create warriors who would prevent such a catastrophe from happening or so we think. And then the rest of the story is the warriors travelling to different worlds, helping people and defeating heartless all for the sake of keeping everything in order. As part of X, there is also the cinematic film in 2.8 HD which talks about some story elements that were not mentioned in this game. Also there is an alternative version called Unchained which follows the same story, but has a few changes as the game progresses. So to play the main X game, you need a iOS or Android device and an internet connection. Whereas you just need to buy 2.8 HD for the PS4 for the cinematic film. I don't think it really matters which order you do these games in, but the cinematic film titled Back Cover should definitely come last or as you play through the other two games.
Next is Birth By Sleep:
This game is a prequel to the very first game, taking place 10 years before it. Before X came about, Birth By Sleep would address a number of questions fans had been asking since II. The story itself sees three keyblade wielders Aqua, Terra and Ventus train to become masters in their art. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Aqua becomes a master whereas Terra and Ventus does not due to the former having darkness in his heart and the latter not quite ready for the role. Then monsters called the Unversed start invading other worlds and Terra is then sent to defeat the Unversed while recovering Master Xehanort (the main villain of the Dark Seeker saga) who had vanished without a trace, unaware of Ventus and Aqua following him. The questions the game addresses include how Maleficent escaped her world and become a master at using the Heartless as well as what was Pete before Maleficent recruited him. It also shows us Ansem the Wise and what become of him before he became Diz as well as showing off younger versions of the somebodys who's nobodies would eventually create the first Organisation 13 (hope I didn't make it too complicated or confusing there). Plus it also shows us how Xehanort's heartless was created and why Terra looks so familiar. As well as what life was like for some of the Seven Princesses of Heart. And lastly, it also tells us why we never hear or see the main playable characters until after II. So in other words, Birth By Sleep was a much needed entry in the series that did its best to address questions in the timeline. Following from this game, 2.8 HD would also have a game that shows us who was responsible for bringing Mickey to Riku and Sora at the end of the first game and spoiler alert, its Aqua who after putting Ventus somewhere, had been travelling in darkness hoping to one day be free and save herself as well as her friends. Its also important to note that if you want the full experience, make sure you have the Final Mix versions of all the games which you can get in all the HD compilations and some, but not all, can be found lying about too, but HD compilations are the way to go here.
Now we come to the very first game simply titled Kingdom Hearts:
You all know the story so I won't go into too much detail about it. But its basically where Sora becomes a keyblade wielder himself, though as Birth By Sleep points out, this is more because his heart merged with an out of action Ventus and didn't become an official one unlike Riku and Kairi until passing the Mark of Mastery exam later on. So its largely all about establishing the roles all the main characters have that would lead into later games. But I think because its largely more Disney villains than original ones was due to making it so that there would be some familiar characters in the game to please Disney fans. And likewise with Final Fantasy characters who reside in Traverse Town in this game. So yeah won't go into it any further than that. The full game is part of 1.5 HD.
Next is 358/2 Days:
So this one is an interesting one as it takes place towards the end of the first game, all the way through Chain of Memories and just before the beginning of II. The name is a reference to the amount of time it takes before Sora can be awoken again. It largely focuses on Sora's nobody Roxas during his Organisation 13 days where every day, he is sent out to the many worlds that Sora freed from the darkness in the first game to take on some missions, the majority of which are to do with taking down the Heartless to awaken the titular object known as Kingdom Hearts which resides in the World That Never Was which is also home to the headquarters of Organisation 13. The game also talks about a 14th member called Xion who is a combination of both Sora and Roxas and as such, would potentially cause problems for Sora's awakening. But in the end, knowing what has to be done, Roxas defects from 13 and after being defeated by Riku who due to the darkness inside him, has taken the form of Ansem Seeker of Darkness, is then put into a virtual version of his home world, Twilight Town which thus begins the events of II. At present, you can play the full game on the DS version and get a cinematic version on 1.5 HD. Really depends on your overall preference on that.
So before we move to II, let's talk about Chain of Memories:
So shortly after the first game, Sora and his allies Donald and Goofy, arrive at a place called Castle Oblivion. There they encounter members of Organization 13 who begin to manipulate his memories and soon enough, Sora forgets about Kairi and ventures into the facility with Donald and Goofy to take down their enemies and get their memories back. This game along with 358/2 Days explain the beginning of II as the latter tells us of Roxas's role in all this and the former explains how Sora, Donald and Goofy are sleeping in a facility at the start of II. There is also another story in this game which is Riku having escaped the darkness and he too ventures into Castle Oblivion doing what Sora did in defeating his enemies while also taking on the darkness inside him with some help from Mickey Mouse. All ending with what his role became while Sora's memories were in the process of being restored. Two versions of Chain of Memories exist with one being on GameBoy Advance and the other being on PS2. The PS2 version can be played in its entirety in HD 1.5.
So with all that out of the way, we now move on to II:
So this game starts with Roxas in his final days before Sora's awakening. Because his own memories were wiped, he encounters familiar things which he doesn't remember such as the Nobodies and his former best friend Axel. Then with the awakening of Sora and his friends, they are guided by Mickey to Yen Sid who explains that in their absence, Organisation 13 are slowly taking over and they must travel to old and new worlds to take the remaining members down while also taking on their armies of Nobodies and Heartless. Along with all that, Maleficent has returned along with Pete and while their are still villains in this game, they later assist the heroes knowing that Organisation 13 is also causing Maleficent problems as well with regards to controlling the Heartless and her own stakes on the titular object known as Kingdom Hearts. But in the end, Sora and Co. are reunited with Mickey, Riku and Kairi and eventually (with some surprising help from Maleficent and Pete) they defeat Organisation 13 and return to the home worlds. And as a post credits scene reveals, this is not the last game as we still have some more games to go. The full game can be played in 2.5 HD.
Next up is Coded:
So this game brings some closure to the events of Chain of Memories when its revealed that Jiminy Cricket who has been chronicling the adventures of Sora and friends, actually had two journals with one having a note that says "Thank Namine". Using the technology provided, Mickey digitises the journal and creates a Data Sora to venture into the journal to investigate find out who Namine is as well as what "We must return to free them from their torment" means. This eventually leads Sora into worlds containing bugs and using what he has, Sora goes through the journal and defeats all the bugs, encountering familiar characters along they way while also taking on Maleficent and Pete who choose to intervene in the matter at hand. Eventually, everything is set out right and Mickey and Sora meet Namine one last time as everything is restored. The ending of the game reveals what was written by Mickey with Sora, Riku and Kairi read at the end of II. Like with 358/2 Days, this game originally was exclusive to Japan before getting remade for the DS and released in western countries following from that. A cinematic version exists on 2.5 HD and again, this is purely personal preference on how you want to play it.
So we now come to the last game in the timeline before III which is Dream Drop Distance:
So with the final battle against Xehanort slowly but steadily coming, Yen Sid decides that its time for Sora and Riku to take on the Mark of Mastery exam to have them become keyblade masters and be ready for the battle. In order to do this, Yen Sid sends them to worlds that haven't been consumed by darkness, but rather stuck in a deep slumber and have therefore not been restored. He also mentions that new enemies in the form of Dream Eaters are invading these worlds and must be stopped in order for the worlds to awaken. However some Dream Eaters can also be recruited to aid both characters in their cause. So the exam begins with both Riku and Sora separated from one another, but only one can move while the other sleeps during this time. As the last game in the timeline before III, it sets up the stage for the next game while also showing us a glimpse of hope that the heroes can and will succeed in their mission to save everything. It also shows us some of Mickey's past when he was still training.
Its also important to note that some parts of the games also feature cutscenes that take place before or after the events of said games such as A Fragmentary Passage (part of Birth By Sleep) which has some cutscenes that take place during Dream Drop Distance and after. But as far as playing order is concerned, this is the chronological order and I hope I have made sense of the timeline for you all. five of these games can be played in their entirety on the HD compilations whereas there are two which have cinematic films of, but can only be played in their original versions if you want to play rather than watch. Then as for X, the film is part of the third HD compilation while the actual games can be played on mobile devices as previously mentioned. And A Fragmentary Passage is part of the third HD compilation.
So as I said, I hope this all makes sense to you and now you are ready for III. Let's hope its worth the wait.
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