TheKingdom Heartsseries, a brilliant but convoluted story that merges the worlds and characters of Disney and Final Fantasy, can be quite intimidating to new players. With 13 entries in the series to date, the first question many people have is “Where should I start?” This guide will break down a few different recommended starting points and game orders to help new players dive into this story of Light, Darkness, Hearts, and Friendship.
The first option this guide offers is playing theKingdom Heartsgames in release order. This has a few advantages, such as preventing certain crucial twists from being revealed ahead of time, though it does also tend to jump around the timeline a lot as the story grows in scale and complexity. The second option is a “timeline order” that puts the games in the order they occur in the series' timeline. This has the advantage of creating a continuous story that doesn’t jump around the timeline (for the most part) but can result in certain key moments and twists losing some of their impact due to being made more obvious by context from “earlier” games in the timeline.
Release Order
Playing the Kingdom Hearts games in release order is a great way to ease into the story and save some of the complicated stuff for later.Beginning with Kingdom Hearts, you’ll be introduced to the story the way it was originally presented to players and preserve the twists and turns of the narrative. The main drawback to playing in this order is that it jumps around on the timeline from entry to entry, which can potentially be frustrating or confusing for some players. Nonetheless,this is the option I would personally recommend for engaging with the series.Here’s a breakdown of the games in release order:
Where to play It
Additional Notes
Kingdom Hearts
The easiest way to play this entry is via Kingdom Hearts 1.5+2.5, which is available on all current generation consoles and PC at the time of writing.
It was originally released for the PlayStation 2 and later rereleased as part of Kingdom Hearts 1.5.
While Kingdom Hearts is a game that sometimes shows its age, it remains a fantastic Action RPG with some unique systems that weren’t brought back in later entries. For example, many attacks (especially projectiles) can be deflected by attacking so that Sora’s Keyblade connects with the incoming attack.
It has an excellent self-contained story that also connects to the greater story of the series, making it arguably the best starting point for new players.
Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories
Once again, Kingdom Hearts 1.5+2.5 has you covered here.
The original release was a Gameboy Advance Title with vastly different graphics, that was later remade as a PS2 title. The PS2 title is the version included in 1.5.
Chain of Memories is definitely a strange one, having players construct the worlds they explore one room at a time via cards, and implementing real-time combat using a deck of cards. Each card represents an action Sora can take, so Deck Building and learning how to link cards together becomes an essential part of the gameplay. It can be a lot of fun once you get the hang of it.
Note:Playing Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days before Chain of Memories in Kingdom Hearts 1.5 will unlock extra cards for use in this game. While not essential to the experience, they can be a fun bonus, so it’s worth considering playing 358/2 first, so you have access to the extra cards.
Kingdom Hearts II
This one can be found in Kingdom Hearts 1.5+2.5, as part of 2.5.
Originally released for the PlayStation 2, Kingdom Hearts II was eventually rereleased as part of Kingdom Hearts 2.5.
Kingdom Hearts II is a lot of people’s favorite game in the series, owing to its highly polished Action Combat and wealth of side objectives and optional content. This is also the game that first reveals the name of the series' recurring antagonist, whose shadow looms over the 13 games that make up the story so far, making it a very important game story-wise.
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
This one can be watched as a movie in Kingdom Hearts 1.5+2.5, as part of 1.5.
The original release was for the Nintendo DS, with its cutscenes, journal entries, and other key information being remastered for Kingdom Hearts 1.5.
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is a mission-based Action RPG that tells a crucial story set between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II. If you have the means to play it on Nintendo DS, I highly recommend it, since the movie version included in 1.5 omits certain scenes and (naturally) all of the gameplay.
If you can’t play it yourself, the 1.5 Movie version is still a great way to experience the story and learn about the characters, many of whom are hugely important to the story of the series as a whole.
Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep
This game can be played in Kingdom Hearts 1.5+2.5, as part of 2.5.
The original game was released for the PSP, before it was remastered for Kingdom Hearts 2.5.
Another popular choice for “favorite game in the series”, Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep is a prequel story told from the perspective of three Keyblade Wielders. Set before Kingdom Hearts, this game is an Action RPG using a customizable “Command Deck”, allowing players to fully customize their loadout in combat. By mastering Commands through frequent use, you can fuse them together and create entirely new abilities to expand your combat capabilities.
Alongside its excellent gameplay, Birth By Sleep also features three story modes. Each of these stories contains new information and reveals a lot about the lore of the series. Clearing all of them even unlocks additional epilogue content to challenge, making this one of the meatier entries in the series.
Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded
This one is available to watch as a movie in Kingdom Hearts 1.5+2.5, as part of 2.5.
The original release was for the Nintendo DS, and it received the same treatment as 358/2 Days when Kingdom Hearts 2.5 was made.
Kingdom Hearts: Re: Coded is a linear Action RPG that tells the story of the original Kingdom Hearts with some new twists and turns, through the eyes of a Digital Sora in a digitized version of Jiminy’s Journal. While this initially seems like a recap of past events, it actually contains useful information for later in the series.
Once again, this one can be pretty fun to play on the DS if possible, but there’s nothing wrong with just watching the Movie either, since much of the story is still a retelling of Kingdom Hearts.
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
This game can be played as part of Kingdom Hearts 2.8, which is available on all current generation consoles and PC at the time of writing.
The original release was for the Nintendo 3DS and it was later remastered for Kingdom Hearts 2.8.
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance returns to the “present” and continues the story past Kingdom Hearts II. Featuring gameplay and combat based on the systems introduced in Birth By Sleep, Dream Drop Distance also adds customizable and upgradeable “Dream Eater” party members to the mix. Coordinating with your Dream Eaters allows you to unleash powerful special attacks, so learning how to power them up is a huge part of the game.
The Story of Dream Drop Distance lays out a lot of the groundwork for Kingdom Hearts III and also provides a lot of new information.
Kingdom Hearts X
This one is a bit tricky, since it was a mobile game prior to being closed down. The game can still be downloaded, however, and Square Enix updated the game to allow you to watch all of the cutscenes offline.
Kingdom Hearts X was an RPG set a long time before the rest of the series, telling the stories of the first Keyblade Wielders and expanding on events mentioned throughout the series. The game had players joining one of five Unions and fighting heartless across multiple worlds, with multiplayer battles and raids occurring frequently.
Story-wise, Kingdom Hearts X is hugely important to the timeline and especially to events in later games, making it well worth looking into.
Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth By Sleep -A Fragmentary passage-
Originally designed as the prologue to Kingdom Hearts 3, this entry in the series was instead included in Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue as a small taste of things to come.
Kingdom Hearts 2.8 remains the best way to play this game.
Kingdom Hearts 0.2 is a short but well-constructed Action RPG set during the events of the original Kingdom Hearts. It shows another side of that game’s story while also continuing the story of Birth By Sleep, further connecting it to the rest of the series.
Kingdom Hearts X Back Cover
A short movie set during Kingdom Hearts X, this was included in Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue.
This story is set during the events of Kingdom Hearts X, covering events immediately before a major event in the series' history and expanding on certain characters introduced in Kingdom Hearts X.
Kingdom Hearts III
The Grand Finale to the first Saga of Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts III is available on all current generation consoles and PC.
Kingdom Hearts 3 is an Action RPG continuing the story from where Dream Drop Distance left off, tying up many lingering plotlines and bringing the first Saga to its conclusion. It raises almost as many questions as it solves, while building on the combat systems of Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance, ending the first Saga but leaving you wondering where the story could go next.
Kingdom Hearts Dark Road
Another Mobile Game entry, Kingdom Hearts Union X Dark Road was converted into an offline game in 2022.
Dark Road is another prequel game,telling the story of the first saga’s main antagonist prior to the events of Birth By Sleepwhile also revealing countless new details about the story.
Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memories
This is another recent entry in the series, available on all current generation consoles, though it does not have a PC release at the time of writing.
Melody of Memories is a Rhythm Game that brings players on a musical journey through the entire series, retelling the story and providing a few new details at its conclusion.
Timeline Order
While this isn’t my personal recommendation, there are definitely advantages to playing the series in timeline order. For one, it makes the story flow in one direction from start to finish, which might be easier for some players to follow. That said, it also means starting with the two mobile games, which isn’t a good example of how the series usually plays.You could always skip both mobile games (and X Back Cover) and come back to them after playing up to “Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth By Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-” for a less frustrating experience, since they don’t become directly relevant until around that point anyway.
Kingdom Hearts X Dark Road
Dark Road is another prequel game, telling the story of the first saga’s main antagonist prior to the events of Birth By Sleep while also revealing countless new details about the story.
This game can be played in Kingdom Hearts 1.5+2.5, as part of 2.5. This collection is available on all current generation consoles and PC at the time of writing.
A popular choice for “favorite game in the series”,Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep is a prequel story told from the perspective of three Keyblade Wielders.Set before Kingdom Hearts, this game is an Action RPG using a customizable “Command Deck”, allowing players to fully customize their loadout in combat. By mastering Commands through frequent use, you can fuse them together and create entirely new abilities to expand your combat capabilities.
Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth By Sleep -A Fragmentary Passage-
The easiest way to play this entry is via Kingdom Hearts 1.5+2.5, as part of 1.5.
Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is a mission-based Action RPG that tells a crucial story set between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II. If you have the means to play it on Nintendo DS, I highly recommend it,since the movie version included in 1.5 omits certain scenes and (naturally) all of the gameplay.
Kingdom Hearts 3
Kingdom Hearts 3 is an Action RPG continuing the story from where Dream Drop Distance left off,tying up many lingering plotlines and bringing the first Saga to its conclusion.It raises almost as many questions as it solves, while building on the combat systems of Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance, ending the first Saga but leaving you wondering where the story could go next.
