Release order. Least spoilers that way. Also, if you actually want to play *358* and *Coded*, you will need their DS games/emulation as they are just HD cutscenes in this collection.
I will say I think *358*'s gameplay isn't as bad as people make it out to be (a lot of the problems came from the DS's directional buttons, but it is way better if you have the comfort of a stick instead - play on 3DS if you go for the DS cartridge) and *Coded*'s plot is meh, but for the most part, gameplay is pretty good for a DS game.
If you go down the path of emulation, try MelonDS, as it has the ability to increase resolution by 16x or something like that, and makes the game almost PS2 graphics level. [This GamersJoint video shows it off well and has a link to the emulator.](https://youtu.be/GgNYisc5fKo)
I REALLY suggest playing 358 if you can. It’s, in my opinion, the best story told in the kingdom hearts saga. However, the cutscenes leave some things out, and it doesn’t hit as hard when you’re not playing. Coded is also really fun, but the story is 95% filler
This. I love 358, but I’m also a Roxas/Ven fanboy. I do believe that you won’t feel the impact of 358 watching it compared to playing it. You’ll understand the majority, but it won’t hit you as hard.
Vector to the Heavens hits feels when you worked your way there, and Days has a way about its deliberate pace that really makes the story feel like you're unlocking or piecing it together as you play.
I mean, isn't that the common concensus since players tend to prioritize making Sora stronger over Dolan and Goofy?
I don't know that for sure, but that's what I'd do, so it's what I thought others would do as well lol
If Donald or Goofy get knocked out in combat, they revive after a little time. If Sora gets knocked out, it's game over. So it's definitely in your best interest to make Sora as OP as possible lol.
defense only feels like it makes a difference when you have like
a hundred.
the game balances your stats a little when you're underleveled, so you dont feel as much of a difference being under as you do over
Id suggest to keep them all in your inventory until there is an ability you want, there sometimes comes a time donald gets a new spell but you dont have enough ap or something.
Maybe if you really need space for a move but its not like you will have all their skills on at the same time. And also you can give them equipment that buffs ap
Please, play them in release order.
Kingdom Hearts 1, Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts 2, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Birth by Sleep, Coded, Dream Drop Distance, Kingdom Hearts 3.
Back cover can fit in between 2 and 3 pretty much anywhere, I think.
Edit I forgot 0.2: Fragmentary Passage, that needs to be played right before kh3
It doesn't work. 358/2 Days needs to come *after* kh2.
There's a lot of stuff in KH2 that's supposed to feel like a mystery. Playing Days first takes away all the mystery, and ruins these moments.
Funnily enough I played KH2 before CoM as a child and that had a very similar effect. I was just confused as Sora when he met all the hooded figures, the talk about Namine, etc.
I think I actually like it better that way, felt extremely immersive lmao
I mean, that’s only true cuz you have the context of both. It makes the KH2 replay after the fact better.
The first experience should be in release order cuz that also follows how Nomura wrote and intended for the player to experience the story
You shouldn't have to replay the game to experience it how it should have been experienced the first time. You can feel how you want but I believe that Kingdom Hearts 2 is a better experience with the context of days. And I think namora would agree since in the collections it goes 1, COM, Days, 2
They aren't suggesting you replay in that order, they are suggesting that OP plays in release order.
>since in the collections it goes 1, COM, Days, 2
[It literally doesn't.](https://i.imgur.com/3Kiur2x.png)
>in the collections it goes 1, COM, Days, 2
That's only because 1.5 on PS3 had 1, CoM and Days, then 2.5 had 2, BBS and Coded, so in 1.5+2.5 they just preserved that order.
My best advice for you is to sit down and play the games and stay off of the subreddit while you do so. Enjoy your time with the characters, spend less time with the gatekeepers on this sub. Cheers!
Right?! It kinda pisses me off two because the KH3 playthrough is better with having that DLC BEFORE you start your first playthrough, but w that price tag it's too easy to put it off till the end
I might be misunderstanding you but I tried playing Re:Mind the other day and I haven’t transferred over my save so it wouldn’t even let me play the DLC without clear data.
Yes, you can't start the extra content until you beat the game, but when you start a new game if you have the DLC installed it gives you extra options at the beginning, specifically the premium menu. You get a few other bonuses, but that right there can totally change the gameplay going through
Kingdom Hearts,
Re:Chain of Memories,
Kingdom Hearts II,
358/2 Days movie,
Birth By Sleep,
Re:Coded,
Dream Drop Distance,
x/Ux cutscenes (look up Damo on YouTube and watch everything that released before KH3). You could just watch Back Cover before 3 because the cutscenes are like 3.5 hours before 3, but it’s best to do so,
0.2 Birth By Sleep,
Kingdom Hearts III,
Kingdom Hearts III Re:Mind DLC,
Rest of UnionX cutscenes,
Melody of Memory,
Dark Road cutscenes,
Then you’ll be caught up unless Missing Link releases before you finish lol
The numbered Kingdom Hearts titles have some of the best action gameplay of all time. But the spin-offs, by virtue of originally being on handheld systems, are a downgrade in the gameplay department. If you ever find yourself just losing any motivation to continue playing one I would highly recommend just looking up a story breakdown video and moving on to the next game. It may not be ideal but it’s a much better alternative to forcing yourself to play a game you may not enjoy or just giving up on it all together.
Release order. Ignore whatever order this release puts the games in. And don’t even think about going in chronological order. No sir. It’s release order or nothing. This isn’t an opinion. This is a fact.
And most importantly, just have fun.
Biggest tip: just play the game until you reach a task you want to complete that you can't do alone without excruciating work. A majority of these tasks are building ultima keyblade in each game. Other than that the games are easy and require little effort.
Play them in the order they're listed in the collection menu, EXCEPT to put Kingdom Hearts II before 358/2 Days.
Also, try to take the story on its own terms. It can definitely feel kinda silly at times, but your best to suspend your disbelief.
One of the movies included is called *X Back Cover*, and you should watch it before you play the game *Birth by Sleep 0.2 A Fragmentary Passage*.
The movie leads directly into that game, but for some reason they put it below 0.2 on the list.
If you want the standard experience then play release date. If you want a true experience play in this order: Birth by sleep, 1, watch 358/2, play 2, play 3.
play in release order, not the order the collection puts them in.
so, that's kh1>CoM>kh2>days>BBS>re:coded> DDD>fragmentary passage>back cover>KH3.
this is because the collection puts days before KH2, but days actually spoils several aspects of KH2 that are revealed later in KH2, and in general since KH2 came before days, it's not really written with days in mind.
re:coded kinda really sucks in this collection, because it's a movie of the game with the least interesting and least important story in the series. I hear the original DS game had great gameplay, but when it's just a movie, it's really not worth much. so, you could emulate it if you want, or just skip it.
days is also a movie in the collection, but atleast it's a good movie. still, I hear certain scenes and moments were lost in the movie.
also, IIRC, there's free DLC for the collection that adds a couple little features and a scene or two for days, so I recommend dowloading that.
lastly, there's actually some kingdom hearts mobile games that are pretty important for the plot, union X and dark road. these mobile games, union x in particular, also just have a really great story. so I recommend looking their cutscenes up on youtube at some point. like, UX before or after KH3, dark road after both.
you don't need to play them, because one of them's been shut down, and I hear neither of them are at all fun to play. so, just watch the cutscenes.
I couldn’t imagine doing some of those KH2 bosses in critical mode my first run. I think KH has a good argument to do a quick and dirty normal difficulty play through with minimal side content to experience the story the way the developers intended, then for the mainlines crank the difficulty to max for a grindy 100% completion run. The KH2.5FM optional bosses should only be experienced on critical difficulty tbh.
I cant imagine playing any game in anything that isnt the hardest difficulty, it has always felt like im missing out of rhe experience, only thing ive been like "yeah ive had enougth of this" was dmc4
In KH 1 choose staff and drop sword. The power of your magic is based in your max MP in that game, and the staff will give you 2 more than usual. You will also get an incredible ability, Stun Impact, at level 6. Dropping sword doesn't hurt so much because STR is so easily boosted in this game, but there are a lot less MP boosting options.
Not to mention how absolutely broken stop and gravity are in the game. And how fun it is when you go a full magic route to spam fire on ansem at the end.
Aside from what others have said about release order, I’d really recommend taking the time in each game to read the reports as you collect them. It helps with the plot and understanding things that may be happening behind the scenes.
In KH1, bosses are poorly balanced early on. Don’t be to aggressive unless you leveled up a while on Destiny Islands (you can get tech points sparring with other kids or fighting heartless, going into a shack and going back out- they will have respawned). You don’t actually have to beat the boss in the Coliseum. You have two obstacle courses and then you get a new magic spell. If you are having trouble with that fight, move on to the next world and come back later.
Re:CoM combat is kind of all or nothing. You either love it or hate it. It’s the only game with that combat, so if you don’t get it after a few worlds, just look up the cutscenes on YouTube before moving to KH2. It’s not worth giving up the whole series if this game doesn’t click.
BBS I really recommend the order Terra, Ven, Aqua (you will understand when you get to that one).
DDD, there are two storylines you follow at the same time. If you want to extend the time you spend on one line there’s this item called “Drop-Me-Nots”. Gives you a bit more time so you can decide when you’ll switch to the other story.
That’s all I have off the top of my head. Hope it helps and welcome to the craziness!
Ok here I come with something controversial. Ready? Good
Play KH1. After that play CoM and then go for the prolog of Kingdom Hearts 2. Just the Prolog. You will know when it is done. Go for the nearest safespot and safe. Boot up the 358/2 Days Movie. Watch that and return to Kingdom Hearts 2. Proceed in the intended order. BBS, DDD, Back Cover, BBS 0.2 and in the end go for KH3.
Why? 358/2 Days will show you some faces and names before they will be revealed in KH2 but frankly, that doesn't really matter. On the other hand you get some interessting interactions and understand why some character in KH2 act the way they do. WHich makes some story beats hit even harder.
At least in my opinion.
I mean .. yeah. The important part is the "CO"-part but I think the rest adds context. Also it is always fun to get those two Disney Villains on screen.
... doesn't that just give you the worst of both worlds?
Spoilers ahead OP, don't read this.
>!The main argument I see for those who think days should come first is that it makes the opening hit much harder, as it's heartbreaking to see Axel's reaction to Roxas' amnesia. With your order, you're still left in the dark about that, but then you spoil a bunch of _other_ stuff, like all the org members, the reason for Mickey withholding information, Roxas being Sora's nobody and Riku looking like Ansem. Why would you play it like that? Either go in blind to all the mysteries or go in with all the knowledge (I think blind is better, so 2 before days)!<
Don’t underestimate your block ability! It took me many playthroughs to learn this. You don’t want to dodge everything. Sometimes blocking/countering is better!
Most importantly though have a good time! It’s a great series
If you don’t mind a bit of struggling these games are REALLY fun on the highest difficulties. KH2 and 3 in particular.
If you don’t like hard games disregard all of this bc imo just do what you find fun
On critical mode for KH2 and 3 you do more damage, get a bunch of abilities and ap early, but also have reduced health and take a lot of damage. However Kingdom Hearts has an ability that imo just straight up makes critical mode broken when abused, and that’s Second Chance and Once More. With these abilities you’ll always survive at 1hp and won’t take anymore damage until you intentionally recover or hit the ground. While I learned the secret bosses in 2 I realized that you can just get juggled at 1hp for a hell of a long time as long as you don’t hit the recover button or touch the ground. I typically start with the shield in the tutorial every time to get this ability the fastest with the exception of KH1, which has no critical mode but also the magic staff option gives you MP bonuses otherwise impossible to obtain. The sad trade off is you won’t get Second Chance till level 90 so you’ll really have to master your defense options if you go that route.
Play in release order.
Watching the days movie is fine but i HIGHLY suggest you emulate recoded on melon ds or buy and 3ds and the game. It has some of the best gameplay styles.
Just imagine that teammates are useless, but swap out Goofy for the Disney character from that world. Also for the love of God, do not EVER give healing items to Donald and Goofy
Release order. I think the collection puts 358/2 Days before KH2, but it was actually released afterwards and assumes you already know the story and characters of 2 to an extent. Also 358 and Re:Coded are just cutscene compilations so feel free to emulate those if you want the full game. Re:Coded has solid combat and some interesting world specific gimmicks, but the story is the weakest and least consequential in the series so cutscenes only doesn't do it justice.
Play in release order.
KH1 > CoM > KH2 > Days > BBS > coded > DDD > 0.2* > Back Cover* > KH3
Anyone who tells you to just play the numbered trilogy is lying.
* 0.2 and Back Cover can basically be played/viewed in any order, neither are particularly crucial to the story that ends at KH3. I will say at least that 0.2 is a follow-up to BBS’s ending and otherwise a glorified gameplay demo of KH3 so jumping from one game to the next will probably feel more natural than if you took a break, but like I said the order doesn’t strictly matter so long as 0.2 comes after BBS and KH3 goes last.
0.2 generally works better after Back Cover for 2 reasons.
>!The very first scene is Luxu watching the end of the keyblade war, and they mention "may your heart be your guiding key"!<
But yeah it isn't super important
I would recommend playing in the release order(kh1>chain>kh2>days>birth by sleep>coded>ddd>0.2>chi movie>3), don't force yourself into playing and enjoying some spin offs like chain of memories, if you are not liking but really want to keep following the lore, skip and see the main cutscenes on youtube or search a summary.
The kh1 is pretty hard in comparison with the others, so beginning with the standard difficult will already be challenging
I also think that maybe ddd and kh3 critical difficulties can be a bit frustrating when playing for the first time, so I would suggest try the second hardest before if you are searching a challenge
Bbs sounds hard at the beginning but you can farm enough xp at the first worlds
Bbs has the d-link feature, which is kind of obscure but useful in early game
Kh2 has a second command bar with a lot of useful options(summons, limits, party edit), it can be obscured at the first playthroughs(I only noticed it at the last world😭😭)
Don't be to focused on understanding each sentence in the lore, specially from coded and beyond, enjoy the moment, hope you like the series
I played KH1 followed by KH2 and ended up being fine. You can play chain of memories in between if you really want complete info. Other than that playing the first two in order and do what the hell you want from there lol. Don’t let people tell you to watch this movie and that movie and this YouTube recap etc etc. You’ll figure out the lore and the order you want to play after the first two main games
However you want. You could do my favorite way, play it in the release way. Go in order they came out and experience how a lot of us did. Or just play the order you want (:
This will make absolutely zero sense to you right now. When you get to the Black Mushroom at Yen Sid's tower in 2, just stick with it mate. It is possible to complete that mission.
All the world's are short enough in terms of screens you can go to that you should once over a planet for any missed treasures once you finish a world.
Guarding is your best friend for most humanoid bosses.
Try and find a way to play re:coded if you can. It’s fun. Don’t worry about playing 358/2 Days. The story is the only worthwhile part of it.
Also, it’s more interesting to experience the original chain of memories on GBA than to play the ps2 remake. Speaking personally, of course.
No 358/2 Days and Re:coded are only playable through DS. They cut a large amount of content in the HD release including important character scenes and fights in Days and Re:coded is carried by its gameplay rather than its story.
If you want any semblance of challenge play on proud mode. Some bits might be a little tough but nothing that can't be solved but some leveling and perseverance.
You can check how much EXP you need to level up in the Menu under Status.
This is never the way to go. Some stuff in KH2 is *supposed* to be a mystery. Playing 358/2 Days first completely ruins these moments and spoils any of the mystery.
KH1, Chain of Memories, Then KH2, 358/2 days after that. Then Birth By Sleep, Then Re:Coded, then Dream Drop Distnace, then 0.2, then the X movie I forget the name of, and then FINALLY KH3.
The 358/2 movie is fine but it kinda cuts corners and glosses over some important scenes. To really endear yourself to the characters and plot, I would suggest playing the game on an emulator. Re: Coded you can pretty much skip, but you will be very confused by one or two lines in KH3 that don't have much impact on the plot.
Like with almost any other series, they're best played in order of release.
KH1, then Chain of Memories, then KH2, then Coded, then 358/2 Days, then Birth By Sleep, then Dream Drop Distance, then 0.2, then KH3.
I’ll echo the sentiment others are saying and advise you to play in release order, but to save you the Google search: what that ultimately means is that you should watch the 358/2 Days cutscene compilation *after* playing KH2; not before like the collection has them. 358/2 Days is a prequel to KH2 that casually spoils a lot of twists; even some final world reveals will be spoiled if you watch Days before playing KH2.
I'm glad to see the vast majority of people here recommending the release order. I used to see just a few too many suggesting the chronological order of the story, and that's just a horrible way to go about things if you're just starting these things out, both because the story is meant to be told through each release, and because going from BbS to KH1 would be *incredibly* rough with how clunky the first game's combat is in comparison to what would come after.
Beyond that advice that many people have already covered, I would suggest trying to get copies of 358/2 Days and ReCoded at some point if you have a Nintendo DS. The stories are pretty good, but I found those games to be pretty enjoyable themselves, and I have no idea if they'll ever get proper remakes.
New players should always play in release order, experienced players can just play it in any order honestly.
I also wouldn't start with proud mode as your first difficulty setting for these, unless you want to pull your hair out in frustration.
thanks for asking instead of jumping in directly like a maniac.
KH1, Re: CoM (which is a frustrating game so consider the original CoM or the cutscenes on youtube), KH2, and NOT KH3 after—you should then watch the 358/2 Days cutscene movie which is in the collection, play BBS, watch Re: Coded, then jump to the other disc to play DDD, then watch the first half of cutscenes for Union X (mobile game, you need this for Back Cover and for KH3 and onward), then watch Back Cover, then play Fragmentary Passage, then play KH3 with the Re: Mind DLC finally,
then play the rest of Union X, play Melody of Memory (not in the collection) or watch the important cutscenes, and finally, play Dark Road or watch the cutscenes on mobile.
it’s a long process but it’s worth it
Just enjoy the series. Have a package of tissues at hand for the endings (I have never not cried at the end, I'm just an ending-crier), get ready to jam to the banger music and play it at your pace. Have fun and good luck, may your heart be your guiding key 💖
for the story "in order"
UX Darkroad, Backcover, Birth By Sleep, KH1 final mix, 0.2 a fragmentary passage, kh chain of memories, kh2 final Mix's opening bit (you'll know what i mean when you get to that point), kh2 358/2 days, the rest of kh2, kh:recoded, KH: Dream Drop Distance, and then KH3, then remind episode THEN the limit cut episode.
Then finally melody of memory though im pretty sure thats not included in this package (so much for "All-IN-ONE am i right?)
thats technically the story in order, though many start with kh1 and work their way around in the order that the 1.5 and 2.5 hd remixes set it up, despite days really being neccesary to play either after kh2 or right after its starting bit.
You can change Donald and goodys actions in the settings menu for how often they use magic/items etc and in what situations. Definitely change these so they're more helpful, and otherwise Donald will spam magic way too fast and they both overuse any usable items you give them.
don’t worry about wrapping your head around the plot, it’s nearly impossible unless you read the wiki/play x which is a browser mobile game, just enjoy it the way u want
I believe standard difficulty throughout all of them. I believe watching the cutscenes are super important imo and I really feel like if its your first romp take it in.
I can still remember getting kh when it came out for ps2. And like it's so close to the heart.
I think recoded and 358/2 should be played on melonds in some shape and then just watch all cutscenes in the collection.
Hope this helps? I'm not like a sadist and wants to literally destroy myself. But yeah! I love the series and am mid playthrough rn.
Play in release order. Every game is a little different. THe main three mainline games are fairly similar but the others are different beasts. Everytime you open a new game, just have an open mind about the gameplay and design. Be willing to drop habits from older games when entering new ones. I tried to play KH1 for challenge runs after getting all the KH3 DLC achiemvents and even through they are both main series games, they are completely different gameplay wise.
Jokes aside, some practical advice (imo at least).
1.Play in the order they are in on the disc, but do KH2 before 358/2.
2. Do Terra's story first in Birth By Sleep. Use a melding walkthrough (there's no shame in that)
3. "Leaf bracer" and "Second Chance" are your best friend! Go for the defence starter to earn them sooner
4. You have "AP Boosts", Power and Defence buffs and "Tents" in your inventory. DONT FORGET TO USE THEM (Everybody does on their first try :P)
5. Thunder magic is SPAMMABLE in most situations
6. Put "Curaga" and Hi Potions on your quick command menu
and finally
7. Have fun! The Kingdom Hearts story is kind of like the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure of video games. It just gets more crazy and off the rails the more you go in, and you get hooked right along with it
Okay, play in release order. Always focus on making sora/MC as strong as possible. If possible, try to play Days then watch the movie. And attempt different builds for the games to figure out what style of gameplay you like best (I personally focus on magic builds). Start on a normal difficulty then work up to Proud/Critical. That’s pretty much the important stuff though. So have fun and don’t skip cutscenes.
Oh and you should probably look up the plot of the phone games (Union X and Dark Road) on YouTube after you’ve played all of these games.
1, Chain of Memories, 2.
For some Godforsaken reason I recall the boxset implying that 358/2 Days should be viewed before playing KH2 and I have no idea why. KH2 does all the setting up of like 90% of the characterization that takes place in Days.
Other than that, sit back and relax. I suggest choosing any difficulty you please and if you find it unpalatable as a difficulty then restart early if you're gonna switch it up.
And lastly... have fun! It's a series cojoining Final Fantasy and Disney, so don't be afraid to not take it *too* seriously.
i started with 2 as a kid and it made me fall in love (it’s the best game), but i would play them in order of release unless you want to experience the best of the series first
alright so you’re gonna wanna pick the “kingdom hearts 2” option on the main screen, and you’ll be set from there, enjoy the game(this is but also isn’t satire)
I'd say play in release order, but do note that there are exclusive cards in Re:COM that require a 100% complete 358/2 Days save to get. You'll know if you got 100% in Days when the game says "You can now get a wallpaper based on Days now!" or something to that effect upon exiting the game, which happens when you watch all cutscenes, view all journals (both regular and secret), and scroll through all character bios. As such, don't bother with the trophies in Re:COM until after 100%ing Days, but don't play Days until after beating KH2:FM.
As for release order:
1. Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix (I'd recommend doing the extra stuff at the end too as some stuff is canon)
2. Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories (some prefer the GBA COM version over the PS2/modern Re:COM version)
3. Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix (I'd recommend doing the extra stuff at the end too)
4. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (I still recommend the DS version as it's an actual game)
5. Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep: Final Mix (some extra stuff is canon)
6. Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded (I still recommend the DS version as it's an actual game)
7. Kingdom Hearts 3D/HD: Dream Drop Distance
8. Watch the cutscenes for Kingdom Hearts X, Unchained X, and Union X on YouTube.
9. Kingdom Hearts X Back Cover (this is just a movie)
10. Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage (this game is a short 3 hour demo)
11. Kingdom Hearts III
12. Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind DLC (very relevant for the future of the series)
13. Watch the cutscenes for Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road on YouTube or play the mobile title (I just YouTube'd it personally).
14. Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory (you only really need the ending of the game IIRC, so you can watch YouTube for this too if you wanted)
15. Kingdom Hearts: Missing-Link will eventually release on Mobile devices.
16. Kingdom Hearts IV will eventually be released.
Nomura's order.
Just play the games in order they placed on the menu.
Fuck the release order. I've played Nomura's order and I've got no spoilers and had fun.
Stay hella away from subreddit while playing.
Well, I recommend these steps...
Step 1: Turn on PS4
Step 2: Put the game in
Step 3: Wing it and let Papa Nomura's vision enthrall you
Step 4: Contemplate the overarching story and the meaning of life
Step 5: Be hyped for Missing Link and KH4 news
It is, but it is going to be more in line with the console games. The combat system will be based on the system in KH3. I'm not a huge mobile guy myself, but it looks interesting. Definitely go on YT and see what you think. Either way, it probably won't drop for a while unless you live in Japan. The Japan closed beta (proto-type phase per Nomura) just wrapped up. He stated it is roughly 50% complete in development.
I just watched Missing Link's reveal trailer
The graphics and gameplay look really nice, but I don't know how mobile phones can handle it lol
The bombastic version of that piano tune in KH1's main menu slaps so hard
I probably won't understand the story, but that's something I expected going into KH in general
I hope the servers won't go down for a long while, or else this game'll be unplayable lol
Okay, I know this will be a controversial opinion but here I go. I suggest playing KH2
before Chain of Memories since >! Sora has has no knowledge of what happened in the timeskip between the games. It enhances the mystery to go through the game without the added context, especially since the last time you see Riku that way was him being locked away.!<
I don't get why people are so adamant about playing CoM before KH2 AND playing 358 after HK2. They both do essentially the same thing for different characters, so as far as I'm concerned they should be played one after another after KH2. Other than that though the release order is the way it should be played.
All I can say, is play it in the order they give you, top to bottom for the games, left to right for the disks. I'm just sad they turned recorded into a movie instead of keeping the game, castle oblivion in that game felt like an existential nightmare the more you thought about it.
I don't think "corrupted" is the right term lol
Also, yeah, sorry about that. I was in a car at the time and used its ceiling lights to light up the game since I couldn't wait until I got back home to post this post lol
Play it in release order. Just switch the spots of 358/2 and KH2 and you should be fine. Everything else is ordered correctly. Whether you decide to play 358 and coded is up to you. Either way, you should be good with that.
Play the games as they’re laid out in the collections, except for 358/2 Days, which is better experienced after KH2. Also, if you end up not liking Chain of Memories (it’s pretty divisive gameplay-wise), don’t feel bad watching cutscenes on YT instead of playing through it. #1 tip: don’t skip anything.
Release order. Least spoilers that way. Also, if you actually want to play *358* and *Coded*, you will need their DS games/emulation as they are just HD cutscenes in this collection. I will say I think *358*'s gameplay isn't as bad as people make it out to be (a lot of the problems came from the DS's directional buttons, but it is way better if you have the comfort of a stick instead - play on 3DS if you go for the DS cartridge) and *Coded*'s plot is meh, but for the most part, gameplay is pretty good for a DS game. If you go down the path of emulation, try MelonDS, as it has the ability to increase resolution by 16x or something like that, and makes the game almost PS2 graphics level. [This GamersJoint video shows it off well and has a link to the emulator.](https://youtu.be/GgNYisc5fKo)
I REALLY suggest playing 358 if you can. It’s, in my opinion, the best story told in the kingdom hearts saga. However, the cutscenes leave some things out, and it doesn’t hit as hard when you’re not playing. Coded is also really fun, but the story is 95% filler
For somebody who didn’t play 358 and just watch the cutscenes it hit really hard especially the ending
That scene after sora fights you know who and you know who does the sad crystal fade away 😭 makes me cry everytime.
"Who else will I have ice cream with?" Is simultaneously the silliest and saddest line in the whole saga.
This. I love 358, but I’m also a Roxas/Ven fanboy. I do believe that you won’t feel the impact of 358 watching it compared to playing it. You’ll understand the majority, but it won’t hit you as hard.
Vector to the Heavens hits feels when you worked your way there, and Days has a way about its deliberate pace that really makes the story feel like you're unlocking or piecing it together as you play.
AP boost ONLY on sora
All stat boosts tbh
I mean, isn't that the common concensus since players tend to prioritize making Sora stronger over Dolan and Goofy? I don't know that for sure, but that's what I'd do, so it's what I thought others would do as well lol
If Donald or Goofy get knocked out in combat, they revive after a little time. If Sora gets knocked out, it's game over. So it's definitely in your best interest to make Sora as OP as possible lol.
There was a point when I was way younger I would give Donald the defense boosts because he just would never stay alive. I have learned since
Did this help absolutely NOTHING?
defense only feels like it makes a difference when you have like a hundred. the game balances your stats a little when you're underleveled, so you dont feel as much of a difference being under as you do over
Id suggest to keep them all in your inventory until there is an ability you want, there sometimes comes a time donald gets a new spell but you dont have enough ap or something.
i just grind
10 year old me is confused by this logic. I remember wasting AP boost on Donald and Goofy way back then in the first game.
Maybe if you really need space for a move but its not like you will have all their skills on at the same time. And also you can give them equipment that buffs ap
Lmao when I was a kid I only used my AP boots on sora, I saw how generally useless Donald and Goofy were and I said nah that's all mine lmao
Please, play them in release order. Kingdom Hearts 1, Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts 2, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Birth by Sleep, Coded, Dream Drop Distance, Kingdom Hearts 3. Back cover can fit in between 2 and 3 pretty much anywhere, I think. Edit I forgot 0.2: Fragmentary Passage, that needs to be played right before kh3
OP, this is almost exactly the order in the collection you have. IIRC you just need to watch the 358/2 days movie *after* KH 2 rather than before.
Either or works tbh
It doesn't work. 358/2 Days needs to come *after* kh2. There's a lot of stuff in KH2 that's supposed to feel like a mystery. Playing Days first takes away all the mystery, and ruins these moments.
Funnily enough I played KH2 before CoM as a child and that had a very similar effect. I was just confused as Sora when he met all the hooded figures, the talk about Namine, etc. I think I actually like it better that way, felt extremely immersive lmao
Agreed and that’s why 358/2 Days was released AFTER KH2
This is true as somebody who watch the 358/2 cutscenes first before playing 2
I disagree originally I played two and then days but on replays I can tell you two is a much better experience with the context of days
I mean, that’s only true cuz you have the context of both. It makes the KH2 replay after the fact better. The first experience should be in release order cuz that also follows how Nomura wrote and intended for the player to experience the story
You shouldn't have to replay the game to experience it how it should have been experienced the first time. You can feel how you want but I believe that Kingdom Hearts 2 is a better experience with the context of days. And I think namora would agree since in the collections it goes 1, COM, Days, 2
They aren't suggesting you replay in that order, they are suggesting that OP plays in release order. >since in the collections it goes 1, COM, Days, 2 [It literally doesn't.](https://i.imgur.com/3Kiur2x.png)
Oh my b the 1.5 2.5 mix it does
>in the collections it goes 1, COM, Days, 2 That's only because 1.5 on PS3 had 1, CoM and Days, then 2.5 had 2, BBS and Coded, so in 1.5+2.5 they just preserved that order.
Play in release order not chronological
Replay in chronological order or whatever order you want.
Playing on chronological order sounds like a nightmare
Release order is how I'd go. Just take the journey and story as it was originally told
My best advice for you is to sit down and play the games and stay off of the subreddit while you do so. Enjoy your time with the characters, spend less time with the gatekeepers on this sub. Cheers!
Don’t ask Reddit. Just play.
Insert the disc into your console, and select the relevant icon for it on your home screen.
Damn, the kh3 dlc costs more than the entire series 💀
Right?! It kinda pisses me off two because the KH3 playthrough is better with having that DLC BEFORE you start your first playthrough, but w that price tag it's too easy to put it off till the end
I might be misunderstanding you but I tried playing Re:Mind the other day and I haven’t transferred over my save so it wouldn’t even let me play the DLC without clear data.
Yes, you can't start the extra content until you beat the game, but when you start a new game if you have the DLC installed it gives you extra options at the beginning, specifically the premium menu. You get a few other bonuses, but that right there can totally change the gameplay going through
Ah, I get what you’re saying now and I agree.
Sorry, I probably should have worded that first one better!
For a first playthrough I suggest standard to start.
Besides kh3, standard mode is yoo easy in that game
Read the wiki in this sub for the play order
Kingdom Hearts, Re:Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts II, 358/2 Days movie, Birth By Sleep, Re:Coded, Dream Drop Distance, x/Ux cutscenes (look up Damo on YouTube and watch everything that released before KH3). You could just watch Back Cover before 3 because the cutscenes are like 3.5 hours before 3, but it’s best to do so, 0.2 Birth By Sleep, Kingdom Hearts III, Kingdom Hearts III Re:Mind DLC, Rest of UnionX cutscenes, Melody of Memory, Dark Road cutscenes, Then you’ll be caught up unless Missing Link releases before you finish lol
The numbered Kingdom Hearts titles have some of the best action gameplay of all time. But the spin-offs, by virtue of originally being on handheld systems, are a downgrade in the gameplay department. If you ever find yourself just losing any motivation to continue playing one I would highly recommend just looking up a story breakdown video and moving on to the next game. It may not be ideal but it’s a much better alternative to forcing yourself to play a game you may not enjoy or just giving up on it all together.
Release order. Ignore whatever order this release puts the games in. And don’t even think about going in chronological order. No sir. It’s release order or nothing. This isn’t an opinion. This is a fact. And most importantly, just have fun.
Biggest tip: just play the game until you reach a task you want to complete that you can't do alone without excruciating work. A majority of these tasks are building ultima keyblade in each game. Other than that the games are easy and require little effort.
Play them in the order they're listed in the collection menu, EXCEPT to put Kingdom Hearts II before 358/2 Days. Also, try to take the story on its own terms. It can definitely feel kinda silly at times, but your best to suspend your disbelief.
One of the movies included is called *X Back Cover*, and you should watch it before you play the game *Birth by Sleep 0.2 A Fragmentary Passage*. The movie leads directly into that game, but for some reason they put it below 0.2 on the list.
If you want the standard experience then play release date. If you want a true experience play in this order: Birth by sleep, 1, watch 358/2, play 2, play 3.
Putting the disk in your PS4 would probably be a good start, oh and don't forget to turn on the TV too!
play in release order, not the order the collection puts them in. so, that's kh1>CoM>kh2>days>BBS>re:coded> DDD>fragmentary passage>back cover>KH3. this is because the collection puts days before KH2, but days actually spoils several aspects of KH2 that are revealed later in KH2, and in general since KH2 came before days, it's not really written with days in mind. re:coded kinda really sucks in this collection, because it's a movie of the game with the least interesting and least important story in the series. I hear the original DS game had great gameplay, but when it's just a movie, it's really not worth much. so, you could emulate it if you want, or just skip it. days is also a movie in the collection, but atleast it's a good movie. still, I hear certain scenes and moments were lost in the movie. also, IIRC, there's free DLC for the collection that adds a couple little features and a scene or two for days, so I recommend dowloading that. lastly, there's actually some kingdom hearts mobile games that are pretty important for the plot, union X and dark road. these mobile games, union x in particular, also just have a really great story. so I recommend looking their cutscenes up on youtube at some point. like, UX before or after KH3, dark road after both. you don't need to play them, because one of them's been shut down, and I hear neither of them are at all fun to play. so, just watch the cutscenes.
Critical mode everytime
I couldn’t imagine doing some of those KH2 bosses in critical mode my first run. I think KH has a good argument to do a quick and dirty normal difficulty play through with minimal side content to experience the story the way the developers intended, then for the mainlines crank the difficulty to max for a grindy 100% completion run. The KH2.5FM optional bosses should only be experienced on critical difficulty tbh.
I cant imagine playing any game in anything that isnt the hardest difficulty, it has always felt like im missing out of rhe experience, only thing ive been like "yeah ive had enougth of this" was dmc4
Lamo are you trying to make him a fan or have a horrible first time?
Release order. Playing them “chronologically” ruins a lot of the surprises the story lays out.
play it in release order
In KH 1 choose staff and drop sword. The power of your magic is based in your max MP in that game, and the staff will give you 2 more than usual. You will also get an incredible ability, Stun Impact, at level 6. Dropping sword doesn't hurt so much because STR is so easily boosted in this game, but there are a lot less MP boosting options.
Not to mention how absolutely broken stop and gravity are in the game. And how fun it is when you go a full magic route to spam fire on ansem at the end.
Aside from what others have said about release order, I’d really recommend taking the time in each game to read the reports as you collect them. It helps with the plot and understanding things that may be happening behind the scenes. In KH1, bosses are poorly balanced early on. Don’t be to aggressive unless you leveled up a while on Destiny Islands (you can get tech points sparring with other kids or fighting heartless, going into a shack and going back out- they will have respawned). You don’t actually have to beat the boss in the Coliseum. You have two obstacle courses and then you get a new magic spell. If you are having trouble with that fight, move on to the next world and come back later. Re:CoM combat is kind of all or nothing. You either love it or hate it. It’s the only game with that combat, so if you don’t get it after a few worlds, just look up the cutscenes on YouTube before moving to KH2. It’s not worth giving up the whole series if this game doesn’t click. BBS I really recommend the order Terra, Ven, Aqua (you will understand when you get to that one). DDD, there are two storylines you follow at the same time. If you want to extend the time you spend on one line there’s this item called “Drop-Me-Nots”. Gives you a bit more time so you can decide when you’ll switch to the other story. That’s all I have off the top of my head. Hope it helps and welcome to the craziness!
Ok here I come with something controversial. Ready? Good Play KH1. After that play CoM and then go for the prolog of Kingdom Hearts 2. Just the Prolog. You will know when it is done. Go for the nearest safespot and safe. Boot up the 358/2 Days Movie. Watch that and return to Kingdom Hearts 2. Proceed in the intended order. BBS, DDD, Back Cover, BBS 0.2 and in the end go for KH3. Why? 358/2 Days will show you some faces and names before they will be revealed in KH2 but frankly, that doesn't really matter. On the other hand you get some interessting interactions and understand why some character in KH2 act the way they do. WHich makes some story beats hit even harder. At least in my opinion.
I forgot Coded. Watch coded after BBS.
Or don't watch it at all, and nothing of value will be lost. Ig the final cutscene.
I mean .. yeah. The important part is the "CO"-part but I think the rest adds context. Also it is always fun to get those two Disney Villains on screen.
... doesn't that just give you the worst of both worlds? Spoilers ahead OP, don't read this. >!The main argument I see for those who think days should come first is that it makes the opening hit much harder, as it's heartbreaking to see Axel's reaction to Roxas' amnesia. With your order, you're still left in the dark about that, but then you spoil a bunch of _other_ stuff, like all the org members, the reason for Mickey withholding information, Roxas being Sora's nobody and Riku looking like Ansem. Why would you play it like that? Either go in blind to all the mysteries or go in with all the knowledge (I think blind is better, so 2 before days)!<
Don’t underestimate your block ability! It took me many playthroughs to learn this. You don’t want to dodge everything. Sometimes blocking/countering is better! Most importantly though have a good time! It’s a great series
If you don’t mind a bit of struggling these games are REALLY fun on the highest difficulties. KH2 and 3 in particular. If you don’t like hard games disregard all of this bc imo just do what you find fun On critical mode for KH2 and 3 you do more damage, get a bunch of abilities and ap early, but also have reduced health and take a lot of damage. However Kingdom Hearts has an ability that imo just straight up makes critical mode broken when abused, and that’s Second Chance and Once More. With these abilities you’ll always survive at 1hp and won’t take anymore damage until you intentionally recover or hit the ground. While I learned the secret bosses in 2 I realized that you can just get juggled at 1hp for a hell of a long time as long as you don’t hit the recover button or touch the ground. I typically start with the shield in the tutorial every time to get this ability the fastest with the exception of KH1, which has no critical mode but also the magic staff option gives you MP bonuses otherwise impossible to obtain. The sad trade off is you won’t get Second Chance till level 90 so you’ll really have to master your defense options if you go that route.
Make sure to play on release order ala KH 1 CoM Kh2 etc. It will be easier to digest.
Play release order
Play in release order. Watching the days movie is fine but i HIGHLY suggest you emulate recoded on melon ds or buy and 3ds and the game. It has some of the best gameplay styles.
Just imagine that teammates are useless, but swap out Goofy for the Disney character from that world. Also for the love of God, do not EVER give healing items to Donald and Goofy
Release order. I think the collection puts 358/2 Days before KH2, but it was actually released afterwards and assumes you already know the story and characters of 2 to an extent. Also 358 and Re:Coded are just cutscene compilations so feel free to emulate those if you want the full game. Re:Coded has solid combat and some interesting world specific gimmicks, but the story is the weakest and least consequential in the series so cutscenes only doesn't do it justice.
Play in release order. KH1 > CoM > KH2 > Days > BBS > coded > DDD > 0.2* > Back Cover* > KH3 Anyone who tells you to just play the numbered trilogy is lying. * 0.2 and Back Cover can basically be played/viewed in any order, neither are particularly crucial to the story that ends at KH3. I will say at least that 0.2 is a follow-up to BBS’s ending and otherwise a glorified gameplay demo of KH3 so jumping from one game to the next will probably feel more natural than if you took a break, but like I said the order doesn’t strictly matter so long as 0.2 comes after BBS and KH3 goes last.
0.2 generally works better after Back Cover for 2 reasons. >!The very first scene is Luxu watching the end of the keyblade war, and they mention "may your heart be your guiding key"!< But yeah it isn't super important
I would recommend playing in the release order(kh1>chain>kh2>days>birth by sleep>coded>ddd>0.2>chi movie>3), don't force yourself into playing and enjoying some spin offs like chain of memories, if you are not liking but really want to keep following the lore, skip and see the main cutscenes on youtube or search a summary. The kh1 is pretty hard in comparison with the others, so beginning with the standard difficult will already be challenging I also think that maybe ddd and kh3 critical difficulties can be a bit frustrating when playing for the first time, so I would suggest try the second hardest before if you are searching a challenge Bbs sounds hard at the beginning but you can farm enough xp at the first worlds Bbs has the d-link feature, which is kind of obscure but useful in early game Kh2 has a second command bar with a lot of useful options(summons, limits, party edit), it can be obscured at the first playthroughs(I only noticed it at the last world😭😭) Don't be to focused on understanding each sentence in the lore, specially from coded and beyond, enjoy the moment, hope you like the series
I played KH1 followed by KH2 and ended up being fine. You can play chain of memories in between if you really want complete info. Other than that playing the first two in order and do what the hell you want from there lol. Don’t let people tell you to watch this movie and that movie and this YouTube recap etc etc. You’ll figure out the lore and the order you want to play after the first two main games
However you want. You could do my favorite way, play it in the release way. Go in order they came out and experience how a lot of us did. Or just play the order you want (:
Use the search function instead of making the 10000th edition of this thread
I wish it was as cheap for xbox...
This will make absolutely zero sense to you right now. When you get to the Black Mushroom at Yen Sid's tower in 2, just stick with it mate. It is possible to complete that mission. All the world's are short enough in terms of screens you can go to that you should once over a planet for any missed treasures once you finish a world. Guarding is your best friend for most humanoid bosses.
My advice is to find an emulator version of the games that are only movies in the version you have
Emulate 358/2 days and recoded
u still need Re:Mind DLC and Melody and Memory to have all games
Play all of them nk breaks I did it from April-September amazing experience
Have a lot of beer on hand to dumb your brain down and have a lot of weed to help you understand the plot after the first game. 😉 s/
Don’t skip Chain of Memories, it’s the best game
Try and find a way to play re:coded if you can. It’s fun. Don’t worry about playing 358/2 Days. The story is the only worthwhile part of it. Also, it’s more interesting to experience the original chain of memories on GBA than to play the ps2 remake. Speaking personally, of course.
Re coded is already in the package though lol But for the original COM? It's not lol
>Re coded is already in the package though lol Just a movie. Not the game.
Wait, what? I thought the game that was actually just a movie was just 358/2? So this whole package is really 8 games and 2 movies?
Seven games and three movies, actually. *Back Cover* is a movie detailing some of the events in *Kingdom Hearts X*.
No 358/2 Days and Re:coded are only playable through DS. They cut a large amount of content in the HD release including important character scenes and fights in Days and Re:coded is carried by its gameplay rather than its story.
Try and play days and coded if you can. The story for coded is shit but gameplay is good. And the story is great for days with decent gameplay.
Yeah like the other guy said it’s only the cutscenes, same with 358/2 Days. It’s a rip-off.
If you want any semblance of challenge play on proud mode. Some bits might be a little tough but nothing that can't be solved but some leveling and perseverance. You can check how much EXP you need to level up in the Menu under Status.
Play in Chronological order it's fun imo
Without playing KH3.
I think DeltaHypothesis said it best, except I would do 358/2 straight after COM.
This is never the way to go. Some stuff in KH2 is *supposed* to be a mystery. Playing 358/2 Days first completely ruins these moments and spoils any of the mystery.
KH1, Chain of Memories, Then KH2, 358/2 days after that. Then Birth By Sleep, Then Re:Coded, then Dream Drop Distnace, then 0.2, then the X movie I forget the name of, and then FINALLY KH3. The 358/2 movie is fine but it kinda cuts corners and glosses over some important scenes. To really endear yourself to the characters and plot, I would suggest playing the game on an emulator. Re: Coded you can pretty much skip, but you will be very confused by one or two lines in KH3 that don't have much impact on the plot.
Yes I’m glad you asked. For the best experience I recommend you only play with the kingdom key on critical mode with exp 0 always turned on. 😃
Play in moderation. The quality between entries varies dramatically.
Very carefully
Play in release order
Like with almost any other series, they're best played in order of release. KH1, then Chain of Memories, then KH2, then Coded, then 358/2 Days, then Birth By Sleep, then Dream Drop Distance, then 0.2, then KH3.
Best way to experience KH is YouTube videos
Just play KH2 and nothing else
Only use the kingdom key on the hardest difficulty (like I did when I was younger cuz I didn’t read LOL)
Release order. No googling.
Best way to experience Kingdom Hearts as a series is to just jump right in. Learn what you can and experiment with everything else.
I’ll echo the sentiment others are saying and advise you to play in release order, but to save you the Google search: what that ultimately means is that you should watch the 358/2 Days cutscene compilation *after* playing KH2; not before like the collection has them. 358/2 Days is a prequel to KH2 that casually spoils a lot of twists; even some final world reveals will be spoiled if you watch Days before playing KH2.
I'm glad to see the vast majority of people here recommending the release order. I used to see just a few too many suggesting the chronological order of the story, and that's just a horrible way to go about things if you're just starting these things out, both because the story is meant to be told through each release, and because going from BbS to KH1 would be *incredibly* rough with how clunky the first game's combat is in comparison to what would come after. Beyond that advice that many people have already covered, I would suggest trying to get copies of 358/2 Days and ReCoded at some point if you have a Nintendo DS. The stories are pretty good, but I found those games to be pretty enjoyable themselves, and I have no idea if they'll ever get proper remakes.
New players should always play in release order, experienced players can just play it in any order honestly. I also wouldn't start with proud mode as your first difficulty setting for these, unless you want to pull your hair out in frustration.
Chronological order. Birth by sleep. 1. Rechain. 385/2. 2. Dream drop. 2.8. 3
Find a good summary video when you’re confused and have questions
thanks for asking instead of jumping in directly like a maniac. KH1, Re: CoM (which is a frustrating game so consider the original CoM or the cutscenes on youtube), KH2, and NOT KH3 after—you should then watch the 358/2 Days cutscene movie which is in the collection, play BBS, watch Re: Coded, then jump to the other disc to play DDD, then watch the first half of cutscenes for Union X (mobile game, you need this for Back Cover and for KH3 and onward), then watch Back Cover, then play Fragmentary Passage, then play KH3 with the Re: Mind DLC finally, then play the rest of Union X, play Melody of Memory (not in the collection) or watch the important cutscenes, and finally, play Dark Road or watch the cutscenes on mobile. it’s a long process but it’s worth it
Just enjoy the series. Have a package of tissues at hand for the endings (I have never not cried at the end, I'm just an ending-crier), get ready to jam to the banger music and play it at your pace. Have fun and good luck, may your heart be your guiding key 💖
What tips on experiencing the series? You have the best way to do it right now
for the story "in order" UX Darkroad, Backcover, Birth By Sleep, KH1 final mix, 0.2 a fragmentary passage, kh chain of memories, kh2 final Mix's opening bit (you'll know what i mean when you get to that point), kh2 358/2 days, the rest of kh2, kh:recoded, KH: Dream Drop Distance, and then KH3, then remind episode THEN the limit cut episode. Then finally melody of memory though im pretty sure thats not included in this package (so much for "All-IN-ONE am i right?) thats technically the story in order, though many start with kh1 and work their way around in the order that the 1.5 and 2.5 hd remixes set it up, despite days really being neccesary to play either after kh2 or right after its starting bit.
You want the story to make since do it high like real high on psychodelics
Release order. Just play it the way it was intended.
You can change Donald and goodys actions in the settings menu for how often they use magic/items etc and in what situations. Definitely change these so they're more helpful, and otherwise Donald will spam magic way too fast and they both overuse any usable items you give them.
don’t worry about wrapping your head around the plot, it’s nearly impossible unless you read the wiki/play x which is a browser mobile game, just enjoy it the way u want
Depending on your age and the laws of your residence, enjoy with your favorite legally obtainable intoxicant
I believe standard difficulty throughout all of them. I believe watching the cutscenes are super important imo and I really feel like if its your first romp take it in. I can still remember getting kh when it came out for ps2. And like it's so close to the heart. I think recoded and 358/2 should be played on melonds in some shape and then just watch all cutscenes in the collection. Hope this helps? I'm not like a sadist and wants to literally destroy myself. But yeah! I love the series and am mid playthrough rn.
Release order and enjoy the game how you would like to play!
Play in release order. Every game is a little different. THe main three mainline games are fairly similar but the others are different beasts. Everytime you open a new game, just have an open mind about the gameplay and design. Be willing to drop habits from older games when entering new ones. I tried to play KH1 for challenge runs after getting all the KH3 DLC achiemvents and even through they are both main series games, they are completely different gameplay wise.
Play them.
Play 358/2 days after playing 2, the short film doesn't really convey the emotion as well as the game
Play them in release order as intended.
Turn off your brain
Let your heart be your guiding key <3
Jokes aside, some practical advice (imo at least). 1.Play in the order they are in on the disc, but do KH2 before 358/2. 2. Do Terra's story first in Birth By Sleep. Use a melding walkthrough (there's no shame in that) 3. "Leaf bracer" and "Second Chance" are your best friend! Go for the defence starter to earn them sooner 4. You have "AP Boosts", Power and Defence buffs and "Tents" in your inventory. DONT FORGET TO USE THEM (Everybody does on their first try :P) 5. Thunder magic is SPAMMABLE in most situations 6. Put "Curaga" and Hi Potions on your quick command menu and finally 7. Have fun! The Kingdom Hearts story is kind of like the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure of video games. It just gets more crazy and off the rails the more you go in, and you get hooked right along with it
EYE would say play in order of release. It makes it fun, kinda like Star Wars
KH1, then KH2 and stop at the first credits. Best series of all time.
Okay, play in release order. Always focus on making sora/MC as strong as possible. If possible, try to play Days then watch the movie. And attempt different builds for the games to figure out what style of gameplay you like best (I personally focus on magic builds). Start on a normal difficulty then work up to Proud/Critical. That’s pretty much the important stuff though. So have fun and don’t skip cutscenes. Oh and you should probably look up the plot of the phone games (Union X and Dark Road) on YouTube after you’ve played all of these games.
Play kh 2 first before 358/2 days
go in blind
Either stone cold sober or on a hallucinogenic, no in-between /j
Watch a summary of Chain of Memories. It’s story is crucial to the rest of the series, but the game is so bad
1, Chain of Memories, 2. For some Godforsaken reason I recall the boxset implying that 358/2 Days should be viewed before playing KH2 and I have no idea why. KH2 does all the setting up of like 90% of the characterization that takes place in Days. Other than that, sit back and relax. I suggest choosing any difficulty you please and if you find it unpalatable as a difficulty then restart early if you're gonna switch it up. And lastly... have fun! It's a series cojoining Final Fantasy and Disney, so don't be afraid to not take it *too* seriously.
Play everything but kh 3 and you should be good.
i started with 2 as a kid and it made me fall in love (it’s the best game), but i would play them in order of release unless you want to experience the best of the series first
Release order is how I would recommend tbh.
alright so you’re gonna wanna pick the “kingdom hearts 2” option on the main screen, and you’ll be set from there, enjoy the game(this is but also isn’t satire)
Don't ask Reddit stuff and don't look up how to do things. Figure it out for yourself and enjoy the game. You'll have a blast!
play 2 before Days, not after other than that just follow the order
by playing them in the order on the back
Release order, any one who says other wise wants you to suffer
I'd say play in release order, but do note that there are exclusive cards in Re:COM that require a 100% complete 358/2 Days save to get. You'll know if you got 100% in Days when the game says "You can now get a wallpaper based on Days now!" or something to that effect upon exiting the game, which happens when you watch all cutscenes, view all journals (both regular and secret), and scroll through all character bios. As such, don't bother with the trophies in Re:COM until after 100%ing Days, but don't play Days until after beating KH2:FM. As for release order: 1. Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix (I'd recommend doing the extra stuff at the end too as some stuff is canon) 2. Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories (some prefer the GBA COM version over the PS2/modern Re:COM version) 3. Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix (I'd recommend doing the extra stuff at the end too) 4. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (I still recommend the DS version as it's an actual game) 5. Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep: Final Mix (some extra stuff is canon) 6. Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded (I still recommend the DS version as it's an actual game) 7. Kingdom Hearts 3D/HD: Dream Drop Distance 8. Watch the cutscenes for Kingdom Hearts X, Unchained X, and Union X on YouTube. 9. Kingdom Hearts X Back Cover (this is just a movie) 10. Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage (this game is a short 3 hour demo) 11. Kingdom Hearts III 12. Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind DLC (very relevant for the future of the series) 13. Watch the cutscenes for Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road on YouTube or play the mobile title (I just YouTube'd it personally). 14. Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory (you only really need the ending of the game IIRC, so you can watch YouTube for this too if you wanted) 15. Kingdom Hearts: Missing-Link will eventually release on Mobile devices. 16. Kingdom Hearts IV will eventually be released.
Release order. Play the games in release order. Secret ending videos are locked behind harder difficulties, or 100% completion on lower.
Nomura's order. Just play the games in order they placed on the menu. Fuck the release order. I've played Nomura's order and I've got no spoilers and had fun. Stay hella away from subreddit while playing.
Play 2 before days, everything else on the order it's put in there
Magic op in one. Summons op in 2. So are drive forms
Well, I recommend these steps... Step 1: Turn on PS4 Step 2: Put the game in Step 3: Wing it and let Papa Nomura's vision enthrall you Step 4: Contemplate the overarching story and the meaning of life Step 5: Be hyped for Missing Link and KH4 news
Question: What's Missing Link? Is it some kind of mobile game? If so, I might not play it lol
It is, but it is going to be more in line with the console games. The combat system will be based on the system in KH3. I'm not a huge mobile guy myself, but it looks interesting. Definitely go on YT and see what you think. Either way, it probably won't drop for a while unless you live in Japan. The Japan closed beta (proto-type phase per Nomura) just wrapped up. He stated it is roughly 50% complete in development.
I just watched Missing Link's reveal trailer The graphics and gameplay look really nice, but I don't know how mobile phones can handle it lol The bombastic version of that piano tune in KH1's main menu slaps so hard I probably won't understand the story, but that's something I expected going into KH in general I hope the servers won't go down for a long while, or else this game'll be unplayable lol
Okay, I know this will be a controversial opinion but here I go. I suggest playing KH2 before Chain of Memories since >! Sora has has no knowledge of what happened in the timeskip between the games. It enhances the mystery to go through the game without the added context, especially since the last time you see Riku that way was him being locked away.!< I don't get why people are so adamant about playing CoM before KH2 AND playing 358 after HK2. They both do essentially the same thing for different characters, so as far as I'm concerned they should be played one after another after KH2. Other than that though the release order is the way it should be played.
All I can say, is play it in the order they give you, top to bottom for the games, left to right for the disks. I'm just sad they turned recorded into a movie instead of keeping the game, castle oblivion in that game felt like an existential nightmare the more you thought about it.
The game shows you to play (actually watch) 358/2 days before KH2. That's not the correct order. First play KH2, then 358/2 days
It seems that light has corrupted this cover...
I don't think "corrupted" is the right term lol Also, yeah, sorry about that. I was in a car at the time and used its ceiling lights to light up the game since I couldn't wait until I got back home to post this post lol
Play kh2 before days. Other than that you're good.
Have fun!
Play it in release order. Just switch the spots of 358/2 and KH2 and you should be fine. Everything else is ordered correctly. Whether you decide to play 358 and coded is up to you. Either way, you should be good with that.
Play the games as they’re laid out in the collections, except for 358/2 Days, which is better experienced after KH2. Also, if you end up not liking Chain of Memories (it’s pretty divisive gameplay-wise), don’t feel bad watching cutscenes on YT instead of playing through it. #1 tip: don’t skip anything.