In the mid-2000s, everything seemed much simpler than in the middle of 2022 for Kingdom Hearts. Sora, Donald and Goofy were clear that they had to defeat the Heartless, end Organization XIII and everything was based on returning home with their friends. But nevertheless, Tetsuya Nomura decided to complicate things to the point that it is a real headache to face the plot of the saga.
What if plots, subplots, past times, symbolic connections between characters… a real mess that can make you not fully understand what is happening. Without wanting to spoiler, since the nice thing is to discover what is happening on your own, here we are going to make a small guide of In what order should the Square Enix franchise be played? to understand it as best as possible.
The starting order of each game will be respected, although you can always resort to the chronological order. It seems that it would make more sense to play this way, but you may spoil some surprises before your time and, above all, do not understand many of the references that appear on the scene. On the other hand, you can currently enjoy all the games on PlayStation, Xbox, PC and with the recent release on Nintendo Switch for the cloud. There you will find the compilations 1.5, 2.5 or the compendiums that bring together more than a dozen titles.
Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix
The beginning of everything. Although the original delivery arrived in 2002 for PS2, it was not until 2004 when the Japan exclusive review, which includes new bosses, enemies and much more content. They are not the first events that happen within the saga, but they are the ones that give the starting signal for us to begin to understand everything that happens.
Basics like light or dark are explained, the main characters are introduced and we can see what role the most recognized faces of Final Fantasy play. As became usual later, there is a secret boss who anticipates part of what awaits us in the next installment.
Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories
This really was candy for Japanese gamers for years. included with Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix, it was a full-fledged remake of one of the most beautiful Game Boy Advance titles, which allowed the cinematics and gameplay to shine even more. Here the bet is made by the cards as a combat system, being able to create your own deck to deal sword keys.
Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix
The crown jewel of the entire series. Tetsuya Nomura knew how to go one step further with the plot, added layers of story needed to evolve, and refined the gameplay to a degree we haven’t seen in subsequent games. Starting with Kingdom Hearts II, everything began to get more complicated and spin-offs invaded many systems for more than 10 years.
It would not be until 2019 when we would see a main installment again that would definitively end the story arc. A wait that felt too long for many.
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Sora and company’s visit to the Castle of Oblivion already worked as an interquel for the first and second games, but here another vision is added that complements everything that happened: Roxas’ perspective. One of the most loved characters by the community has his own story developed in this game, which makes us live a whole year of his lifeseeing how events pass over him.
Playing it in its day on Nintendo DS was a real joy, with many missions and a multiplayer section that was fabulous. However, considering the current systems, we have to settle for the compilation in the form of a movie. Of course, prepare a good amount of handkerchiefs by your side, slaps to your emotions are coming.
Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep: Final Mix
First time we completely distanced ourselves from the characters we had met so far. We travel a decade before the events of the first Kingdom Hearts and we go on to control Terra, Aqua and Ventus. A new trio of protagonists, which we could control in the order we wanted. Choose as you prefer, but the ideal way to avoid misunderstandings is the following route: Terra, Ventus and Aqua last.
Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded
It is true that it was released in 2008 for Docomo mobile phones, but the chances of playing it back then were practically nil. A complicated format at that time for a title of these characteristics and that Square Enix did us the favor of improving in 2010.
One more time, without a Nintendo DS you can’t play the remake, but we will always have the cinematic scenes that summarize the story, going to the sirloin within the improved versions of 2.5 ReMIX. Possibly the worst installment of the entire saga and the one that extends the most when it comes to telling us one more small piece of the puzzle of history.
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Recovered by Square Enix for all platforms, the original for Nintendo 3DS played with both screens of the Nintendo console, but the adaptation to new systems is superb. Here we head to Kingdom Hearts III, serving as yet another interquel between the second and third parts. We go to control both Sora and Riku, exchanging between them without being able to choose exactly when to do it. Be very careful, because time travel begins to take effect and the plot twists once again.
Kingdom Hearts Union X
Without wanting to ignore the mobile market and betting on a multiplayer model in its most advanced stages, Kingdom Hearts Union X made it to the series. It is the oldest installment of all in chronological order and places us centuries before the main events. It is currently no longer available to play, but even if it were, we recommend you preferably watch the cut-scenes.
In fact, the best option you have is to see the scenes that were included in Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue. Make a good hole in the agenda because a couple of hours of viewing are coming.
Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage
We are at a very specific point in the franchise and in the shortest game to overcome of all. We know the events that happen to Aqua from the end of Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep until shortly after the end of the first game. In less than an afternoon you air it out and get an idea of what the third part will look like thanks to the use of Unreal Engine 4.
Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road
A title that has been saved from total disappearance in the digital world. Here we control one of the most important characters in the saga, knowing his story much more directly. Although the servers suffered from the outage last year, in this case Square Enix went to the trouble of enabling offline play. You can enjoy it on mobile devices, but if you want to go to the sirloin, the summaries on YouTube will be your best ally.
Kingdom Hearts III
The end of the road or almost. It was more than ten years waiting for this game and we finally got our hands on it in 2019. Kingdom Hearts III arrived for close the story of Sora, Xehanort and the reston a trip that perhaps did not meet expectations, but served to shelve a plot with many forks.
In fact, the last word was not said. The Remind DLC It allows us to enjoy exciting combat and give a dose of context about the end of Tetsuya Nomura’s work. However, there is still rope for a while.
Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory
The last station on the magic train, for now. If you have played all the previous titles until you get here, you are going to enjoy Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory like few others. Here is an excellent tribute to the soundtrack composed by Yoko Shimomurawithin the genre of rhythmic games.
Is there a story to tell? The truth is that yes, although it is not too much information, but it makes it totally clear that a fourth installment should see the light. That as long as Mr. Nomura doesn’t think of taking out another spin-off in between.
Lastly, it should be mentioned that the 20th anniversary of the franchise is just around the corner. Square Enix is preparing a celebration for such an important date and we can expect practically any news about the saga. It will be next April 10 when we will see a “mini concert, a question and answer session with the development team, an exhibition and much more”.
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