Perfect order to start with the Kingdom Hearts series

[Venx]

I would really like to hear your opinion on that. I have a friend who never played kingdom hearts before, but she's interested in doing it one day (I noticed how horribly wrong that sounds). What would be the perfect order for her or other friends in the future to start. Let's just pretend the person plays every single game.

The normal way would be:
KH - CoM - KH2 - 358/2 - BBS - ReC - 3D
You understand everything, don't get confused and play it like it's supposed.

An other way would be the historical way:
BBS - KH - CoM - 358/2 - KH 2 - ReC - 3D
I personally like the idea to start with BBS, even tho you don't get some twists. If you play 358/2 before you start with KH2 you get a different picture of the organisation, what gives you different feelings fighting them the first time with sora.

Do you know any other ways? What way do you prefer? Should I give the person 3D to start when I don't like them anymore? Tell me what you think.

 

[Sephiroth0812]

Doing it in the Release order is most often the best bet as that is how the story is originally build.

Recommending the chronological order has several pitfalls one can possibly fall into, especially when starting with BBS.
BBS as an entry itself provides already several pitfalls with a) many references made to other titles in the series a newbie won't get when that's the first title they play (which holds especially true with the secret ending, Blank Points), b) several instances that rely on already known concepts and facts from other titles and c) having a different set of three main characters the player does not get any more information on until ReC/DDD if playing in chronological order.

 

[Audo]

I like to suggest Chrono order just because it is the opposite of how I played and am curious how this person would interpret events given that order. But yeah, you'd have to be mindful of things. Like if I told someone to play Chrono order I would NOT let them watch Blank Points until at least beating KH2 lol.

 

[Venx]

BBS as an entry itself provides already several pitfalls with a) many references made to other titles in the series a newbie won't get when that's the first title they play

The thing is, how would it work out? When you start with BBS, know every organisations member original charackters and that ventus sleeps in soras heart, how would the person react when seeing Axel or Sora setting is heart free. I think the biggest problem is, that lea has just a short appearances, because you know axel very well. The chance is high that you don't remember a lot of charackters. I bet their are a lot of twists that could work when you play a different order, but you're right with the release way.

 

[Grono]

I feel like the way they were released is a relatively good way to play the games. The reason behind this is because each new title expanded upon the lore of the last one, adding a lot of new stuff to tie in to the other titles. Because of this, this is why the series always seems so convoluted; because ideas weren't expanded on until late into the series. If I had to give an honest review, though, this is how I'd play each title:

1. Kingdom Hearts- This one is a pretty obvious one to start with. Not only does it set a positive example for the other games, but it also sets the very base for a lot of story elements later on that you'd need to play this game to get (such as DDD with Ansem SoD).

2. Chain of Memories- Why this one next? Well, for one, the plot is still relatively simple compared to other games, so it sets another positive example for the series, despite the despised gameplay. Also, with Kingdom Hearts II, the plot of the game in the beginning will be a lot easier to understand than not playing the game first and playing the beginning segment with Roxas, so playing this title will not only be satisfying and "worth it," but it will also make the second game a lot easier to understand.

3. 358/2 Days- Why THIS one next? Now, if you know me well enough on these forums, you know I don't like this particular entry into the series, so why would I want to play it next? Well, for one, it gives a lot more meaning to the Axel-Roxas fight in the beginning of KHII, as well as shows some clarity to the fight between Riku and Roxas in the beginning of the game as well, as to why it happened and what was the aftermath of it, as well as explaining why Riku looks the way he does. So, this one makes the most sense to play next.

4. Kingdom Hearts II- This one is the easiest to play next. A direct sequel to Days and CoM, this game is pretty obviously the next one anyone should play. Easy story that directly connects to KH and its sequel games, this one makes the most sense to play next.

5. Birth by Sleep- Not only does this game tie back to the first game, it also explains the origin of Sora, Riku, and Kairi's abilities and Kairi's particular home world, but also expands the lore significantly and adds a new slew of characters that were never in the series before. Due to this fact of all of the new content that has never appeared before, I would not recommend this title early on, due to the fact that it is so involved and relies on previous lore to tie together its story. (play Terra-Ventus-Aqua order)

6. Birth by Sleep 0.2 -A Fragmentary Passage- This one, if it turns out to be a direct sequel to Birth by Sleep that doesn't get involved with the story-lines in Re:Coded and DDD, is the next one on the list. Since it deals with the drama that goes down after the secret episode, it seems logical to be the next one to play. However, since it may become involved with X or III significantly, it may move down to the spot right after DDD.

7. Re:Coded- If it weren't for the "reveal" at the end of the game or the secret ending, I wouldn't even recommend playing this one, to be honest. It can also be played before Birth by Sleep, if you don't care about small character reveals. However, since they DO show TAV, I would suggest playing it second, unless you don't give a flying fuck, like me.

8. Dream Drop Distance- Do NOT play this before its previous 7 titles I have placed here! DON'T DO IT! THIS GAME IS SO INVOLVED AND LORE-HEAVY THAT YOU WON'T BE SLEEPING FOR DAYS TRYING TO FIGURE THIS SHIT OUT, DON'T GO INTO THIS TITLE BLIND!!!! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!

9. Unchained X/ X- These games, while relatively simple, are involved into KHIII, and they have a major reveal about the certain reveal of a construct character and his creature origin that tie to Dream Drop Distance, so, in order to understand why this reveal is so shocking, play Dream Drop Distance before this title. It is a free title, however, so have a lot of fun playing this one! This title and X Back Cover are interchangeable.

10. X Back Cover- Not only does this one have a different story than Unchained X, but it also is in KHIII's graphics, so this, much like 0.2, will be a sort of sneak peek into Kingdom Hearts III. This also ties into the story of X/ Unchained X, so this title and X are interchangeable.

11. Kingdom Hearts III- Definitely the last one you should play! With the reduced system number and the new graphics, as well as the fact that every title has been leading up to this, Kingdom Hearts III is a must-play for the last title in the series!

What do you think of this list?

 

[Muke]

Just play it like in the ReMixes.
(KH 1 - CoM - Days - II - BbS - ReC)
And then it'll probably be:
(DDD - X - 0.2)

 

[Sephiroth0812]

I like to suggest Chrono order just because it is the opposite of how I played and am curious how this person would interpret events given that order. But yeah, you'd have to be mindful of things. Like if I told someone to play Chrono order I would NOT let them watch Blank Points until at least beating KH2 lol.

For the sake of how people interpret things in the series in general I'd also say that having some playing in Chrono-order would be a nice change of approach and may lead to completely different outlooks on the overaching story as a whole when he/she does not come at it from the initial build-up with KH 1.
Blank Points would definitely be an issue, as would some things in KH 2 when Days is placed first in the "get-to-know"-order.
In fact, when playing in Chrono-order I could even see some people making out KH 1 as the "weird one" of the batch because it aligns less with the other titles on first glance.

The thing is, how would it work out? When you start with BBS, know every organisations member original charackters and that ventus sleeps in soras heart, how would the person react when seeing Axel or Sora setting is heart free. I think the biggest problem is, that lea has just a short appearances, because you know axel very well. The chance is high that you don't remember a lot of charackters. I bet their are a lot of twists that could work when you play a different order, but you're right with the release way.

The Organisation characters hardly matter in BBS at all. They were only included in it for reference-sake after all (originally Nomura planned to have younger versions of Leon & co., but scrapped them in favor of the Org-charas).
Knowing beforehand that Ven' heart rests within Sora would indeed change some things around, although less with Sora's stabbety-stab excursion in KH I but with anything and everything revolving around Roxas.

Lea is the same as the other Org characters in BBS though, his short appearance together with Isa was just thrown in for reference-sake and he was made to interact with Ventus for mere ten minutes just to draw some parallels to Axel/Roxas for already knowing fans but it has close to no actual impact on the overaching storyline afterwards at all.
Ten years later, while both Xigbar/Braig and Xemnas heavily imply and act on Roxas' physical similarity to Ventus, Axel does not seem to remember anything from that short encounter back then at all, making the whole thing more parallel/fanservice-reference rather than something truly important to the storyline.

Thing is, you cannot really objectively say which twists would work and which wouldn't as most of us here, me included, have played it in the release way so our chains of thoughts are already firmly in place.

 

[BlackOsprey]

If I were you, I'd play it like KH1 -> CoM -> Days -> II -> BBS -> Re:Coded -> DDD. (I don't know enough about Chi or its variants to place it anywhere.) BBS might've been first chronologically, but a lot of the references and significance will be lost on someone who knows nothing about KH lore. Really, I wouldn't recommend starting with any other game other than the first, because it's the only one that doesn't rely on other games for its lore, and therefore won't leave your head spinning if you have no context.

Although if there was one game besides KH1 that's good for newcomers, I'd say that's DDD. It gives a good summary of all the other games' lore, unlike games like Days or Re:Coded, which just assume that the player knows what the heck is going on. Although I have to admit, playing Days before almost all the other titles did give me a very different outlook on the Organization... it gave me a point of time where "black coat" didn't mean "someone who wants to kill me" by default.

 

[Pandymint]

Personally, I just vote for the release order with the addition of sliding Days in before KHII. Reason being has already been said: It's the way the story was built. The advantage is that you're starting out with the simpler and just getting more complex instead of just having a complete hodgepodge of story complexities that would leave you confused until you step back and re-examine everything.

 

[Absent]

Release order, release order and release order. It's bad enough that this series is confusing for many so why complicate things even more. Chrono order has more cons than pros.

 

[Venx]

Although if there was one game besides KH1 that's good for newcomers, I'd say that's DDD.

So you want me to give her the triple D? I'll keep that in mind.

. Although I have to admit, playing Days before almost all the other titles did give me a very different outlook on the Organization... it gave me a point of time where "black coat" didn't mean "someone who wants to kill me" by default.

I tought about that, too. Days is a pretty great standalone game, I think it would work, but the best option is probably really the release-way.

Thing is, you cannot really objectively say which twists would work and which wouldn't as most of us here, me included, have played it in the release way so our chains of thoughts are already firmly in place.

Yeah, I just find it interesting how these people would react. Sametime I don't wanna ruin their fun while playing the series, just because I wanted to try out something.

 

[Absent]

Speaking about twists, I played Days before 2 so early on I knew Xemnas wanted Sora for his Keyblade. Kairi and the Keyblade was the only thing that surprised me. If I had the ability to go back in time I would have played 2 before Days.

 

[WastedPenguin]

Doing it in the Release order is most often the best bet as that is how the story is originally build.

Recommending the chronological order has several pitfalls one can possibly fall into, especially when starting with BBS.
BBS as an entry itself provides already several pitfalls with a) many references made to other titles in the series a newbie won't get when that's the first title they play (which holds especially true with the secret ending, Blank Points), b) several instances that rely on already known concepts and facts from other titles and c) having a different set of three main characters the player does not get any more information on until ReC/DDD if playing in chronological order.

I agree with that.
Every KH newcomer should start with the release order to be able to understand the story in the spinoffs like BBS, Days, Coded DDD and Chi.

 

[Pandymint]

so early on I knew Xemnas wanted Sora for his Keyblade.

Is that what the kids call it these days?

In more serious terms, that's pretty much the gist of everything. Sora just happens to be the one who wields it. But these days the Keyblade is becoming the Super Saiyan of gaming. It was supposed to be legendary, but now everyone and their counterpart can actually wield them.

 

[Venx]

It was supposed to be legendary, but now everyone and their counterpart can actually wield them.

Well, it's pretty much like a lightsabers. Their was a time where it was a common weapon, then nearly every wielder disappeared after the war, the last 5 wielder vanished and sora got his one from ventus. It was never a legendary weapon and xemnas never wanted to wield it, just sora using it against the heartless. Xehanort is the only villan carrying one, but wrong thread for that.

 

[Pandymint]

Wow I am disappointed in myself for not thinking about it like the lightsaber. You make a good point though. I guess the fact that there were really no Keyblade wielders other than Mickey for ten years, it just kind of gained a mythical status.

 

[Emperor]

Well, it's pretty much like a lightsabers. Their was a time where it was a common weapon, then nearly every wielder disappeared after the war, the last 5 wielder vanished and sora got his one from ventus. It was never a legendary weapon and xemnas never wanted to wield it, just sora using it against the heartless. Xehanort is the only villan carrying one, but wrong thread for that.

I just want to clear this up, Sora did not get his Keyblade from Ventus. It picked him over Riku in that moment because Riku's heart was vulnerable. It then permanently choose him over Riku in Hollow Bastion, when it realized his heart was worthy of it. Ven grants Sora the ability to duel wield, and that's about it.

 

[Grono]

I just want to clear this up, Sora did not get his Keyblade from Ventus. It picked him over Riku in that moment because Riku's heart was vulnerable. It then permanently choose him over Riku in Hollow Bastion, when it realized his heart was worthy of it. Ven grants Sora the ability to duel wield, and that's about it.

Ah, thanks for dealing with that, Emperor! I was about to comment on that, too!

 

[Venx]

I just want to clear this up, Sora did not get his Keyblade from Ventus. It picked him over Riku in that moment because Riku's heart was vulnerable. It then permanently choose him over Riku in Hollow Bastion, when it realized his heart was worthy of it. Ven grants Sora the ability to duel wield, and that's about it.

I just played BBS some months ago....the fuck is wrong with me....I think I played to much icecreamgames in disney town...

 

[Emperor]

Ah, thanks for dealing with that, Emperor! I was about to comment on that, too!

Great minds think alike. :]

I just played BBS some months ago....the diddly is wrong with me....I think I played to much icecreamgames in disney town...

There's nothing wrong you, lol. This is one of the more common misconceptions.