Square Enix Explains What Order You Should Play Kingdom Hearts In

Highlights

Square Enix released a video suggesting two potential play orders for navigating the Kingdom Hearts series on Steam.
The recommended play orders are either in chronological release order or in chronological story order, according to Square Enix.
There is no “correct” starting point for Kingdom Hearts, though, as players can choose based on personal preference.

Following the release of the entire Kingdom Hearts series on Steam, Square Enix released a video explaining some potential play orders gamers could use to understand its story. Earlier in June, the entire Kingdom Hearts series was brought onto the Steam platform for the very first time, giving gamers a chance to play through Square Enix’s legendary series on PC. While the Kingdom Hearts franchise was previously released on PC through the Epic Games Store, the decision to make it an exclusive to the platform was met with a mixed reception. Now, fans can play Kingdom Hearts on the PC platform of their choice.

With the entirety of Kingdom Hearts now available on Steam, some PC gamers may be unsure of where to start their journey through it. Kingdom Hearts is known for being a series that has an anachronic order, as well as having details and important story beats only being explained in various interquels, prequels, and spin-offs. To combat the potential confusion of which order the series should be played in, Square Enix released a video explaining some potential paths.

7 Obscure Kingdom Hearts Games You’ve Never Heard Of

There are so many Kingdom Hearts spinoffs outside the 3 (soon to be 4) mainline games that some are totally obscure and completely forgotten.

The most common suggested order that Square Enix recommends, which is backed up by most fans, is by playing the Kingdom Hearts series in chronological release order. In terms of the collected compilations, that means Kingdom Hearts 1.5+2.5, followed by 2.8, and then 3. In order, this playthrough sequence would be: KH 1, Re: Chain of Memories, 2, 358/2 Days, Birth by Sleep, Re: Coded, Dream Drop Distance, X Back Cover, 0.2, and then 3 + Re:Mind. Not every game mentioned in this order is a game, as 358/2 Days and X Back Cover are movies included in the collection. Birth By Sleep also has three protagonists with their own storylines, so Square Enix suggests playing in the order of Terra, Ventus, and Aqua, which then unlocks the final episode for that specific game.

Kingdom Hearts Can Be Played Chronologically by Release or Story Order

The other way to experience the franchise, according to Square Enix, is by playing the Kingdom Hearts series in chronological story order. This order means starting with the prequel content first, like viewing the X Back Cover and Dark Road content first, then playing Birth By Sleep, followed by the games starring Sora and his friends. This order helps lay down a lot of plot points and lore that then help flesh out the individual stories later down the line.

At the end of the day, Square Enix notes that there isn’t a “correct” starting point for the Kingdom Hearts series, as one game could be anyone’s first. One player could start with Kingdom Hearts 3, for example, as it is the most recent mainline entry, and they may just want to see Sora go on an adventure with Woody and Buzz Lightyear. While the playing order is still a hotly debated topic among fans, this video gives fans a good starting point for getting into Kingdom Hearts.