Alright guys, So i just beat Kingdom Hearts Chain of memories, But only the Sora part. Not the Riku rebirth one.

Now i Played Kingdom hearts 1 and 2 already a long time ago but i never played any of the Nintendo games, cause lack of not having one.

I am a huge fan and been since Kingdom hearts 1, But now i want to make sure i Understand Kingdom hearts 2 better this time around now since i beat most of 1.5. So my question is, Do i need to also beat the Riku rebirth part of the story to understand 358/2 and Number 2 better or can i watch 358/2 Cinematics now. I haven't watched it cause i wanted to beat everything first and go in order. Sorry if this is confusing hah. Please help me out though. Chain of memories was such a bitch for me and i really don't want to go through it again with Riku but i will if i need to. Thanks guys (:

It helps like they mention zexion being killed

Alright guys, So i just beat Kingdom Hearts Chain of memories, But only the Sora part. Not the Riku rebirth one.

Now i Played Kingdom hearts 1 and 2 already a long time ago but i never played any of the Nintendo games, cause lack of not having one.

I am a huge fan and been since Kingdom hearts 1, But now i want to make sure i Understand Kingdom hearts 2 better this time around now since i beat most of 1.5. So my question is, Do i need to also beat the Riku rebirth part of the story to understand 358/2 and Number 2 better or can i watch 358/2 Cinematics now. I haven't watched it cause i wanted to beat everything first and go in order. Sorry if this is confusing hah. Please help me out though. Chain of memories was such a bitch for me and i really don't want to go through it again with Riku but i will if i need to. Thanks guys (:

Playing as Riku isn't as tedious as Sora's side because Riku's deck is preset and there isn't reloading time. The deck changes each time you go to a different card world. Plus there is the card battle thing where if you get the same digit as the opponent you enter this mode where if you card break a certain amount within a time limit, you'll unleash a devastating sleight. Theres also the dark mode which makes you much more powerful.

There are some parts that you won't know about but you'll understand the general story without beating Riku's story. Also, Riku's story doesn't take as long to beat as Sora's did because of some of the things that differ between the modes so you may still want to play Rebirth first.

I'd highly recommend you to do Riku's story ing Chain of Memories, it will help you understand 358/2 days better

Fool. Riku is easy, beat it in one or two days.

Wow i really didn't expect to get so many replies already Thank you SOOO  much guys. I think i will do now then. As it sounds it isn't as bad Sora's and that is a relief. I still have awhile til 2.5 comes out so why not. I still also have to beat the Titans in final mix Ugh But thanks again guys. 

you only need to watch it to understand a portion of the cinematic of the series onward. its not necessary like all things but it does help. I personally like the riku story and prefer its story and defiantly its gameplay 17 ways to Sunday but that's just me.

Just play it through in order... Playing the game through is much easier and you will understand the cinematically better

I recomend you do the riku's rebirth story because it will makes more sense in kh 358/2 days and kh2

Riku's story in ReCom is about his path of redemption, as he struggles to make peace with himself after the treachery he had commited to his friends.  He allowed himself to be swallowed by the darkness, so in ReCom, his story is the start of his path to redeem himself, so yes, I say it's higly important to play it, plus the gameplay is easier there, but still has a fun level of strategy to it.