This, my friends, has been a subject of much discussion, debate, and even argument among the Kingdom Hearts fans since, oh I don't know, let's say around the time that either Chain Of Memories or 358/2 Days came out, just to be safe.

 

Now we all know that Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II, and the soon to be released (please let it be soon) Kingdom Hearts III are pretty much the main staples of the Kingdom Hearts story-line, considering that this group contains the original as well as sequels to the original that work off the main story and develop it even further. As for the other games? Well, we classify them as "side titles" that don't really advance the plot, but fill in gaps in the story and provide new information that we did not know prior to the release of these games, games like Chain Of Memories or 358/2 Days for example.

 

These side titles, as I said, have spawned a lot of talking. People either support these games for the bits and pieces of information they provide in terms of story and help give more expansion on the already big mythos that lives in the Kingdom Hearts universe, including characters, settings, events, or even themes. Heck, people are willing to argue that a particular title, Birth By Sleep, has such an abundance of information, it's on the same level as the main games. Or instead, they believe that they do not support them because they feel they are not necessarily to play or indulge in due to how little relevance they have over games like the original or Kingdom Hearts II, and the information they miss in doing so isn't really that important to want to invest and know in the first place, because they can either choose to ignore, not really care for, or find some other way of finding this information. And yes, events in the side games do have a somewhat important place in the main story-line, but put emphasis on "somewhat" and you'll understand the point I'm trying to make.

 

It's sort of mixed bag, or at least it is for me. I mean, on the one hand, yes I can play these games and learn about things that were never explained in the main games such as the back stories of Roxas or Xion or Organization XIII , as well as the events involving these people that helped shape the plot of the next big installment of the franchise, but on the other hand, I can disregard this experience and find other ways of getting this information, if I even choose to indulge myself in it in the first place, such as reading summaries or asking people about it word to mouth, or even watching a walk-through of the game on YouTube. In the end, it's all a matter of preference on to whether or not these games really matter at all. The fact of the matter is that they are a living breathing part of the Kingdom Hearts story, every single one. However, that doesn't mean you have to necessarily enjoy nor care about them in particular. Like I said, its a matter of preference. I'm personally on the "do matter" side.

 

So what do you think? Do the side games matter? Do they not? Say what you think below.

Edited May 22, 201411 yr by Firaga Sensei

Well, I really liked this article you made, because it doesn't insult the side games harshly, and I appreciate you for that Firaga.  And well, as from where I'm standing, I think the side games are important to the series because they help fill in the gaps of things that had left us wondering in the main games.  We've been able to learn more about the Organization, about how Ansem and Xemnas came to be, and about how all these events and characters intertwine with each other throughout the series.  I personally see Kingdom Hearts as an anime series, and each game is like a new season to me, and right now, the Xehanort Arc is about to reach its conclusion with Kingdom Hearts 3, and I'm excited to see what it brings!  And so, I think the side games are just as important as the main games, and they are fun to play!

They do matter, because without them the series would not have as much depth as it does now. Personally I haven't played any... "side games" as they're called, save for Re: Chain of Memories on Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX. Alas, I still know what's going on and where the plot will most likely lead too because I've watched the games on YouTube. Each handheld adds something which may contribute to certain plot elements in the highly anticipated title Kingdom Hearts III. For example, Chain of Memories stated that memories are sometimes "forgotten, but not lost." This sole fact could be the key to reviving Xion as everyone may have forgotten about her, but the memories themselves will never go away (I believe those were her exact words in 358/2 Days lol). I do hope they bring Xion back; I really do. Those memories are within Sora, the key that connects everything in the Kingdom Hearts universe. And these games emphasise that very fact. Ultimately, no matter what anyone tells you, the handheld games hold a great significance to the overall plot of the Kingdom Hearts series. That's just the dead set truth.

 

Hope that gave you a little insight on my perspective on the subject.

 

Peace!

In the case of Kingdom Hearts, they do matter. The games explain too much of the universe and mythos to just be side games. If one needs to look up the information to prepare for KH3, it would indeed be of importance. People who only played KH and KH2, were completely baffled by the whole first hour and a half into KH2. If they've yet to touch anything else, KH3 will be such a huge puzzle that they probably won't enjoy it that much. 

Someone who only played Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2 would be totally lost in Kingdom Hearts 3 because the ''side-games'' intruduced a lot of key elements to the overall plot of Kingdom Hearts,so yeah side games does matter.

I'd personally say that their importance depends on each game:

 

CoM: Somewhat important, as it introduced the Organization as well as set the stage for the beginning of KHII, and told us what happened to Riku and Mickey after I.

 

Days: Not too important. The only thing this one explained that's important to the overall plot was why Sora was asleep for a whole year, and they easily could've found another reason to do it (Yes, I basically said Xion could've been erased from the story with zero impact on the plot. I like her, but I'm not going to act like a fanboy and say she's the most important character ever). I enjoyed it, however, since I found Roxas' backstory very interesting.

 

Birth by Sleep: This one's incredibly important. I personally consider it to be a "main game." It introduced a lot of ideas that have been expanded on, or will be expanded on in the future. It explained the origins of a lot of characters, and told us just who Xehanort was. I'd say this is the most important.

 

Coded: Probably the least important. This one only told us about the data worlds, which have been touched on very briefly in just DDD. I enjoyed the game, but it really was just filler.

 

Dream Drop Distance: I consider this one a main game as well. It shows us how Sora and Riku trained before taking on Xehanort in III, featured incredible development for Riku, and foreshadowed the final battle for KHIII. This is the second most important in my opinion.

 

NOTE: I LIKE ALL OF THESE GAMES. DON'T GO AND SAY I DON'T.

Edited May 22, 201411 yr by Yellow Flash

The side games are important to an extent, though BBS and DDD are more important than Coded and 358/2 days. Honestly they could have completely skipped 358/2 and it wouldn't have affected the overall story. Same can go for Coded I guess. 

I'd personally say that their importance depends on each game:

 

CoM: Somewhat important, as it introduced the Organization as well as set the stage for the beginning of KHII, and told us what happened to Riku and Mickey after I.

 

Days: Not too important. The only thing this one explained that's important to the overall plot was why Sora was asleep for a whole year, and they easily could've found another reason to do it (Yes, I basically said Xion could've been erased from the story with zero impact on the plot. I like her, but I'm not going to act like a fanboy and say she's the most important character ever). I enjoyed it, however, since I found Roxas' backstory very interesting.

 

Birth by Sleep: This one's incredibly important. I personally consider it to be a "main game." It introduced a lot of ideas that have been expanded on, or will be expanded on in the future. It explained the origins of a lot of characters, and told us just who Xehanort was. I'd say this is the most important.

 

Coded: Probably the least important. This one only told us about the data worlds, which have been touched on very briefly in just DDD. I enjoyed the game, but it really was just filler.

 

Dream Drop Distance: I consider this one a main game as well. It shows us how Sora and Riku trained before taking on Xehanort in III, featured incredible development for Riku, and foreshadowed the final battle for KHIII. This is the second most important in my opinion.

 

NOTE: I LIKE ALL OF THESE GAMES. DON'T GO AND SAY I DON'T.

I agree with you for the most part, especially with Coded not being very important, but it's main importance was that Sora's entire character, data or not, had to learn to accept hate and pain in order to overcome the Darkness. It also gave us Sora's main goal for KH3, and that was that he had to save the people his data form and Mickey learned of in the data worlds.

I agree with you for the most part, especially with Coded not being very important, but it's main importance was that Sora's entire character, data or not, had to learn to accept hate and pain in order to overcome the Darkness. It also gave us Sora's main goal for KH3, and that was that he had to save the people his data form and Mickey learned of in the data worlds.

Oh, right, forgot those ones. It still didn't really do too much though, nothing except the last fifteen minutes really mattered. ._. I still enjoyed the gameplay part of it, though.

Oh, right, forgot those ones. It still didn't really do too much though, nothing except the last fifteen minutes really mattered. ._. I still enjoyed the gameplay part of it, though.

I've actually only found the Command Deck comfortable in BBS.

I've actually only found the Command Deck comfortable in BBS.

I liked it in all three, but BBS pretty much did have the best version. DDD's wasn't that bad either, in my opinion.

This is a very intriguing topic. In regards to the Kingdom Hearts universe and mythos, every single game is crucial to understanding the whole story and should be treated as main entries. However, there are credible reasons in referring to these titles as "side games":1. Nomura has made it very clear time and time again that the Kingdom Hearts series is focused on, and is about Sora. In that sense, even though they might heavily influence his story, if an entry does not SPECIFICALLY focus on Sora (Chain of Memories was split and Dream Drop Distance was more Riku's story), then it should be considered a side game.2. Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II were the only entries to originally release on a home console. Not saying big games can't be on a portable (look at Type-0), but a game's platform does tell the gaming community where its importance is in regards to other games from the same series.3. For better or worst, each non-numbered title experimented with the mechanics that would have been too bold on a main entry, which also gives off the impression of how lightly one can treat a title.Concerning their importance, I think we can only judge that between main entries. We can judge the importance of Chain of Memories in terms of how well it set the stage up between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, which I think it does a reasonably good job. Personally I don't believe we'll really get the sense of values for 358/2 Days, Birth by Sleep, Coded, or Dream Drop Distance until Kingdom Hearts III is released to see if they were necessary or not. Many people will claim some of the side games will "definitely" be required to understand the third entry, but we REALLY won't know until we play through Kingdom Hearts III ourselves.

I'm at a little bit of a biased viewpoint here myself, mainly because I can see how things could be without the non-numbered titles, and it wouldn't be too bad (minus BBS and KH3D, the latter of which offers at least basic summaries to what's going on). I tend to love connecting things, whether it be game timelines, show/movie timelines, comic timelines, etc. I also tend to see many different parallels between events and characters (whether the writer/producer intended them or not) that make each time going through it unique to me personally.

 

That said, I enjoy a lot of Re:Coded now that KH3D is out because of how many parallels to what is going on in 3D there are. It almost compliments the game a lot more, and because of that I can enjoy the story more (plus, I enjoy the gameplay).

 

I'd have to say that Chain of Memories is my least favorite though... It matters, for sure. But the card system is annoying at times (but not when spamming Sonic Blade). In addition, going through Castle Oblivion felt extremely repetitive, both gameplay-wise and story-wise. It pretty much only explained that Riku escaped from darkness, reduced Sora back to Level 1, and put Sora to sleep. Oh, and killed off some Organization 13 members, so that's somewhat important. (Parallels to 358/2 are nice here, at least).

Side game DO matter in the storyline , for me . You fill in gaps you have missed . But it's not only about the storyline . SE made a lot of money out of all of these  . But I'll keep it in the storyline part . 

I'd put the games in three levels.

 

Level One:

Kingdom Hearts Final Mix

Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix

Kingdom Hearts III

 

Level Two:

Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories

Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance]

 

Level Three:

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Kingdom Hearts Re:coded

 

Basically, you must play level one, you are recommended to play level two and level three just fills in any gaps or back-story.