What's the best order to play the Kingdom Hearts series?

[VisitJoan 2,713]

What's the best order to play the Kingdom Hearts series?

 

I don't know if it's the best order, but I played/watched let's play KH - COM/DAYS - KHII - BBS - 3D (due to release).

[Aqua7KH 5,395]

I always say release order just because it makes the most sense. Especially with KH as there's things that are meant to be explained from the first games in the later games especially with BBS. If people play BBS first, most won't understand who Sora is, etc. I think release order is always the way to go. Not saying you can't play a certain game first (a girl I knew got into KH due to BBS) but if you really want the full experience I think release order is the best. Not only that, you can see how the series grows, etc.

[Xiro 3,468]

One would think that the general consensus would be release order.

 

Or you could do Days, BBS, KH2, DDD, CoM, KH1, and re:coded

 

It's all up to preference, really

 

(The order I ended up playing them was Days, re:coded, DDD, (X,) KHFM, re:CoM, KH2FM, BBSFM)

[Trece the Xam ( ▀ ͜͞ʖ▀) 3,859]

Release, it makes sense, and you get al of the intentions Nomura wanted to add, such as mystery and hype.

 

Also, in some games that are meant to happen before but were released later, the game treats the player as if he had finished the games that were released before this game (for example, in BBS you're meant to recognise the Somebodies of the Organization Members and Ansem the Wise).

[Kaweebo 3,617]

Yeah, I'd say release order with one real exception being 358 should be played before KHII. That way you don't go in confused and Xion doesn't seem like a character included just to spread out the Days cast. 

Edited December 9, 2015 by Kaweebo

[Isamu Kuno 2,512]

I prefer original Japanese release order before Re's and Final Mixes

As in KH (FM) > (Re:)CoM > KH2 (FM) > (Re:)coded > Days > BbS (FM) > 3D

because while Re:coded came out after BbS the original mobile coded came out in Japan before Days. It also makes Xion seem like less of an afterthought.

Edited December 10, 2015 by Isamu_Kuno

[BlankShell 638]

Release order. As much as I love BBS, a prequel had to be earned; it's better BECAUSE it contextualizes so much of the series.

[Ven983 490]

Release order by far.  You need to play the original in order to understand and appreciate how the series evolves from there.  I don't even think you should play 358/2 until after KH2, because you can't even appreciate Roxas's character without playing KH2.  If you play BBS first it really diminishes the roles of Sora, Riku, & Kairi and all the mystery's that surround them throughout KH1.  Plus you don't really have the opportunity to understand the mystery of Xehanort if you don't play through in the released order.

 

You should only do a chronological playthrough once you have played all the games and know the story.

Edited December 10, 2015 by Ven983

[EricBwn 86]

KH1 - CoM - 358/2 - KH2 - BBS - Coded - DDD

[Roxasrox 131]

Always release order. It's the way the audience intentionally received the story; it's the best way to follow events and pick up on information.

 

A close second would be the order of the HD ReMIX's though. It's semi-release order with enough thought put into how people will move from one game to the next.

[Aqua7KH 5,395]

Release order by far. You need to play the original in order to understand and appreciate how the series evolves from there. I don't even think you should play 358/2 until after KH2, because you can't even appreciate Roxas's character without playing KH2. If you play BBS first it really diminishes the roles of Sora, Riku, & Kairi and all the mystery's that surround them throughout KH1. Plus you don't really have the opportunity to understand the mystery of Xehanort if you don't play through in the released order.You should only do a chronological playthrough once you have played all the games and know the story.

Even after playing all the games and knowing the story I still play release order only. I just finished Re:Chain again and I just started KH2 now. (It's the first time im playing the Final Mixes after forever)

[KingdomHearts3 2,591]

Chronological order hands down because in my opinion, once you understand BbS, the rest is easy to follow. Hopefully, once KHUX is out, I would start there and then go forward.

[TheKingdomkid 1,194]

Release order is the best way to watch anything or play anything and then once you understand the story as a whole (well as best as you can) then you can play it in chronological order

[WakingDawn96 1,166]

I like the BBS, KH, Re:COM, 358/2 Days, KH2, Re:Coded, 3D formula when I want to play every game that has released in North America so far. But if I just want to play, let's say KH2, without playing all the other games, then I will just play that one. Sometimes though I still do mix things up for an added effect.

[XionRoxasSora 239]

I honestly have never thought about this before. But now that you mention it, I've probably played most of them with either release date order or no sequence at all. But what sounds smart is probably playing it Chronologically. 

[Movies798 1,357]

Kingdom Hearts, Chain of Memories, 358/2 Days, Kingdom Hearts 2, Birth by Sleep, Re:Coded, and Dream Drop Distance. In my opinion.

[Philip Ellwell 5,487]

I never thought of this before, because I played them in "WTF are you doin'?" order, so what ever order you choose works, I suppose.

(Just for record, I played them Com, KH 1, Days, KH 2, Coded, BBS, DDD)

[victorytea 25]

Yup Release for sure. Meeting the ORG members in BBS was real satisfying after the previous games.

[The Transcendent Key 12,109]

Order of release is the way I played the games up to 3D, and after that, I've been playing the games chronologically! It's so amazing to see how everything connects and makes you feel like part of a much bigger universe! Since I've played all the games at this point, I prefer playing them chronologically, ya know? But hey, everyone has their preferences, am I right?

[Hero of Light XIV 2,381]

The release order works best, this allows you to follow the story as they wrote it. It makes much more sense too because there are references to previous games in the later releases. Some could be flexible, like if you wanted to you could watch the Days HD cutscenes before playing KH2 HD but I'd still much rather follow their original release order, because it also allows some things to be more cinematically pleasing from a story telling perspective. For example, meeting Roxas is a much more interesting experience in KH2 before learning of his past in Days, because then it kind of gives you this mystery, and then it makes you want to learn what happened. Likewise watching the HD Re:Coded cutscenes after playing through Days and Birth by Sleep HD makes much more sense than doing it directly after KH2 HD, as then you're given more of a reason to be invested in the twist at the end. If you went in right after KH2 it would just feel like it came out of nowhere. And if you apply anime logic, release order is still a strong form of storytelling, as the prequels and midquel stories act to fill in the gaps between major present events, without really feeling like "filler". I think it's a much more satisfying way to play through the series, AND it allows you to adjust with the gameplay in it's natural evolution.

[DragonMaster 1,166]

I'd always recommend release order. It's not the order I played them in, but its the one that I think would be best to get into the series and be able to experience the story in the best way possible.

[Green Sparrow 795]

I think in general, it is best to play the series in the release order. I think only KH fans could appreciate a chronological order playthrough, since many games are hinting at things that would be lost to newcomers. For example, in the beginning of BBS, when we see Aqua waking up Ventus and Terra then comes in. We all liked it, because it was a nice callback to KH1. On it's own though, it's kind of a stupid and awkward scene.

[Svard 164]

Release order for the new kids. I, for one, am particularly fond of chronological order when I'm doing a marathon.

[venxas24 544]

I think KH1->COM->Days->KH2->BBS->Re:Coded->DDD is the order I would make a friend play them in so that's my choice

[Headphone Jack 1,147]

release order because that's the order the story was written in and it'll be the easiest to understand.