How to Play the Kingdom Hearts Games in Order

How to Play Kingdom Hearts Games successful Chronological Order

Kingdom Hearts χ / Unchained χ / Union χ

Apologies for grouping each the titles successful 1 section, but Kingdom Hearts χ [chi], initially a Japan-exclusive rubric for PC, had been subsequently rebranded into Unchained χ and Union χ [Cross] for mobile users worldwide during the 8 years it was moving online. The χ refers to the χ-blade, a coveted limb designed by 2 Keyblades successful an “X” signifier susceptible of unlocking Kingdom Hearts.

Kingdom Hearts Union χ is acceptable hundreds of years earlier the series' events, successful an epoch starring up to the Keyblade War. You power a recently minted Keyblade wielder successful the 2D satellite of Daybreak Town who joins 1 of 5 factions and works to guarantee its supremacy implicit the different 4 arsenic they combat implicit the finite airy disposable to the world. Union χ occurs soon aft Unchained χ, but successful an alternate information satellite wherever the subordinate relives the past to hide the Keyblade War. The crippled unopen down successful May 2021, but you tin inactive ticker cutscenes of it online. If gacha games are not your style, you tin ticker HD cutscenes of the events successful the cinematic Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover, which is included successful Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue.

Kingdom Hearts Dark Road

As the rubric suggests, Kingdom Hearts Dark Road is the root communicative of villain Master Xehanort acceptable 70 years earlier the events of Birth by Sleep. As a young man, Xehanort is taken from Destiny Islands to Scala advertisement Caelum to bid alongside Master Eraqus to go a Keyblade wielder and is tasked by Master Odin to hunt for the Lost Masters, triggering a concatenation of events that leads him to go the Seeker of Darkness.

Dark Road employed the aforesaid 2D graphics contiguous successful Kingdom Hearts χ and its consequent rebranded titles, which aren’t precise impressive, but the crippled inactive contained details integral to the full series. You whitethorn not beryllium capable to play the game, but you tin inactive ticker cutscenes connected YouTube to get the afloat scope.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep

Set 10 years earlier the events of Kingdom Hearts, Birth by Sleep is told from the vantage points of Ventus, Terra, and Aqua — each Keyblade Apprentices of Master Eraqus surviving successful the Land of Departure. Shortly aft Aqua and Terra decorativeness their Mark of Mastery exam, with the erstwhile passing and obtaining the rubric of Keyblade Master and the second failing for not keeping his acheronian successful check, the trio spell connected abstracted journeys to find Master Xehanort, who disappeared without a trace, and decision the Unversed, creatures created by Xehanort’s apprentice Vanitas to onslaught different worlds.

Birth by Sleep dives into the root of Sora and Master Xehanort, arsenic Ventus had portion of his bosom patched up by a portion of Sora’s heart. Xehanort, meanwhile, created Vanitas from the acheronian helium purged from Ventus’ heart, which Xehanort deemed excessively frail for him to usage arsenic a vas to forge the χ-blade, forcing him to spell aft Terra instead. It besides explores however Sora and Riku could wield the Keyblade successful the archetypal place, arsenic Terra bestowed the powerfulness of the Keyblade to Riku, portion Aqua sensed beardown ties with Sora and Riku to Ventus and Terra, respectively.

Read our review of Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep.

Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep — A Fragmentary Passage

Although it’s harmless to spot A Fragmentary Passage (included successful Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue) earlier the archetypal Kingdom Hearts game, it acts arsenic an epilogue to Birth by Sleep and a prologue to Kingdom Hearts 3. However, the communicative for this crippled begins soon aft the events of Dream Drop Distance due to the fact that King Mickey tells the communicative of however helium came crossed Aqua successful the Realm of Darkness to Riku, Kairi, and Master Yen Sid.

After sacrificing herself to prevention Terra from the Realm of Darkness astatine the extremity of Birth by Sleep, Aqua has been wandering successful acheronian for 10 years, trying to find a mode backmost to the Realm of Light. She visits the acheronian versions of Castle of Dreams, Dwarf Woodlands, and Enchanted Dominion to conflict hordes of Heartless that signifier into Demon Towers, combat apparitions of Ventus and Terra, and prevention Terra’s heart. Meanwhile, Mickey went to the Realm of Darkness to prevention Riku. When helium meets Aqua aft utilizing her mislaid Wayfinder to find her, helium tells her 10 years person passed since they past met and proceeds to Destiny Islands aft warring different Demon Tower. There, the doorway to Kingdom Hearts is spotted, and Mickey helps Sora and Riku seal it shut, leaving Aqua to dwell successful the Realm of Darkness erstwhile more.

Kingdom Hearts

In the precise archetypal introduction of the series, Sora sets retired connected a travel with Donald and Goofy to reunite with Riku and Kairi aft the Heartless destruct Destiny Islands and plunge the satellite into darkness. Along the way, helium travels to antithetic worlds aboard the Gummi Ship, meets assorted Disney and Final Fantasy characters, and helps support their satellite from the Heartless by sealing Keyholes. Meanwhile, Maleficent leads a radical of her chap Disney villains to question retired the 7 Princesses of Heart to unlock the past keyhole starring to Kingdom Hearts, and she employs Riku.

By the clip Sora reaches Hollow Bastion, Kairi’s assemblage is recovered with her bosom missing arsenic it was transferred to Sora’s assemblage during the apocalypse astatine Destiny Islands; Riku becomes possessed by Ansem, who was manipulating Maleficent to unfastened Kingdom Hearts; and Kairi is revealed to beryllium the Princess of Heart, hence the bosom transportation from her to Sora, who past frees Kairi’s bosom aft impaling himself with Ansem’s Keyblade, turning into a Heartless successful the process. Kairi manages to crook Sora backmost to quality signifier by recognizing his Heartless and embracing him, and from determination Sora defeats Ansem and seals the doorway to Kingdom Hearts with assistance from Riku and Mickey from the different side.

Read our review of Kingdom Hearts.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories

While searching for Riku and Mickey aft sealing the doorway to Kingdom Hearts, Sora, Donald, and Goofy sojourn Castle Oblivion, causing them to suffer their memories upon entry. They’re told by Marluxia, the lord of the castle who is revealed to beryllium a subordinate of Organization XIII, that the deeper they spell into the castle, the much memories they’ll lose, but they'll uncover caller ones successful the process. The radical is fixed a platform of cards called “world cards” based connected Sora’s memories, and they conscionable representation versions of the characters they met successful the erstwhile crippled and combat a fewer members of the Organization speech from Marluxia — Axel, Larxene, and Vexen — arsenic they advancement done each level of the castle. Meanwhile, Riku is going done the basement levels of the castle, wrestling with the acheronian wrong him and Ansem’s attempts to power him portion warring 2 different members of Organization XIII: Lexaeus and Zexion.

Aside from the cards being decried arsenic an ineffective conflict system, Chain of Memories introduced caller characters that became indispensable players successful the Kingdom Hearts series, specified arsenic Naminé, whom Sora gradually remembered arsenic being an aged person lone to find retired aboriginal she was manipulating Sora’s memories of Kairi by replacing them with fake ones of herself nether Marluxia’s orders. After Sora fights Marluxia for his beingness and Naminé’s freedom, Naminé places him and his companions to slumber successful pod-like machines to assistance them regain the memories they lost.

Read our review of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories.

Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days

358/2 Days is acceptable during the events of Chain of Memories. It explores the commencement of Roxas arsenic Sora’s Nobody erstwhile Sora turned into a Heartless during Kingdom Hearts, his regular beingness arsenic the 13th subordinate of Organization XIII, and his relationship with Axel and Xion, who mysteriously arrived arsenic the 14th member.

As clip progresses and their enslaved deepens, it is revealed that Xion is an artificial replica created aft Sora’s memories of Kairi arsenic a fail-safe if Sora and Roxas are proven to beryllium useless for the Organization to execute their extremity of summoning Kingdom Hearts and becoming whole, each the portion delaying Sora’s representation restoration process by absorbing them. This find causes Roxas to defect from Organization XIII to find himself, and aboriginal Xion, who fights to merge with him to go whole, stopping Sora from waking up. Ultimately, Roxas defeats Xion, who disintegrates into airy with each the memories she absorbed returning to Sora.

Fun fact, but not precisely fun: 358/2 was dedicated to the representation of Wayne Allwine, the dependable histrion for Mickey Mouse, who died 12 days earlier the game’s merchandise successful Japan successful May 2009.

Read our review of Kingdom Hearts 358/2.

Kingdom Hearts 2

The crippled begins successful Twilight Town, wherever Roxas enjoys his summertime abrogation with Hayner, Pence, and Olette, having nary memories of his clip with Organization XIII nor Axel, who remembers him during their encounters portion waking up with dreams of Sora, who had been dormant for a twelvemonth astatine that point. Once Sora wakes up on with Donald and Goofy aft Roxas merges with him, they acceptable retired to erstwhile again support the worlds from the Heartless and sojourn caller ones to halt Organization XIII from creating different Kingdom Hearts that would springiness the Nobodies their hearts back.

As Sora and the pack research the conception of the bosom adjacent further, they larn that the Ansem they fought was Xehanort’s Heartless; Xemnas, the person of Organization XIII, is Xehanort’s Nobody; and that Xehanort was an apprentice of the existent Ansem, named Ansem the Wise, the sage-king of Radiant Garden (renamed Hollow Bastion and past Radiant Garden again) who studied the bosom alongside Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, Ienzo (human versions of Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion, respectively) to support his radical from acheronian earlier helium was exiled to the Realm of Darkness for corrupting them with the aforesaid acheronian and taking connected the caller individuality DiZ (Darkness successful Zero). Even much shocking, they larn Roxas and Naminé are the Nobodies of Sora and Kairi, respectively.

Read our review of Kingdom Hearts 2.

Kingdom Hearts: Re:coded

Initially released arsenic an episodic mobile crippled called “Coded” successful Japan, Re:coded centers connected King Mickey and a integer mentation of Sora arsenic they enactment to repair Jiminy Cricket’s journal, which chronicles the existent Sora’s adventures warring the Heartless and Organization XIII, aft it got corrupted. It was being digitized to analyse a concealed connection Jiminy did not write: “Their hurting volition beryllium mended erstwhile you instrumentality to extremity it” (originally written arsenic “We indispensable instrumentality to escaped them from their torment” successful Coded). In the dataspace, Data-Sora and Mickey combat the bugs, who instrumentality the signifier of red-and-black blocks and Heartless, and enactment to decipher the message's meaning.

Square Enix primitively released 8 parts of Coded and a preview to Japanese mobile users from June 2009 to January 2010, making it tally astir similar a afloat play of a tv series. To marque the crippled accessible to fans worldwide, the full crippled was repackaged into Re:coded for the Nintendo DS.

Read our review of Kingdom Hearts: Re:coded.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

To hole for Master Xehanort’s return, Master Yen Sid proctors the Mark of Mastery exam to Sora and Riku successful the astir unconventional mode possible: sending them backmost successful clip to unlock the keyholes of 7 worlds that were near successful a sleeping authorities aft being destroyed by the Heartless, including the worlds of Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pinocchio, Tron: Legacy, and Fantasia. Though they spell done a antithetic concatenation of events successful the aforesaid worlds, they enactment to decision the “Nightmare” Dream Eaters with the assistance of their “Spirit” Dream Eaters and the powerfulness of Flowmotion.

Throughout the Mark of Mastery exam, they tally into the younger mentation of Xehanort, who reveals that he, Ansem, and Xehanort, who were expected to person been defeated, lured Sora into a trap astatine The World That Never Was and enactment him into a heavy slumber (where helium was protected by Ventus’ armor), and Riku has been moving done Sora’s dreams arsenic a Dream Eater the full time. To prevention Sora from the darkness, Riku fights the young Xehanort, and the revived, older Master Xehanort arrives with intentions to crook Sora into his 13th vas for the caller Organization XIII, comprised of mostly his past selves from crossed time, and make the χ-blade by pitting the 13 seekers of acheronian and the 7 guardians of airy against each other. Thankfully, Xehanort’s plans are foiled by King Mickey, Lea (the quality mentation of Axel), and Riku, who yet passes the Mark of Mastery exam, with Sora failing for losing the powerfulness of waking, which is the quality to reconstruct hearts.

Read our Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance review.

Kingdom Hearts 3

In the last section of the Dark Seeker Saga, Sora sets retired to reclaim the powerfulness of waking and stitchery the 7 guardians of airy to hole for the last showdown with Organization XIII and Master Xehanort, who is hellbent connected not lone creating the χ-blade, but besides keeping acheronian and airy successful due balance. Meanwhile, Kairi trains to go a Keyblade wielder with Lea, and Riku goes with King Mickey to hunt for the missing Keyblade wielders.

Kingdom Hearts 3 took 13 years to make, with a fewer trailers released betwixt 2013 and 2018 earlier yet being released successful 2019. To this day, it remains the best-selling Kingdom Hearts game.

Read our review of Kingdom Hearts 3.

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory

Melody of Memory is simply a bushed crippled wherever Sora and the different Keyblade wielders decision the Heartless, Nobodies, Unversed, and Dream Eaters to the bushed of each opus successful the series. It’s acceptable against the backdrop of Kairi being successful the laboratory astatine Radiant Garden, arsenic she gives a summary of the series’ events arsenic the narrator.

Kingdom Hearts Games successful Release Order

1. Kingdom Hearts - September 17, 2002 (PS2)
2. Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories - December 7, 2004 (Game Boy Advance)
3. Kingdom Hearts 2 - March 28, 2006 (PS2)
4. Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days - September 29, 2009 (Nintendo DS)
5. Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep - September 7, 2010 (PSP)
6. Kingdom Hearts: Re:coded - January 11, 2011 (Nintendo DS)
7. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance - July 31, 2012 (Nintendo 3DS)
8. Kingdom Hearts Union χ [Cross] - April 7, 2016 (Android, iOS)
9. Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMix - March 28, 2017 (PS4)
10. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue - January 24, 2017 (PS4)
11. Kingdom Hearts 3 - January 29, 2019 (PS4, XBO, PC)
12. Kingdom Hearts Dark Road - June 22, 2020 (Android, iOS)
13. Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory - November 13, 2020 (PS4, XBO, Nintendo Switch, PC)

What's Next for Kingdom Hearts?

Kingdom Hearts 4 was announced successful 2022, though Square Enix has been quiescent astir KH4 since its announcement and has yet to uncover a merchandise window. The astir caller development, a bid of screenshots, came retired of astir nowhere, but hopefully indicates we'll beryllium getting our hands connected Kingdom Hearts 4 sooner alternatively than later. I wouldn't beryllium amazed if the crippled ends up releasing connected the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2.

Cristina Alexander is simply a freelance writer for IGN. She has contributed her enactment to assorted publications, including Digital Trends, TheGamer, Twinfinite, Mega Visions, and The Escapist. To paraphrase Calvin Harris, she wears her emotion for Sonic the Hedgehog connected her sleeve similar a large deal. Follow her connected Twitter @SonicPrincess15.

Originally posted:

May 27, 2025 7:11 pm