So I've decided to play Kingdom Hearts...

[TheSquashedOrange]

Hi there escapist. As the title says, I've decided that I'd like to give the KH series a shot. The problem I've run into though is that between the KH1 and KH2, there are apparently two games that take place between them, (Chain of Memories and 358/2 days) and these games are apparently not as good as the main two.

So, the question for KH fans is this, is it important for me to play CoM and 358/2 days to get the plot, or is most of it background/unrelated?

 

[Sniper Team 4]

It's not vital, but you will be left scratching your head in places. If you want, I can send you a summary of both games, as I've played them all.
Oh, and don't forget about Birth By Sleep. That one takes place BEFORE Kingdom Heart.

 

[TheSquashedOrange]

Yeah, I noticed BbS, but I'm guessing that it can't be too important plot wise because it was made after the other games. Don't worry about sending me a summary, like skittle said, I can always read an article on them or watch an LP.

 

[V8 Ninja]

Chain of Memories is the game with the most important story to it. It ties KH1 to KH2. As for 358/2 Days, it achieves why the characters are the way they are in KH2. So yes, if you want to get the entire KH experience, then you have to play both COM and 358/2 Days. However, if you're just there for the gameplay, then jumping from KH1 to KH2 is fine. My personal opinion is that you should stick with the main series and wait for KH3 to come out to see if the extra time and money is worth it.

 

[LightspeedJack]

358/2 Days came out after KH2 so don't worry about playing that. If you decide to skip Chain of Memories at least read a plot summarry before playing KH2.

If you do want to play it I'm sure you can find a GBA Emulator...not that I encourage that kind of thing.

 

[Marik2]

Im really confused why all the KH spin offs are exclusives to different handhelds

 

[Wolfpocalypse]

whats this about them not being as good? i thought they were alright tbh, you got to play as rikku in chain and 358/2 days had some great ideas, good fun if you know others with the game and u wanna tackle the multiplayer. if your gonna skip one skip chain and look up the cutscenes for the ps2 version on youtube for sora and rikku.... and blahblah days isnt relevant to the plot of kh2, probly better to play it after actually when uv no more kh and u wanna keep going! but yeah the series is class just enjoy it dude!

 

[Kotaro]

358/2 Days was really damn good. So don't skip that one.
But you'll need the story of CoM first. And I recommend playing 2 before 238/2. If you don't want to play CoM (which, let's face it, was mediocre) then just read a plot summary. Re:coded is also rather skip-worthy, though it has some fun gameplay twists.
But it's best to play them in the order they were made:
1
Chain of Memories
2
358/2 Days
Birth by Sleep
Re:coded

 

[Wolfpocalypse]

Yeah, I noticed BbS, but I'm guessing that it can't be too important plot wise because it was made after the other games. Don't worry about sending me a summary, like skittle said, I can always read an article on them or watch an LP.

dont play it till after ur done the others! it will ruin half the story

 

[Cucumber]

Y'can play one, then play the other, without playing all that in between. I did that, with some headscrachiing. But in retrospect I kinda wish I did read a summery of Chain of Memories.

 

[Lord Beautiful]

Im really confused why all the KH spin offs are exclusives to different handhelds

Because Square Enix hates us.

Even though I only played the main two games and never so much as looked up a summary of Chain of Memories or the DS one, I still got the gist of what happened. It's not entirely necessary as far as understanding the story goes, but I'm guessing it prevents you from feeling the distinct "what the fuck" sensation after beginning the second game. Then again, that sensation is what helped draw me in to Kingdom Hearts II.

 

[Amata]

It would be worth your while to play CoM, but it's not vital. The first time I played KH 2 I hadn't played CoM, and although I was a bit confused at the beginning, it didn't effect it too much. You really should play BbS though, but I would leave that until after you've played KH 1 & 2, since you'll actually get what's explaining, if that makes any sense.

Oh, and even though I am a big KH fan I say with all sincerity that you should not waste your time/money on 358/2 Days IMO.

 

[Marik2]

358/2 Days was really damn good. So don't skip that one.
But you'll need the story of CoM first. And I recommend playing 2 before 238/2. If you don't want to play CoM (which, let's face it, was mediocre) then just read a plot summary. Re:coded is also rather skip-worthy, though it has some fun gameplay twists.
But it's best to play them in the order they were made:
1
Chain of Memories
2
358/2 Days
Birth by Sleep
Re:coded

was RE:coded the one for the phone?

Seriously enix is really weird when it comes to KH

 

[Amata]

FFS, double post.

 

[Kotaro]

358/2 Days was really damn good. So don't skip that one.
But you'll need the story of CoM first. And I recommend playing 2 before 238/2. If you don't want to play CoM (which, let's face it, was mediocre) then just read a plot summary. Re:coded is also rather skip-worthy, though it has some fun gameplay twists.
But it's best to play them in the order they were made:
1
Chain of Memories
2
358/2 Days
Birth by Sleep
Re:coded

was RE:coded the one for the phone?

Seriously enix is really weird when it comes to KH

Kingdom Hearts: coded was on cell phones. Kingdom Hearts Re:coded is a DS remake, which actually left Japan. While it has a rather weak and unimportant plot, there are some neat twists on the gameplay, like a retro side-scroller mission and a turn-based RPG boss fight.

Also, Amata? It really comes down to personal taste here. 358/2 Days is my personal favorite in the entire series. Just saying.

 

[Shuichi_boy]

No, it's definitely not important to play CoM at least. Just read the plot summary on Wikipedia or something. The game itself plays like absolute ass. Seriously, it's one of the worst games I've ever played. I hope whoever came up with the card-based battle system was fired.

 

[DarkShadow144]

You really just need a basic understanding of COM before going into KH2, since it takes place right after that. As for 358/2, you don't have to play it. If you were wondering about Birth By Sleep, its pretty good, but like 358/2, not needed to understand whats going on. Though any KH fan should play it. As you can tell, I am a KH fanboy and I am damn proud.

 

[VondeVon]

Well I played them when they first came out - and even then I had to play a ROM of Chain of Memories since it wasn't released down here yet.

I would say 'yes' to Chain of Memories, but the rest can easily be enjoyed much much later, if you enjoyed the main games enough.

Also, try and get a hold of the PS2 remake of CoM. I've just gotten mine and it's amazing how tolerable better graphics makes the annoying card combat system become.

 

[Austin Howe]

Play nothing besides the first one. The first one is written by Kizushige Nojima, that's all you need to know. The rest are not. Oh, wait Chain of Memories is pretty good too, but nothing after that.