When Kingdom Hearts 3 finally released after several spin-off-yet-canon games, I felt as if my whole life had been leading up to that moment. Now, we’re all staring at the release date attached to Kingdom Hearts 4, and there are all sorts of different emotions going around. For me, I’m intrigued, confused, and just plain excited to wield a Keyblade again.
I know that for a lot of you — probably most of you from the headline — you’re likely filled with something closer to anxiety and confusion. Kingdom Hearts has grown in popularity, and you want to join in the fun, but you don’t know where to start. Either that, or you’re just rusty on plot details and want to get caught up on the important stuff fast. Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.
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Kingdom Hearts has a very simple premise. (No. Don’t scoff. It does at first.) Three friends are tired of living on two small islands, so they come up with a plan to leave and explore what lies beyond their horizon over the sea. One of these friends, Sora, ends up finding a strange cloaked man who foretells what lies beyond a strange, closed door. That night, an unnatural dark storm overtakes the islands, and creatures appear out of the darkness. Sora’s friend Riku sees this as his opportunity to finally see what lies beyond. Both Sora and Riku are nearly taken by this powerful force, but a light shines and bequeaths a Keyblade to Sora. This is how Kingdom Hearts began.
There are all sorts of mysteries and secrets that have to be unraveled from there, and that’s part of what makes Kingdom Hearts so special. There’s something more to learn about this world and its overarching story with each and every game. It can be a lot, but if you take the time to experience everything the series gives you bit by bit, it’s actually not that hard to understand. I’m here to ease you into this fantastic world in a way that best suits you. Let’s get started.
How to Start Playing Kingdom Hearts
When it comes to starting Kingdom Hears, where to start is the big question everyone asks. Every fan has their preferences, and as the adventure grows in scope, some concepts are introduced as if you’re familiar with them from the other titles. So, at the end of the day, the best way to play the Kingdom Hearts games is in release order.
All Kingdom Hearts Games in Release Order: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts (Re:)Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts 2, Kingdom Hearts (Re:)Coded, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance, Kingdom Hearts: Union X Dark Road, Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A fragmentary passage, and finally, Kingdom Hearts 3.
Like I stated above, the biggest reason why the release order is best for the KH games comes down to the story elements introduced across the games. You can’t understand a lot of Birth By Sleep if you don’t know how matters of the heart, darkness, and the Keyblades work. The protagonists are budding Keyblade masters compared to you knowing absolutely nothing. I’d also argue that the release order works great with getting you acclimated to the game’s controls. Each game introduces new command styles and movement systems, so the original Kingdom Hearts game serves as a good litmus test for if you’ll like the series in general before diving deeper.
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If you’re completely new to the series, my advice would be to get the collections of each game, like Kingdom Hearts 1.5 & 2.5 ReMix HD. Not only do the collections have almost every game, but they also include cutscene movies for Re:Coded and 358/2 Days. I love the sprite work of Chain of Memories’ GBA version, too, but I feel like some players might enjoy the on-screen action of the remake in a way that might help them get over the deckbuilder aspect of Re:Chain.
And yes, sorry, you will have to get over playing a deckbuilder if you want Kingdom Hearts 2 to make as much sense as it can. I’m not letting you question why Sora’s asleep and who Roxas is without playing Re:Chain of Memories first. We’ve all heard it before. We’ve got no patience for that here.
Go in with an open mind and heart, and don’t try to treat what you learn about this world as some absolute lore, and you’ll be fine. What we know in our hearts is all based on feeling, after all.
How to Recap Yourself on What’s Important For Kingdom Hearts 4
Square Enix
Now, if you’re a returning Kingdom Hearts fan, you have more freedom to jump around as much as you want. You’ve probably got everything important — please appreciate my puns — memorized and under lock and key. Especially if you have been here since the beginning, like me.
We all forget things, though. It happens. I don’t blame you for wanting to refresh yourself on what happened last. Kingdom Hearts 4 launches the series into a whole new arc, after all. The best thing about wanting a refresher is that it makes a great excuse to play Kingdom Hearts 3 and ReMind. Obviously, this will refresh you on why Sora’s in Quadratum and everything else that’s happened so far. You might want to replay Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, or at least watch that game’s secret ending. We don’t have much to go off of right now that insists it’ll be important on its own.
But what else is important? I’m glad you (hypothetically) asked.
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Kingdom Hearts 4 Has Required Reading
What we do know regarding Kingdom Hearts 4 is that, whether you like it or not, Kingdom Hearts: Union X Dark Road is now incredibly important to whatever’s next. Union X introduced several new characters, including Strelitzia, who’d been shown off as a supporting character from KH4’s first trailer. We’ve also seen Sigurd, from Union X, and Vali, from Dark Road. Sora is new to this world, so we’ll likely be introduced to these characters through Sora serving as our audience surrogate. But like a lot of Kingdom Hearts games, you’ll be rewarded if you’re caught up and already know these characters intimately from previous appearances.
Because of this, I regret to inform you that you’ll probably be better off watching all the cutscenes from Union X Dark Road before Kingdom Hearts 4 comes out. It’s certainly a tall task, even carefully sifted compilations by well-known Kingdom Hearts alumni come out to be 5 hours each for Union X and Dark Road respectively. There’s still plenty of time, thankfully, so you can handle these text-heavy cutscenes at your own pace. Some people have suggested gathering a group of friends and voice acting them to make them a bit more palpable.
Your only options are to stomach these cutscenes, or possibly be confused alongside Sora. Pick your poison.
Okay, Now How Do I Understand Kingdom Hearts?
If you scrolled all the way past everything else I wrote to get to this section, or you still feel like the story’s too convoluted to keep up with, I’m going to say the quiet part out loud that I’ve been trying to get across with this entire article. Summaries don’t do Kingdom Hearts’ story justice. One who knows nothing can understand nothing.
If you want to know this story and fall in love with it like plenty of other fans have, the best way to do so is to play it yourself. The games explain everything at a pace that makes it easy to digest, and having an open mind about it all is, mind the pun, key. If you go into Kingdom Hearts 3, for example, believing that people who have lost their hearts have to regain their original heart in order to feel again, then you’re going to be frustrated with key character moments and deeper reveals.
These aren’t retcons. Most of the cast is made up of characters that are learning how the heart works just as we do. Go in with an open mind and heart, and don’t try to treat what you learn about this world as some absolute lore, and you’ll be fine. What we know in our hearts is all based on feeling, after all. Just take the story as it comes, and it won’t be confusing at all. Sure, you may have a few moments where things get so out there that you might have to hold your head and groan a bit, but being invested in the story and characters should see you through all of that.
Hopefully, this guide has answered any questions you have, and has put you on the right path to Kingdom Hearts 4 with ease. Best of luck with your adventures! May your heart be your guiding key!
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ESRB
e
Developer(s)
Square Enix
Publisher(s)
Square Enix
Engine
Unreal Engine 5