1. New Release News and Core Question

Last Sunday night, Old Gamer saw some great news: Kingdom Hearts 4 is on the way. This is a major game IP co‑developed by Square Enix and Disney. Barring surprises, it will get a timed exclusive release on PS5. Judging from the trailer quality, it will definitely not land on the Nintendo Switch, a console stuck in the previous‑generation weird hardware configuration. Normally, a new game announcement would be good news, so why is Old Gamer’s title a “Not‑Recommended Entry Guide”? The story goes back to the multiple titles in the Kingdom Hearts series.

2. The Core Problem of the Series Gaming Experience

For a long time, most developers of series games tend to tell players: “You can skip previous entries and play our game directly.” In reality, series games have to cater to both returning players and new fans. While you can follow the main plot without prior games, much of the enjoyment is lost. This problem is far more pronounced in the Kingdom Hearts series. Anyone who jumped straight into Kingdom Hearts III will know this well. Without playing earlier games, your play experience might only hit a 5 out of 10. Having played the prior titles, that experience can rise to an 8. With so many games and characters across the franchise, going in without background knowledge will leave you confused by the cast and severely dampen your experience.

3. Complete Series Works List and Entry Barriers

There are nine Kingdom Hearts titles:

  • Kingdom Hearts
  • Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
  • Kingdom Hearts II
  • Kingdom Hearts coded
  • Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
  • Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
  • Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
  • Kingdom Hearts χ
  • Kingdom Hearts III

Does this list give you a headache? Due to early‑era circumstances, several earlier releases had no other language options. Later, the Kingdom Hearts All‑In‑One Package on PS4 only included subtitle languages for Kingdom Hearts III. This makes it very unfriendly for prospective players with limited English proficiency.

If you are dead‑set on diving into this massive franchise and language barriers do not bother you, Old Gamer suggests following the chronological story order: Kingdom Hearts χ -> Birth by Sleep -> Kingdom Hearts I -> 358/2 Days -> Chain of Memories -> Kingdom Hearts II -> coded -> Dream Drop Distance -> Kingdom Hearts III. If you intend to start straight from the subtitle‑supported third mainline entry, you will need to memorize the core worldbuilding and basic lore. There are many characters, and it is easy to get tangled up in the setting.

(Spoilers ahead. Skip this section if you do not wish to be spoiled.)

5. Core World Background and Ancient Keyblade War

In the fairytale‑like ancient world existed a marvelous thing called Kingdom Hearts. Simply put, it was “the heart of all worlds”. Its radiance bathed every world, maintaining a unique balance between light and darkness. Protecting this light was the χ‑blade. The χ‑blade was shattered in the Keyblade War into twenty fragments: seven of pure light and thirteen of pure darkness. Worlds split apart, and Kingdom Hearts vanished into the dark. The ordinary Keyblades players wield throughout the games are imitations forged after the χ‑blade.

6. Xehanort’s Plan and the Birth of Vanitas

Years later, a Keyblade Master named Xehanort (referred to here as Baldy) sought to reshape reality. While studying Keyblades and the history of the ancient Keyblade War, he uncovered a method to obtain Kingdom Hearts, yet he could not locate its critical component—the χ‑blade. To buy more time for research and searching, he took in a young boy named Ventus, hoping to teach him to wield darkness to execute a body‑snatching plan. Ventus’ heart leaned toward light; though darkness dwelt inside him, he refused to use it. Then Baldy recalled how the χ‑blade had split into light and darkness. Unable to find the original, he resolved to make one. He extracted the darkness dwelling within Ventus. That pure darkness coalesced into a separate being identical in appearance to the boy, named Vanitas.

7. Ventus’ Experience and Three Keyblade Apprentices

What became of Ventus? Stripped of his inner darkness, the incomplete Ventus was abandoned by Baldy and on the brink of death. By fortune, his heart connected to a newborn’s heart, completing his existence and turning him into a being of pure light, though his memories faded. Soon he became a pupil of another light‑aligned Master. This Master now had three apprentices: Terra, Aqua, and Ventus.

8. The Failure of the χ-blade Recreation Plan

Baldy would not rest. To make Ventus and Vanitas strong enough to fuse and recreate the χ‑blade, he manipulated Terra into wielding darkness and successfully possessed his body. He then forced pure‑light Ventus to battle pure‑darkness Vanitas. Ventus was defeated. Right before the fusion could complete, Ventus cast his light power outward. That power was inherited by the newborn whose heart had once saved Ventus: Sora, protagonist of the first game. The χ‑blade briefly manifested upon fusion, but Mickey Mouse and Aqua arrived and destroyed it. Baldy, inhabiting Terra’s body, lost his memories after defeat in the great war and was rescued by Master Ansem. Aqua set off to find a way to save her fellow apprentices.

9. Xehanort’s Rebellion and The Origin of Heartless & Nobodies

The amnesiac Baldy began researching hearts under the sage. As his memories gradually returned, his hunger for darkness persisted. He swayed the sage’s other pupils into research. When the sage discovered this, he banned Baldy’s experiments. Baldy turned traitor. He allied with the sage’s other pupils to exile the sage and continued his work. Eventually he mastered separating hearts from bodies. Beings stripped of hearts are Heartless; beings stripped of bodies are Nobodies. Baldy let his own Nobody impersonate the sage to stir chaos across worlds, while he founded Organization XIII and kept his true self hidden.

10. Sora’s Adventure and Identity Transformation

Years later, the grown‑up Sora, his friends Riku and Kairi, got pulled into a dimensional rift in an accident. While gathering allies, Sora awakened Keyblade powers. With Donald Duck, Goofy, and Mickey’s help, he learned Organization XIII was conspiring with Disney villains to steal people’s hearts. As mentioned earlier, people without hearts transform into Heartless monsters. To defeat Organization XIII, Sora gathered the hearts of six princesses and learned Kairi held the seventh. Her heart resided inside Sora, so Sora impaled himself with the Keyblade to free both their hearts. Sora turned into a Heartless, giving rise to Roxas (Sora’s Nobody) and Naminé (Kairi’s Nobody). Kairi used her princess power to restore Sora temporarily, and they defeated Baldy’s Nobody possessing Riku’s body. After the battle, Sora fell into slumber as a side‑effect of being a Heartless.

11. Roxas and Xion’s Experience in Organization XIII

Roxas was taken in by Organization XIII upon his birth. While working for the Organization, he befriended Axel and Xion. As Sora’s memories returned, Roxas and Xion began sensing Sora’s presence. Roxas was Sora’s Nobody; Xion was a replica created by the Organization from Roxas, capable of absorbing Roxas’ power. After many battles, Xion met Minnie Mouse and learned the full truth. Xion chose to return all her power to Sora and accept her fate, forcing Roxas to defeat her so he could escape the Organization. Betrayed by the Organization and grieving his friend’s passing, Roxas burned with rage and sought vengeance against Baldy, only to be stopped by Riku. Roxas’ memories were erased, and his consciousness was digitized and placed into Twilight Town.

12. Roxas’ Final Fate and Classic Line

Roxas lived a peaceful life in the virtual Twilight Town until Axel found him. Roxas no longer remembered Axel and refused to leave with him. Later Roxas met Minnie and learned the whole backstory. Axel returned, intending to abduct Roxas by force, but Roxas defeated him, knowing he had an important destiny to fulfill. Roxas went to the Memory Pod and saw the sleeping Sora. Roxas understood his own existence was coming to an end and accepted his fate. This is where the famous line originates.

“My summer vacation… is over.”

13. The End of the Early Plot and Follow-up Instructions

With all hearts and powers returned, Sora awoke. He traveled across worlds, destroying Heartless and searching for the missing Kairi. Unbeknownst to him, Organization XIII had planned for this. They collected the Heartless Sora defeated to build an artificial Kingdom Hearts. Master Ansem reappeared, seeking to atone for his failure in raising Baldy. He detonated Kingdom Hearts and perished alongside Baldy’s Nobody. All Heartless under Baldy’s control were eliminated. With the destruction of Baldy’s Nobody, Baldy’s true self regained his senses.

The later chapters have official Chinese localizations, so I will not go into further detail.

14. Final Playing Suggestions

Each individual game’s story is not hard to follow. Jumping straight into the third or fourth entry, however, will leave you thoroughly confused. Many complicated identities are glossed over in the mainline games. Having played the earlier titles drastically changes your emotional weight and experience. So if you have no interest in catching up on all past content, take Old Gamer’s advice: do not get into this series. Wouldn’t taking your girlfriend out for dinner be nicer?

Kingdom Hearts Can I Skip Any Games