All images are from Square Enix.
Ladies and gentlemen, the moment many gamers have waited years for is finally approaching: the release of Kingdom Hearts III. While we might not know the definite release date, (other than the fact that it’s sometime this year), but to tide all of us gamers over in the meantime, here are the Kingdom Hearts games ranked from worst to best. Let’s go.
Note: I’m not including any of the mobile releases or the final mix versions of the games, just the releases that came out on consoles. Believe me, the Kingdom Hearts games make Disney complicated enough, and adding in all of that extra information that the mobile and final mix games provide will really convolute the timeline. So, let’s keep this list simple and clean, and just focus on the “main” games.
8. Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded
Yeah, I think Sora’s face in the bottom right describes this game.
Pros: Um…Maleficent became an actual threat again in this game, so that was pretty neat?
Cons: Oh good Lord, everything else. This game honestly added nothing to the series–which makes sense, considering this was originally a mobile game–but apparently someone at Square thought this game was important to the plot. It’s not. It’s practically a re-hash of the first game, but it’s not even a good re-hash: literally, all the characters are irrelevant by the time the game ends. Why? Because they’re data characters. That’s almost as big as a cop-out as saying, “It was just a dream” at the end of the movie. Ugh.
7. Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories
My face when the fans come for me after seeing I put Chain of Memories so low.
Pros: The introduction of Organization XIII was pretty cool, playing as Riku was also pretty cool and honestly, this is the game that sets up the plot for the rest of the series.
Cons: Remember how I said how this game sets up the plot for the rest of the series? Yeah, this is the game where the series becomes super complicated. For one, Chain of Memories first came out on Game Boy Advance, which means that not everyone got the chance to play it, so if you went right from I to II, then bad news: you missed a good chunk of the plot. Re:Chain of Memories does a pretty good job of trying to bridge the gap, but considering that Re:Chain of Memories came out two years after Kingdom Hearts II, it might have been too little, too late.
Also, the card combat sucked and replaying the first game but with no Kairi kind of sucked too.
6. Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth By Sleep: A Fragmentary Passage
I’m sorry, Aqua.
Pros: Seeing the backstory behind some of the instances in Kingdom Hearts, it was super interesting and is a great build-up to the rest of the series. Also, it did a pretty good job of connecting Birth By Sleep to the actual main series, plus the Simple and Clean remix at the beginning was beautiful.
Also, the graphics.
Cons: People actually paid $50 to get a game you can complete in like, two hours, not to mention the fact that people are still waiting for Kingdom Hearts III. This game was like going to McDonald’s to get a milkshake, only to find out the ice cream machine is broken. Again.
5. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
It’s called 3D because it has three Ds in the name. Not because it was released on the 3DS. Definitely not.
Pros: PLAYING AS RIKU AGAIN YES, the introduction of more Disney worlds that haven’t been seen in the Kingdom Hearts series yet (such as the Hunchback of Notre Dame) and the introduction of more Square Enix properties in the game, specifically The World Ends With You.
Also, look at the Dream Eaters! You get to keep pets. The one in the link is called Meow Wow.
Cons: While we get more Disney worlds, they are rehashes of all the movie plots. We get to play as Riku and Sora in equal amounts, but the game gives you a time limit on how long you can play each one before it boots you back to the other. Also, the plot is friggin unsatisfying as hell–like, Sora saved the world like twice, and he’s still not a Keyblade master? What the hell, Yen Sid?
4. Kingdom Hearts II
Goofy, Sora, Donald! Better get used to that, because you’re gonna be hearing that phrase a LOT during this game.
Pros: Probably the best opening in the series thus far, with some truly excellent levels and truly excellent plot development. Plus, the Organization gets to play a huge role in this one, and really reveal themselves as a threat.
Cons: There’s too much focus on the Final Fantasy characters and not enough focus on the actual Disney worlds, which basically leaves all the Disney worlds in a state where you’re just playing through the movies; so basically like a fanfic. Also, the game would be higher if it didn’t have “Get up on the hydra’s back!” or the entire Atlantica level.
3. Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
Me on the way to forge the Chi-blade.
Pros: Jesus Christ, you go into this game thinking that it’s gonna be kinda light-hearted–like after all, it’s a game about three friends trying to save each other–and you think it’s gonna have a happy ending, plus Mickey Mouse is on the title screen, so you know it’s gonna be light-hearted. NOPE. This game is a friggin feels train from start to finish. Best part? Each of the three protagonists gets their own section to play through, so you get to have your heart broken three times.
And it’s great.
Cons: Terra’s voice actor is…not good, to say the least. Aqua’s voice actress can be a little shaky too (though Jesse McCartney as Ventus tends to do pretty well). Plus, this game is one of those games that really convolutes the plot, and the three protagonist thing, while cool, does not help in keeping the plot simple.
2. Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days
Wow, I can’t wait to play this game with three friends just having a good time.
Pros: 358/2 tries to fill in a lot of the blanks that the other games leave open/cause, and it generally does a pretty good job of trying to fill them all. We get more information about the Organization (and original Kingdom Hearts lore in general) and in all honesty, this game is pretty heartbreaking at times. Plus, the voice acting is stellar throughout the entire game.
Cons: Again, Disney plots are pretty weak, as we’re visiting worlds we’ve already seen and not adding anything new to them. The game does do a good job of filling in as many gaps as it can, but this game was originally released on the Nintendo DS, so it does leave some players locked out of the loop plot-wise. Also, while Xion is an interesting character, how in the heck is Sora going to save her when she was never real in the first place?
1. Kingdom Hearts
What? Did you expect any different?
Pros: Beautiful. Iconic. Perfect balance between Disney characters and Final Fantasy characters. The game is gorgeous, the theme song is gorgeous, overall this game is great.
Cons: Can’t be perfect though, if you’ve got unskippable cutscenes and Atlantica. (For real though, why does Atlantica suck so hard?)
So, there’s the list! Hopefully, this list left you full of passion and made you so excited for Kingdom Hearts III that you didn’t think twice about some of the results on the list. But for real though, regardless of how some of these games ranked, we can’t deny that Kingdom Hearts is a great series, and Kingdom Hearts III is going to be great.