Kingdom Hearts History

Everyone's favorite aspect of Kingdom Hearts! The story, of course!
In Kingdom Hearts, the story plays a really big part of the overall experience. To many, it is incredibly convoluted and unnecessarily complex. To others, it's a unique story and it's actually pretty good if you manage to catch up and play all the games in the franchise. Kingdom Hearts revolves around visiting worlds from famous Disney movies, where Sora (Or Roxas, Ventus, Aqua, Terra, Riku) Meet the characters from these charming movies and cartoons, and take part in solving whatever is going on in these worlds, most of the time you'll be paired up with a major character of each world.



The characters in Kingdom Hearts are-

Sora- A charming boy with a very special heart, the star of Kingdom Hearts and a very skilled Keyblade wielder. This boy explores many Worlds saving them one by one and... keeps many people in his heart.

Riku- Sora's childhood and best friend. Riku might seem like an asshole at first, but he's a pretty good character and had a major role in the latest game, Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance. Also being a skilled Keyblade weilder, Riku keeps a special place in the heart of many fans and fan girls.

Kairi- Sora and Riku's friend. She is Sora's love interest and is, surprise! a Keyblade wielder! She plays a major role in the story, she comes from Radiant Garden/Hollow Bastion and has memories of her past there. Without her, this story wouldn't be as crazy.

Ventus- An energetic boy, one of the three protagonist of the game Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep. Ventus has a unique way of fighting as he holds his Keyblade backwards, Ventus was Master Xehanort's apprentice until he was.. um, left in the care of Master Eraqus.

Aqua- A strong, skilled Keyblade Wielder. She passed the Mark of Mastery exam and is now a full-fledged Keyblade master. She excels in magic and is one of the three protagonist in KH: BBS. Aqua tries to keep her friends Ventus and Terra safe and sound, and is not afraid to face danger.

Terra- A very strong, skilled Keyblade Wielder. Terra failed the Mark of Mastery exam and left his homeworld shortly after that. He believes in Master Xehanort and follows him around hoping to catch up to him, unfortunately, Terra is easily exposed to the darkness inside of him and is not very good at controlling his emotions.

Roxas- Sora's nobody, an ex-member of Organization XIII and their most important one, at that. Roxas spent his days eating ice cream with his two friends, Axel and Xion, Roxas was needed to bring Sora back from his deep slumber. This character holds a special place in many hearts, including mine.

Lea/Axel- An ex-member of Organization XIII, Lea was known as Axel when he was a Nobody. Lea was very good friends with both Roxas and Xion and introduced them to the concept of Eating Seasalt Ice Cream = Friendship. Lea is also a, yup, Keyblade Wielder!

Xion- Roxas and Axel's friend. Memories of Sora where inside her and as such, she needed to die and merge with Sora for him to comeback from his deep slumber. Xion was the fourteenth member of Organization XIII, she was able to wield a Keyblade too!

King Mickey- A very, very important character in Kingdom Hearts. King Mickey was Yen Sid's apprentice and is a righteous Keyblade Master. Mickey left his Castle in Kingdom Hearts 1 in search of a way to stop Ansem and since then has become a very big part of the other character's journey.

Xehanort- The main villain in the current "Saga" (As stated by Nomura himself) of Kingdom Hearts. This man is EVERYWHERE.



The current Games in the Kingdom Hearts franchise are-

Kingdom Hearts 1- The game that started it all! Available on PS2 and on the HD Collection that is yet to be released, KH 1 also has a Final Mix version.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories- The game after Kingdom Hearts 1, it has VERY different gameplay. Originally on the GBA but was remade with Sexy Graphics for the PS2, which is also on the HD Collection.

Kingdom Hearts 2- The game after CoM, and the official sequel. This game made huge changes to the gameplay in KH 1, available on PS2 with a Final Mix only released in Japan.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days- The game after KH 2, this gives us a deeper look at the Organization, Roxas, and introduces Xion. Released for the DS, HD cutscenes will be included in the HD Collection.

Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep- The game after KH 358/2 Days. BBS Introduces Ven,Terra,Aqua, and Xehanort. It is the prequel to KH 1, has as much content as a console KH game. Available on the PSP.

Kingdom Hearts Coded/RE:Coded- Let's just go with RE:Coded. Released on the DS and there is no point in playing this, just watch the secret ending on Youtube.

Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance- The game after KH RE:Coded. This game finally takes place after KH 2 and sets the way for KH 3 (YES!) Released for the 3DS, this game has as much content as a console PS2 game and offers new worlds, along with a playable Riku and Sora. You must play this to understand where the story is going next.



Music in Kingdom Hearts can go from average to simply amazing:
Simple and Clean PLANITb Remix
Darkness of the Unknown
The 13th Dilemma
Another Side
Enter the Void
The Key

Just to name a few. Share your favorite tracks from KH here, too!

I wanna play Kingdom Hearts and understand the story, wtf do I play first?!
Kingdom Hearts BBS -> Kingdom Hearts 1 -> Kingdom Hearts Chain/RE:Chain of Memories -> Kingdom Hearts 2 -> Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days -> Kingdom Hearts RE:Coded -> Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance.

NOTE: If you play the games in this order, be prepared to have a hard time adjusting to the different Battle Systems. For example, going from BBS to KH 1 on the PS2 will be a bit difficult.

I wanna play Kingdom Hearts but only the major games, wtf do I play?
Birth By Sleep, KH 1, KH 2, and DDD. Also CoM if you want to meet the rest of the Org.

Which are the side story, minor games?
CoM (To an extent)
358/2 Days
RE:Coded

-A few notes about Chain of Memories-
The most important part in the game overall is towards the end with Namine and Sora. CoM features a story called "Reverse Rebirth" that revolves around Riku and what happened to him after KH 1. CoM introduces Marluxia, Lexaeus, Zexion, Larxene, and Vexen. Play it if you want to know more about them, Riku, or why Sora was asleep at the start of KH II.

Source :http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=509555