A Simple and Clean Guide to Kingdom Hearts in Preparation for KH4

زاکاری گرێف نووسەری لیستە لە کۆمپانیای DualShockers کە لە ساڵی ٢٠٢١ەوە بە شێوەیەکی پیشەیی یارییەکان ڕووماڵ دەکات، یاریزانێکی تەمەن درێژە و نووسەری پێشووی کەناڵی GameRant و Fix Gaming بووە، زاکاری لە سەرانسەری هەواڵ، ڕێنمایی، چاوپێکەوتن، پێشبینی، پێداچوونەوە، تایبەتمەندی، و لیستەکاندا نووسیویەتی، کە پاشخانێکی فراوانی لە ڕۆژنامەگەری یاریکردندا هێناوەتە کارەکانی.

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.

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.

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.