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What's up with these Kingdom Hearts numbers?!

As a KH noob who is looking to get into the franchise on the PS4, I thought these names were little spin offs or something until I saw someone on GAF explaining what they were.

So yeah, pretty horrible names for people not in the know.
 

FSLink

Banned
As a KH noob who is looking to get into the franchise on the PS4, I thought these names were little spin offs or something until I saw someone on GAF explaining what they were.

So yeah, pretty horrible names for people not in the know.
I personally knew a few people who almost skipped Birth By Sleep because they didn't know it was a KH prequel.

Just get 1.5 and 2.5, and 2.8 and try to beat the games in the original release order.
 

Metal B

Member
Why is a crossover game between Disney and FF characters this fucking complicated?
I believe, Kingdom Hearts tickles the bones of teens between 11-15. A age were it is very difficult to understand the difference between deep and complexity. They're still interested into cartoons, but also want something, which they believe to be adult, but can only understand by them. This feeling of being a part of a "smart" and exclusive society.
I call it the "Sonic Phase".

I also went through this phase with Sonic and Kingdom Hearts. But since i am an adult, it's hard to get into it again (it also didn't helped, that i hated Kingdom Hearts II's gameplay and story).
 

Azuran

Banned
This thread is so fucking sad. The question about the decimal numbers can easily be answered by doing a simple Google search. Here's I'll show you guys how to do it in case you still don't get it:

1. Head to Google.com
2. Type Kingdom Hearts 2.5 on the search bar
3. Click the first link (Wikipedia)
4. Read the introduction of the article

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix is an HD remastered collection of the Kingdom Hearts series... includes Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Final Mix in high definition and with trophy support. Additionally, the collection features Kingdom Hearts Re:coded in a Theatre Mode, spanning over 3 hours of HD remastered cinematics from the original game as well as new content.

See, that wasn't so hard, wasn't it? If you still don't get it, I don't know what to tell you. Head back to school and work on your reading and reasoning skills perhaps?

But then again, I guess people rather bitch and join the dumb hivemind about Kingdom Heart's plot being "confusing" rather than actually playing the games or reading summaries/watching videos to understand what's going on. That fact that you see some people complaining about the plot without touching more than a single game in the series is pretty hilarious.
 
I believe, Kingdom Hearts tickles the bones of teens between 11-15. A age were it is very difficult to understand the difference between deep and complexity. They're still interested into cartoons, but also want something, which they believe to be adult, but can only understand by them. This feeling of being a part of a "smart" and exclusive society.
I call it the "Sonic Phase".

I also went through this phase with Sonic and Kingdom Hearts. But since i am an adult, it's hard to get into it again (it also didn't helped, that i hated Kingdom Hearts II's gameplay and story).
Wow
This is sad just because you don't like the story. You sure are an "adult"
 

Puruzi

Banned
I believe, Kingdom Hearts tickles the bones of teens between 11-15. A age were it is very difficult to understand the difference between deep and complexity. They're still interested into cartoons, but also want something, which they believe to be adult, but can only understand by them. This feeling of being a part of a "smart" and exclusive society.
I call it the "Sonic Phase".

I also went through this phase with Sonic and Kingdom Hearts. But since i am an adult, it's hard to get into it again (it also didn't helped, that i hated Kingdom Hearts II's gameplay and story).
SMH

This thread is so fucking sad. The question about the decimal numbers can easily be answered by doing a simple Google search. Here's I'll show you guys how to do it in case you still don't get it:

1. Head to Google.com
2. Type Kingdom Hearts 2.5 on the search bar
3. Click the first link (Wikipedia)
4. Read the introduction of the article



See, that wasn't so hard, wasn't it? If you still don't get it, I don't know what to tell you. Head back to school and work on your reading and reasoning skills perhaps?

But then again, I guess people rather bitch and join the dumb hivemind about Kingdom Heart's plot being "confusing" rather than actually playing the games or reading summaries/watching videos to understand what's going on. That fact that you see some people complaining about the plot without touching a single game in the series is pretty hilarious.

Perfect
 

Azuran

Banned
So is the expectation to follow the story of KH III that all the games are required to be played/seen?

Guys I only read the first and second Harry Potter books, do I need to read the rest to understand what's going on in Deathly Hallows? Pls help me, I'm so confused :(
 
Guys I only read the first and second Harry Potter books, do I need to read the rest to understand what's going on in Deathly Hallows? Pls help me, I'm so confused :(

Yes but, you see, thats not a good comparison.

Harry Potter, unlike KH, does tell a good and coherent story than anyone who read the first six books can follow.

There's arguably many who played all KH games and still dont know exactly whats going on.

Also: keeping track of seven books that were released in order that tell a story also in cronological order it markedly easier than whatever the fuck KH did making you chase different platforms when they were new and telling prequel, midquel, and sequel stories with games that lack a number only to do it later with decimals an roman numerals that only confuse even more.
 

2San

Member
Guys I only read the first and second Harry Potter books, do I need to read the rest to understand what's going on in Deathly Hallows? Pls help me, I'm so confused :(
Well with a lot of gaming series the spin-off games can be safely ignored. Not sure why you are so hostile. I'm interested in KH3. It's been a while since I played an entry in the series and was wondering if I could skip a game here and there.
 

Azuran

Banned
Yes but, you see, thats not a good comparison.

Harry Potter, unlike KH, does tell a good and coherent story than anyone who read the first six books can follow.

There's arguably many who played all KH games and still dont know exactly whats going on.

Also: keeping track of seven books that were released in order that tell a story also in cronological order it markedly easier than whatever the fuck KH did making you chase different platforms when they were new and telling prequel, midquel, and sequel stories with games that lack a number only to do it later with decimals an roman numerals that only confuse even more.

That's true and all but are you telling me people wouldn't be confused about Harry Potter if they decided to skip a complete installment for some reason? I'm not saying the story about Kingdom Hearts can't be confusing at times, but when you have people saying that they're confused despite only playing the first two console games in a series that now spans 10 different games is pretty ridiculous and laughable.Go to any thread about 2.8 and you will see plenty of people bitching about not knowing who Aqua is or what's happening in the series right now while admitting they haven't touched a single game in the series since KH2 came out more than 10 years ago.

People need to accept already that this is not Final Fantasy or Zelda. Kingdom Hearts has a longrunning story that encourages people to play every game in order to fully understand what's going on. Every game matters in some way or form and the fact that you see people dismissing some of them are "spinoffs" perfectly shows that they have no idea what they're talking about. I remember people telling me that NOTHING about 358/2 Days was important, and then DDD comes out and suddenly learning about Xion and everything that happened to her and Roxas is now supposedly essential for KH3.

Furthermore, releasing the games on five different platforms certainly didn't help, but that has nothing to do at all with understanding the actual story in the games so I don't know why that's even a complain when discussing what's going to happen in KH3.

Also looking for a release order of the games is not that hard. People love posting that chronological timeline to make it seem so confusing when everything a new player need to is to follow this one (+ the new content in 2.8) to be completely caught up:

KH%20Final%20TL.jpg

Is is really that hard?
 

Kinsei

Banned
There's arguably many who played all KH games and still dont know exactly whats going on.

I find that hard to believe. The story is super dumb (and I love it for that) but so long as you've played every game and actually paid attention to the story (I wouldn't blame anyone if they didn't) then you should have no trouble following along.
 

Big Nikus

Member
I believe, Kingdom Hearts tickles the bones of teens between 11-15. A age were it is very difficult to understand the difference between deep and complexity. They're still interested into cartoons, but also want something, which they believe to be adult, but can only understand by them. This feeling of being a part of a "smart" and exclusive society.
I call it the "Sonic Phase".

I also went through this phase with Sonic and Kingdom Hearts. But since i am an adult, it's hard to get into it again (it also didn't helped, that i hated Kingdom Hearts II's gameplay and story).

Funnily enough, I think this is the most childish post I've read in this thread. And that's saying something.
 
I find that hard to believe. The story is super dumb (and I love it for that) but so long as you've played every game and actually paid attention to the story (I wouldn't blame anyone if they didn't) then you should have no trouble following along.
I agree for the most part, though I think even longtime players can agree that Dream Drop Distance got pretty confusing even if you've closely followed the story up to that point.
 

Puruzi

Banned
I find that hard to believe. The story is super dumb (and I love it for that) but so long as you've played every game and actually paid attention to the story (I wouldn't blame anyone if they didn't) then you should have no trouble following along.
Yep, if you play all the games and actually watch the cutscenes there is almost no way you can't understand it. If you think it's bad, whatever, but it's definitely not confusing.
 

Azuran

Banned
I agree for the most part, though I think even longtime players can agree that Dream Drop Distance got pretty confusing even if you've closely followed the story up to that point.

Well, it's a setup for KH3 so of course there's going to be come confusion considering not every single question the player had was meant to be answered in that game. KH2 was considered the same way for a while until both Days and BBS came out and answered some of the things people had questions about.
 
Well, it's a setup for KH3 so of course there's going to be come confusion considering not every single question the player had was meant to be answered in that game. KH2 was considered the same way for a while until both Days and BBS came out and answered some of the things people had questions about.
Actually, I think the deliberate loose ends for KHIII were easy to understand. I'm moreso talking about things like
Young Xehanort being possessed by his older self in Riku's boss battle with him. The how and why are never explained in game; the explanation is tucked away in the Ultimania guide for the game. Not to mention the mechanics of how time travel works within the game being pretty flimsy.
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
"Just buy 1.5 + 2.5 and 2.8, and play the games in release order", people tell me. Sure, that's fine. But WAIT, 2.8 comes out BEFORE the other one, so I can't actually play it until several months later. Lol. Why.

Ok, whatever, I'm totally gonna go in blind and understand EVERYTHING. Should be easy.
 

Hexa

Member
"Just buy 1.5 + 2.5 and 2.8, and play the games in release order", people tell me. Sure, that's fine. But WAIT, 2.8 comes out BEFORE the other one, so I can't actually play it until several months later. Lol. Why.

Ok, whatever, I'm totally gonna go in blind and understand EVERYTHING. Should be easy.

1.5 and 2.5 came out on PS3 already. 1.5+2.5 is a rerelease of both of those packed together, which apparently materialized really fast. 2.8 has been getting hyped up for a long time so if they delayed it so it came out after 1.5+2.5 people would be really pissed. If you really want to, you could get a PS3, and then play 1.5 and 2.5 and then play 2.8 immediately after it comes out. Otherwise, just wait for the PS4 port.
 
"Just buy 1.5 + 2.5 and 2.8, and play the games in release order", people tell me. Sure, that's fine. But WAIT, 2.8 comes out BEFORE the other one, so I can't actually play it until several months later. Lol. Why.

Ok, whatever, I'm totally gonna go in blind and understand EVERYTHING. Should be easy.

Playing the games is not going to help you understand anything. Just press X 100000 times and pretend you got through then.

Just wait for three to be released and if it is good, play that. All you need to know is Sora, Donald and Goofy are trying to beat a bad guy. All the other story notes are pointless and confusing filler and are best ignored.
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
1.5 and 2.5 came out on PS3 already. 1.5+2.5 is a rerelease of both of those packed together, which apparently materialized really fast. 2.8 has been getting hyped up for a long time so if they delayed it so it came out after 1.5+2.5 people would be really pissed. If you really want to, you could get a PS3, and then play 1.5 and 2.5 and then play 2.8 immediately after it comes out. Otherwise, just wait for the PS4 port.

Yeah, I understand that. And I do have a PS3. But as someone who's never played a KH game I'd rather just experience the whole thing on PS4, so this release order is a bit annoying. Seems poorly planned by SE. They should have had 1.5 + 2.5 ready, like, now.
 
Yeah, I understand that. And I do have a PS3. But as someone who's never played a KH game I'd rather just experience the whole thing on PS4, so this release order is a bit annoying. Seems poorly planned by SE. They should have had 1.5 + 2.5 ready, like, now.

Yeah, same here. I found it odd that they are releasing them on PS4 in the order they are. I'll be waiting until March so I can play them in order.
 

Celcius

°Temp. member
Square manager: "Let's port 1.5 and 2.5 to the PS4 so that the whole series is available on PS4."
Square employee: "We can do it, but it won't be ready before 2.8"
Square manager: "Go ahead and do it. It'll be profitable and fans will appreciate having the entire series on one console."

*announcement happens*

Fans: "What? 1.5 and 2.5 come out on ps4 AFTER 2.8?! Pitchforks!"
 
1.5+2.5 is everything, or at least that's what I'm told.

it's everything up to 2.8 (though two of the games in i.5 and II.5 have been distilled down to movies)

the naming conventions and numbering of kingdom hearts games are stupid and nuts but also it's kinda a part of why i like em
 
"Just buy 1.5 + 2.5 and 2.8, and play the games in release order", people tell me. Sure, that's fine. But WAIT, 2.8 comes out BEFORE the other one, so I can't actually play it until several months later. Lol. Why.

Ok, whatever, I'm totally gonna go in blind and understand EVERYTHING. Should be easy.

that has nothing to do with the numbering scheme being complicated though, im not going to argue Square didn't plan it right by having 2.8 come out on PS4 first but that's besides the point.


Like you're not dumb, you know full well that 2.8 is on the PS4 and the other two got released on PS3(and will come later.) Either play on a PS3 or wait, it all still comes down to the same simple play them in the order the numbers go up.
 
Also: keeping track of seven books that were released in order that tell a story also in cronological order it markedly easier than whatever the fuck KH did making you chase different platforms when they were new and telling prequel, midquel, and sequel stories with games that lack a number only to do it later with decimals an roman numerals that only confuse even more.
What were they supposed to do, keep releasing games on the PS2?

I agree that splitting the series up between DS/PSP/mobile for the post-2 games was kind of dumb but you can play every game in the series right now between just the PS3 and 3DS. In a few months it'll all be on PS4.
 
As a KH noob who is looking to get into the franchise on the PS4, I thought these names were little spin offs or something until I saw someone on GAF explaining what they were.

So yeah, pretty horrible names for people not in the know.

Yeah, it's really unfriendly for people looking to start now. Beginning a franchise shouldn't really take so much research tbh

I believe, Kingdom Hearts tickles the bones of teens between 11-15. A age were it is very difficult to understand the difference between deep and complexity. They're still interested into cartoons, but also want something, which they believe to be adult, but can only understand by them. This feeling of being a part of a "smart" and exclusive society.
I call it the "Sonic Phase".

I also went through this phase with Sonic and Kingdom Hearts. But since i am an adult, it's hard to get into it again (it also didn't helped, that i hated Kingdom Hearts II's gameplay and story).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1y3YvCJpUw
 

Mikey Jr.

Member
Guide to Kingdom Hearts ports

Kingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix has:

- The remastered Kingdom Hearts from the PS2 except with the content that was exclusive to the rerelease Japan had
- The remastered Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories which came out on the PS2, a game that takes place directly after the first Kingdom Hearts and is a remake of a GBA game
- Remastered and new cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, these are from a DS game. THIS IS JUST CUTSCENES.

Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD Remix:

- The remastered Kingdom Hearts 2 from the PS2 except with the content that was exclusive to the rerelease Japan had
- The remeastered Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep from the PSP, except with the content that was exclusive to the rerelease Japan had
- Remastered and new cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts Re: coded, these are from a DS game. THIS IS JUST CUTSCENES.

Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue:

- The remastered Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance which was originally on the 3DS.
- A small game that was developed just as a sort of demo for Kingdom Hearts 3, called Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep 0.2 A Fragmentary Passage
- Cutscenes based off the phone game Kingdom Hearts X

There you go OP.
 

Vamphuntr

Member
The plot is stretched across so many games that they have to do multiple collections to have everything. The third game should have happened way before.It doesn't help that Remixes also added cutscenes and whatnot.

Not sure why hardcore fans are mocking casual fans of the franchise. Very nice way to get more people interested in the franchise by telling them they are dumb because they don't get everything. I'm sure it was Disney's plan all along.

I feel the plot is really complex and convoluted across all those games. You also need to play the inbetween games and the prequels to understand everything.
 
You can like its naming conventions all you want but anyone honestly trying to argue how the Kingdom Hearts series isn't a confusing mess is being disingenuous.

And it's not jus about three compilations with three numbers with decimal numbers. As a casual KH fan i constantly see shit like KH 0.2, and KH 358/2, KH Re:CoM or KH Unchained X. Add to that how they've dragged out the story for 15 goddamn years, which in it on itself has its own massive problems when trying to make sense of it, and you have a very very confused audience.

I'm a diehard gamer who GAFs daily and has played KH1, and 2 on PS2 and I don't know what the fuck's going on anymore. What are the chances that other less invested would-be fans who dont dwell on gaming forums everyday will buy these compilations or KH3?

Theres a lot to love about KH. Maybe even its titles. But let's be real and drop the pretenses. Do not defend this series saying they're not confusing or say they're easy to follow. As true as water is wet it is not.





I rest my case.

I mean it's not really that hard?

Release order:

Kingdom Hearts
Chain of Memories
Kingdom Hearts II
358/2 Days
Birth by Sleep
Re:Coded
Dream Drop Distance
X
0.2 Birth by Sleep
Kingdom Hearts III

It's basically gone mainline-side story-mainline-side story since the series started. If they really wanted to they could have called BBS and DDD KH0 and KH3 respectively.

Re:Coded is an entirely skippable remake of a mobile game, X is a mobile game, and 0.2 BBS is a short little KH3 prologue bundled in the 2.8 collection.
So really, Chain of Memories and 358/2 Days are the only important side stories (the ones in 2.8 might be important, can't say until January).

They've even done a nice job to bundle them together on PS4. Play 1.5, 2.5 and 2.8 in order (though I'd argue watching the 358/2 Days cutscenes in 1.5 spoil parts of KH2 but eh).
 

ss_lemonade

Member
I always thought 2.8 was the definitive Kingdom Hearts 2, until I found out that 1 & 2 were coming out as another separate release...
 

Azuran

Banned
The plot is stretched across so many games that they have to do multiple collections to have everything. The third game should have happened way before.It doesn't help that Remixes also added cutscenes and whatnot.

Not sure why hardcore fans are mocking casual fans of the franchise. Very nice way to get more people interested in the franchise by telling them they are dumb because they don't get everything. I'm sure it was Disney's plan all along.

I feel the plot is really complex and convoluted across all those games. You also need to play the inbetween games and the prequels to understand everything.

We'll if you can't follow a simple numbering system and figure out all by yourself that those decimal numbers are various compilations of previous games then you shouldn't be surprised when people laugh at you.

If someone doesn't get that, then God have mercy on their souls because the story of this series will eat them alive.
 

Celcius

°Temp. member
I think I've just decided not to jump back into this series after all (only played the original so far).
Having to play through so many games and also keeping the story straight sounds overwhelming. (more like a chore than fun?)

giphy.gif
 
I won't pretend that KH is "easy" to follow, but it's not hard either. All it takes is a little bit of self-ingenuity, if you're so OCD by names.

Here's a different universe where KH are named differently.

Kingdom Hearts 1: Seeker of Darkness <- KH1
Kingdom Hearts 2: Chain of Memories
Kingdom Hearts 3: Superiority Between <- KH2
Kingdom Hearts 4: Birth by Sleep
Kingdom Hearts 5: Dream Drop Distance
Kingdom Hearts 6: Final Chapter <- KH3

Kingdom Hearts Side Story 1: 358/2 Days
Kingdom Hearts Side Story 2: ReCoded
Kingdom Hearts Side Story 3: Back Cover
Kingdom Hearts Side Story 4: Fragmentary Passage

Kingdom Hearts Collection 1: [Contains KH1, KH2 and Side Story 1]
Kingdom Hearts Collection 2: [Contains KH3, KH4 and Side Story 2]
Kingdom Hearts Collection 3: [Contains KH5, Side Story 3 and Side Story 4]

It's still a lot of ground to cover, and framing it this way doesn't change its difficult-to-follow storyline, but suddenly it's not so hard anymore to know what's what, right?
 

Celcius

°Temp. member
I just don't feel like slogging through it all to get to 2.8 and 3 lol. Then there's the whole "Sora is everyone" meme... it sounds like the plot itself becomes convoluted like people are saying :(
 

StoneFox

Member
I just don't feel like slogging through it all to get to 2.8 and 3 lol. Then there's the whole "Sora is everyone" meme... it sounds like the plot itself becomes convoluted like people are saying :(
"Sora is everyone" is mostly a joke.

Sora is Jesus is more accurate.
 
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