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[Laughing Banana]

It's just the game series trying to appear "cool" and "edgy", OP, although failing quite miserably at it.

So in that sense, the names kinda fit with the games after all.

 

[Benzychenz]

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?)

That's a weird reason, like you could say that about anything.

"I wanted to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 but I have to watch seven other movies first? Seems like a chore."

 

[Alucrid]

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?)

https://media.giphy.com/media/mgW7qk28vnSms/giphy.gif[img][/QUOTE]

i only played 1 and 2. might buy 2.8 only for the aqua game on UE4 and will still buy 3. why? because the kh story isn't sacrosanct and largely seems dumb but i had fun playing them

 

[Big Nikus]

"Sora is everyone" is mostly a joke.

Sora is Jesus is more accurate.

But Jesus is in everyone !

 

[Fades]

But Jesus is in everyone !

Well, Sora (spoiler)

Spoiler

has had multiple people inside him. Close enough?

 

[Big Nikus]

Well, Sora (spoiler)

Spoiler

has had multiple people inside him. Close enough?

When you say it like that..

 

[Laughing Banana]

The one that should be the main character is Donald Duck or Mickey.

Sora is a hack.

 

[Big Nikus]

The one that should be the main character is Donald Duck or Mickey.

Sora is a hack.

Donald is a quack.

 

[Azuran]

It's just the game series trying to appear "cool" and "edgy", OP, although failing quite miserably at it.

So in that sense, the names kinda fit with the games after all.

lol how in the world is Kingdom Hearts edgy?

 

[DKHF]

Very good post #1

Very good post #2

 

[Big Nikus]

lol how in the world is Kingdom Hearts edgy?

I guess because some characters are wearing hoods ? yknow, and trenchcoats. The edginess is real.

 

[ScientificPizza]

lol how in the world is Kingdom Hearts edgy?

yeah

and how is their numbering convention edgy???

 

[Big Nikus]

yeah

and how is their numbering convention edgy???

My best guess is that in a world where people freak out when they see a number, adding a decimal is the utmost edgy thing you can do. I mean, now you've got to play games in order of release, and to do that you go from the lowest number (1.5), to the highest (2.8). It's crazy.

 

[NinjamicWZ]

There is no overlap in content between 2.5 and 2.8, they're entirely different.

It doesn't even have Kingdom Hearts 2 on it?

 

[jrcbandit]

The analogy of skipping Harry Potter movies to watch the 7th makes no sense. This is nothing like that, as there are a number of subpar Kingdom Hearts spinoffs that have poor gameplay/lackluster story and will take up allot more time than a 2 hour Hollywood movie if it's a game and not one of their cutscene compilations. Also, the cutscene compilations are quite boring, stitching together video game cutscenes doesn't lead to an engaging movie experience.

It's understandable to not want to have to deal with the lesser KH spin off games and still try to get a semi coherent story. I tried watching the cutscene compilations and fell asleep everytime. I tried the remastered DS game on KH I.5 and hated it.

In any case, KH, KH2, and Birth by Sleep are well worth everyone's time. Everything else, not so much. I disliked Dream, Drop, Distance, so i have little interest in 2.8 other than the 0.2 Birth by Sleep epilogue/KH3 Prologue and I'm not paying $60 for that.

 

[Fj0823]

The analogy of skipping Harry Potter movies to watch the 7th makes no sense. This is nothing like that, as there are a number of subpar and boring Kingdom Hearts spinoffs that have poor gameplay/lackluster story and will take up allot more time than a 2 hour Hollywood movie if it's a game and not one of their cutscene compilations. Also, the cutscene compilations are quite subpar/boring, stitching together video game cutscenes doesn't lead to an engaging movie experience.
I
It's understandable to not want to have to deal with the lesser KH spin off games and still try to get a semi coherent story. I tried watching the cutscene compilations and fell asleep everytime. I tried the remastered DS game on KH I.5 and hated it.

In any case, KH, KH2, and Birth by Sleep are well worth everyone's time. Everything else, not so much. I disliked Dream, Drop, Distance, so i have little interest in 2.8 other than the 0.2 Birth by Sleep epilogue/KH3 Prologue and I'm not paying $60 for that.

Its not a Spin-Off if it follows the same plot and characters and sets up events and characters that will later be explored.

A more apt comparison is "Do I need to watch Avengers Age of Ultron and Iron Man 3 to understand Civil War? Seems like a chore"

 

[raven777]

It doesn't even have Kingdom Hearts 2 on it?

2.8 doesn't have KH2 on it.

 

[Conkerkid11]

What would you call something that takes place between 2 and 3? It's more descriptive than not having a number.

Releasing a complete collection rather than milking small weird collections with movie filler, or releasing collection 1, 2, then 3.

Not having the collection(s?) that released on last gen get relabeled as something different this gen.

There's a lot of options that make more sense to the consumer.

Even reading the first page of responses, I don't know what each collection comes with and why 2.8 is even a 2.x if it doesn't come with 2.

 

[jrcbandit]

Releasing a complete collection rather than milking small weird collections with movie filler, or releasing collection 1, 2, then 3.

Not having the collection(s?) that released on last gen get relabeled as something different this gen.

There's a lot of options that make more sense to the consumer.

Even reading the first page of responses, I don't know what each collection comes with and why 2.8 is even a 2.x if it doesn't come with 2.

They wanted to find a way to charge $60 for a prologue for KH3. That's your answer. They try to justify the $60 price by including the 3ds game, but instead they should have had a KH complete collection release that included the 3ds Dream drop distance game. Then have a separate $20 release for KH3 prologue chapter like Ground Zeroes.

 

[anothertech]

I almost made this thread lol.

So in lay mans terms:
I.5 = 1
II.5 = 2
II.8 = 3
3 = 4

???
Cheezits

 

[Fades]

Releasing a complete collection rather than milking small weird collections with movie filler, or releasing collection 1, 2, then 3.

Not having the collection(s?) that released on last gen get relabeled as something different this gen.

There's a lot of options that make more sense to the consumer.

Even reading the first page of responses, I don't know what each collection comes with and why 2.8 is even a 2.x if it doesn't come with 2.

2.8 is called 2.8 because, bullshit marketing reasonings from the developer aside, it serves as a prologue to KH3. It's a collection to be consumed after 2.5, but before you play 3, thus...2.8. It has nothing to do with "including KH2" as you seem to have assumed.

 

[Ostinatto]

So 2.8 will be a full AAA game?

 

[Conkerkid11]

They wanted to find a way to charge $60 for a prologue for KH3. That's your answer. They try to justify the $60 price by including the 3ds game, but instead they should have had a KH complete collection release that included the 3ds Dream drop distance game. Then have a separate $20 release for KH3 prologue chapter like Ground Zeroes.

Oh.

 

[BasedKiliK]

I'm just gonna pull some meta shit so.....

1 + 1.5 + 2 + 2.5 + 2.8 + 0.2 + 3 = 13 or XIII

The equation above is the sum of 7 numbers.

7 Lights and 13 Darknesses.

 

[Permanently A]

Okay look.

Kingdom Hearts 1.5

• Kingdom Hearts 1
• Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories
• Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days movie

Kingdom Hearts 2.5

• Kingdom Hearts 2
• Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
• Kingdom Hearts Re Coded movie

Kingdom Hearts 2.8

• Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance
• Kingdom Hearts 0.2
• Kingdom Hearts χ movie

and then finally Kingdom Hearts 3.

NOW to decipher this mess.

This is the timeline.

1. Kingdom Hearts χ
2. Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep
3. Kingdom Hearts 0.2
4. Kingdom Hearts 1
5. Kingdom Hearts Re Chain of Memories
6. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
7. Kingdom Hearts 2
8. Kingdom Hearts Re Coded
9. Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance

To play the whole series, you need 2.8 and the upcoming March PS4 release which includes 1.5 and 2.5.

Now to play it in release (best) order:

1. Kingdom Hearts
2. Kingdom Hearts Re Chain of Memories
3. Kingdom Hearts 2
4. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
5. Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep
6. Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded
7. Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance
8. Kingdom Hearts χ
9. Kingdom Hearts 0.2

 

[Glitter and Gold]

I figured since they're compilations of the old games primarily aimed at getting people caught up in the story before 3, the numbers are approaching 3 as the compilations get closer to it storywise


358/2 is anyone's guess though.

 

[BTA]

So... I've been playing KH since the first game, so I'm biased. But I'm gonna be honest and say I really don't think the game releases (which is to say I'm not talking about the plot of the games here) are all that confusing.

The names are weird but the releases and which are prequels or not are pretty straight forward. Playing in release order makes the most sense and though the "1.5" and "2.5" naming scheme might complicate it, the remakes and ports very directly make the original/older versions obsolete. You have the choice of "actually playing this or watching the cutscenes in the collection" but unless you really really want to play the GBA version of CoM, that's about it. Beyond that, we're just unsure about whether Back Cover is enough by itself, but if it is, it's just a slightly weirder example of "play this or watch cutscenes".

I think specifically 385/2 Days sticks out because it's weirdly placed before 2 in the 1.5 and 2.5 collections, and ideally you'd want 1.5+2.5 to solve that, though I'm guessing it won't. Otherwise, it's only obfuscated by the names and the unfortunate problem of people still viewing everything without a number as a meaningless spinoff instead of an important (and sometimes better) part of the series.

Spoiler

And I haven't ever played Coded or 3DS, but I don't think either of those really disrupt that, since it only matters that you play Days/Coded/BBS before 3DS...

 

[butman]

Okay look.

Kingdom Hearts 1.5

• Kingdom Hearts 1
• Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories
• Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days movie

Kingdom Hearts 2.5

• Kingdom Hearts 2
• Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
• Kingdom Hearts Re Coded movie

Kingdom Hearts 2.8

• Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance
• Kingdom Hearts 0.2
• Kingdom Hearts χ movie

and then finally Kingdom Hearts 3.

NOW to decipher this mess.

This is the timeline.

1. Kingdom Hearts χ
2. Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep
3. Kingdom Hearts 0.2
4. Kingdom Hearts 1
5. Kingdom Hearts Re Chain of Memories
6. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
7. Kingdom Hearts 2
8. Kingdom Hearts Re Coded
9. Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance

To play the whole series, you need 2.8 and the upcoming March PS4 release which includes 1.5 and 2.5.

Now to play it in release (best) order:

1. Kingdom Hearts
2. Kingdom Hearts Re Chain of Memories
3. Kingdom Hearts 2
4. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
5. Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep
6. Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded
7. Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance
8. Kingdom Hearts χ
9. Kingdom Hearts 0.2

 

[KZXcellent]

I'm just gonna pull some meta shit so.....

1 + 1.5 + 2 + 2.5 + 2.8 + 0.2 + 3 = 13 or XIII

The equation above is the sum of 7 numbers.

7 Lights and 13 Darknesses.

Tetsuya Nomura a treasure.

Spoiler

And a fucking menace.

So... I've been playing KH since the first game, so I'm biased. But I'm gonna be honest and say I really don't think the game releases (which is to say I'm not talking about the plot of the games here) are all that confusing.

They are in no way confusing now especially. There's 3 HD Collections - 1.5, 2.5 (the first 2 put into 1 pack on PS4) and 2.8. They lead into the inevitable KH3. Sure titles like 358/2 days and 0.2 A Fragmentary Passage are weird names that mean absolutely nothing to anyone who isn't familiar with it but I don't see it making things any harder for literally anyone since they're in numbered collections.

 

[Permanently A]

Can someone put real numbers to each Kingdom Hearts game? Decimals hurts!

Kingdom Hearts χ (KH -1)
Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep (KH 0)
Kingdom Hearts 0.2
Kingdom Hearts 1
Kingdom Hearts Re Chain of Memories (KH 1.3)
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (KH 1.6)
Kingdom Hearts 2
Kingdom Hearts Re Coded (KH 2.3)
Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance (KH 2.6)
Kingdom Hearts 3

 

[Fades]

I figured since they're compilations of the old games primarily aimed at getting people caught up in the story before 3, the numbers are approaching 3 as the compilations get closer to it storywise


358/2 is anyone's guess though.

It's an absolutely terrible name, but I guess they were going simply for story significance; "Three-Five-Eight Days, Over Two", representing

Spoiler

the time that Roxas and Xion (the "Two") spent in the Organization.

But...yeah, the name really sucks, even after it was explained.

 

[Azuran]

I'm just gonna pull some meta shit so.....

1 + 1.5 + 2 + 2.5 + 2.8 + 0.2 + 3 = 13 or XIII

The equation above is the sum of 7 numbers.

7 Lights and 13 Darknesses.

Based Nomura is always one step ahead of us. Truly the greatest director in all of gaming.

 

[Benzychenz]

I'm just gonna pull some meta shit so.....

1 + 1.5 + 2 + 2.5 + 2.8 + 0.2 + 3 = 13 or XIII

The equation above is the sum of 7 numbers.

7 Lights and 13 Darknesses.

Nomura you crazy bastard.

 

[Newtype-001]

I'm just gonna pull some meta shit so.....

1 + 1.5 + 2 + 2.5 + 2.8 + 0.2 + 3 = 13 or XIII

The equation above is the sum of 7 numbers.

7 Lights and 13 Darknesses.

BASED
A
S
E
D
NOMURA

 

[Inuhanyou]

So it's not missing anything that's on 2.5 or it is?

2.8 is a completely different collection. It is not 2.5

 

[Laughing Banana]

lol how in the world is Kingdom Hearts edgy?

Well it came from an RPG where we go on various goofy (hah) hijinks across colorful Disney universes with freakin Donald Duck and Goofy with various FF cameos to a game where we fought a group of villains in a group called Organization XIII whose members are all wearing black clothes complete with hoods with names like Demyx, Luxord, Xaldin, Xigbar, Axel, Roxas, Xemnas, Xion, Saïx, Marluxia, Lexaeus, Zexion, Larxene, and Vexen.(oh yessss, gotta have all the X-ses in their names, baby!)

Not to mention all the nonsense heart talk, multiple identity people, time travel, etc etc and as such as such. I don't know why they feel the need to make it so complicated like that while a straightforward story would work just fine, if not better.

 

[Crayon]

This seems like an insane way to name games. Seems to work for them, tho.

 

[WrenchNinja]

Well it came from an RPG where we go on various goofy (hah) hijinks across colorful Disney universes with freakin Donald Duck and Goofy with various FF cameos to a game where we fought a group of villains in a group called Organization XIII whose members are all wearing black clothes complete with hoods with names like Demyx, Luxord, Xaldin, Xigbar, Axel, Roxas, Xemnas, Xion, Saïx, Marluxia, Lexaeus, Zexion, Larxene, and Vexen.(oh yessss, gotta have all the X-ses in their names, baby!)

Not to mention all the nonsense heart talk, and as such as such.

You're being disingenuous. You were still going on goofy hijinks across colourful Disney universes with Donald and Goofy even after the Organization were introduced. You just now had more antagonists to deal with than just the Disney villains and Heartless.

 

[Tsunamo]

Only answer I can think of... is that Square was straight up belligerent drunk when they were finishing up these games and naming them.

Well Nomura did thinkup the concept of Re:coded while he was drunk.

 

[Yabberwocky]

"Sora is everyone" is mostly a joke.

Sora is Jesus is more accurate.

Well it came from an RPG where we go on various goofy (hah) hijinks across colorful Disney universes with freakin Donald Duck and Goofy with various FF cameos to a game where we fought a group of villains in a group called Organization XIII whose members are all wearing black clothes complete with hoods with names like Demyx, Luxord, Xaldin, Xigbar, Axel, Roxas, Xemnas, Xion, Saïx, Marluxia, Lexaeus, Zexion, Larxene, and Vexen.(oh yessss, gotta have all the X-ses in their names, baby!)

Not to mention all the nonsense heart talk, and as such as such.

Ah, I long for the days of KH1, where everything was simple and clean. We've come a very long - and very, very weird - way.

 

[Newtype-001]

Kingdom hearts would not be half the game it is to me now without the convoluted story which i love.

Theres a certain charm.

 

[Fj0823]

Anything with a decimal point is a collection of past games.

That's about it reallly

 

[Laughing Banana]

You're being disingenuous. You were still going on goofy hijinks across colourful Disney universes with Donald and Goofy even after the Organization were introduced. You just now had more antagonists to deal with than just the Disney villains and Heartless.

Well, the Disney stuff in the end is just more filler than not in the end, is it not? I just can't help but to feel that the way they presented the story is very try-hard, for a lack of better word. Complicated just for the sake of being complicated, instead of whether it is beneficial to the overall narrative or not.

 

[Inuhanyou]

Well, I just can't help but to feel that the way they presented the story is very try-hard, for a lack of better word. Complicated just for the sake of being complicated, instead of whether it is beneficial to the overall narrative or not.

That's the appeal for a lot of people as well. Certainly they have gone overboard at certain points, but i think a majority of it is essentially fine prior to DDD.

 

[KZXcellent]

Well, the Disney stuff in the end is just more filler than not in the end, is it not? I just can't help but to feel that the way they presented the story is very try-hard, for a lack of better word. Complicated just for the sake of being complicated, instead of whether it is beneficial to the overall narrative or not.

As a fan I feel the only time it's gone off the rails and did something "complicated just for the sake of being complicated" was some of the stuff in Dream Drop Distance. That final act was hilariously ridiculous even by Nomura standards.

 

[Talax]

Okay look.

Kingdom Hearts 1.5

• Kingdom Hearts 1
• Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories
• Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days movie

Kingdom Hearts 2.5

• Kingdom Hearts 2
• Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
• Kingdom Hearts Re Coded movie

Kingdom Hearts 2.8

• Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance
• Kingdom Hearts 0.2
• Kingdom Hearts χ movie

and then finally Kingdom Hearts 3.

NOW to decipher this mess.

This is the timeline.

1. Kingdom Hearts χ
2. Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep
3. Kingdom Hearts 0.2
4. Kingdom Hearts 1
5. Kingdom Hearts Re Chain of Memories
6. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
7. Kingdom Hearts 2
8. Kingdom Hearts Re Coded
9. Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance

To play the whole series, you need 2.8 and the upcoming March PS4 release which includes 1.5 and 2.5.

Now to play it in release (best) order:

1. Kingdom Hearts
2. Kingdom Hearts Re Chain of Memories
3. Kingdom Hearts 2
4. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
5. Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep
6. Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded
7. Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance
8. Kingdom Hearts χ
9. Kingdom Hearts 0.2

This post is the most comprehensible I've seen. Add it to OP!!!!!

 

[papertoonz]

Anything with a decimal point is a collection of past games.

That's about it reallly

0.2 isn't a collection

 

[Black_Sun]

Yeah so in terms of importance.

Must play to get things in chronological order:

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (prequel)

Kingdom Hearts 1

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories ( Need to play to understand 2)(After KH 1 and leads into KH2)

Kingdom Hearts 2

Kingdom Hearts: Dream, Drop Distance ( Need to play to understand 3)

Kingdom Hearts 0.2 (the prologue for KH 3 as a game because it became too long) (it comes with 2.8)

Side-stories that you should play or watch:

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (it basically leads up to the prologue of KH II and explains what a protagonist was doing in the year between KH 1 and KH 2)(play the movie or play the game but the game is better but more time consuming)

Kingdom Hearts X: Back Cover (it comes with 2.8)

Side story that doesn't matter that much:

Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded

The recommended order to play the games are:

KH 1

Chain of Memories

KH 2

358/2 Days (movie or game)

Birth by Sleep

(Re:Coded if you want)

Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance

Kingdom Hearts Back Cover (it's just a movie)

Kingdom Hearts 0.2

And then when it comes out Kingdom Hearts 3

 

[KZXcellent]

I'll throw in my post from a previous KH thread this week on how to easily get caught up on the series. All the KH games will be available on PS4 starting in March. There will be 1.5 + 2.5 which is the first two collections and then 2.8 which releases in January which is the third and final (for now) collection.

Here's the order you play them, I'll number each game in each collection.

Kingdom Hearts 1.5
1. Kingdom Hearts
2. Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
4. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (movie)

Kingdom Hearts 2.5
3. Kingdom Hearts 2
5. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
6. Kingdom Hearts Re:Coded (movie)

Kingdom Hearts 2.8
7. Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance
8. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep 0.2
9. Kingdom Hearts x Back Cover (movie)

For the most part you're playing the games in both collections in order but you end up skipping 358 until you've finished playing Kingdom Hearts 2 since 358 assumes you've already played through KH2 and spoils some aspects and gives context to other things.

Aside from watching the 358 movie after KH2 you're basically playing all of the games/movies in Kingdom Hearts 1.5, 2.5 and 2.8 in order.

 

[PsychBat!]

Okay look.

Kingdom Hearts 1.5

• Kingdom Hearts 1
• Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories
• Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days movie

Kingdom Hearts 2.5

• Kingdom Hearts 2
• Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep
• Kingdom Hearts Re Coded movie

Kingdom Hearts 2.8

• Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance
• Kingdom Hearts 0.2
• Kingdom Hearts χ movie

and then finally Kingdom Hearts 3.

NOW to decipher this mess.

This is the timeline.

1. Kingdom Hearts χ
2. Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep
3. Kingdom Hearts 0.2
4. Kingdom Hearts 1
5. Kingdom Hearts Re Chain of Memories
6. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
7. Kingdom Hearts 2
8. Kingdom Hearts Re Coded
9. Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance

To play the whole series, you need 2.8 and the upcoming March PS4 release which includes 1.5 and 2.5.

Now to play it in release (best) order:

1. Kingdom Hearts
2. Kingdom Hearts Re Chain of Memories
3. Kingdom Hearts 2
4. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
5. Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep
6. Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded
7. Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance
8. Kingdom Hearts χ
9. Kingdom Hearts 0.2

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