Kingdom Hearts 2.8 Coming December 2016 + Complete Kingdom Hearts Timeline Finished!

Wow, wow, wow.

We’ve gotten 1.5, 2.5, and now, finally, here comes Kingdom Hearts 2.8 FINAL CHAPTER PROLOGUE.  It’s not “3.5” because the games were released BEFORE Kingdom Hearts 3. Technically, 2.5 and 2.8 have games that are being released and games that were already released AFTER Kingdom Hearts 2 but not after KH3…Making them 2.5 and 2.8. Anyway…

This is exciting news for fans!

2.8 consists of the following games:

Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance Final Mix 

Kingdom Hearts X (unchained) Back Story

Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Volume 0.2 Fragmentary Passage

For those of you confused with all the games, I’ll run down the list of games and the timeline at the end of this article…

Kingdom Hearts 2.8 is the FINAL. This is the final part of the story. That means this is basically heading towards the end of the story. This may be one of the last Kingdom Hearts games we get before Kingdom Hearts III, the final game.

For many people, all three games on 2.8 are all-new games. I’ve been reading the comments’ sections on Youtube, and I hear people saying, “Tetsuya Nomura has made three all-new side games instead of focusing on Kingdom Hearts 3?” That just goes to show you how behind people are on the Kingdom Hearts news. I knew that I had to announce this to keep everyone here up-to-date.

Am I a little worried that it’s coming out in 2016 INSTEAD of Kingdom Hearts III? Yes, I am. Like many other people, I’ve been waiting for Kingdom Hearts III for more than 10 years. I’m in my 20s, still waiting for the third installment…So, I’m sure Kingdom Hearts III will NOT be released in 2016, which is a bummer, because I’ve really been looking forward to it. And I feel my biological time ticking…

On the other hand, I’m not really old. I don’t want to feel it. And I do want to live my life looking forward to things. If Kingdom Hearts is over, it will feel like a part of my life has left me. I’ve been waiting for this game and playing this game for so long, it has really become a part of my fond memories. I feel a certain connection to this game series. It gives me so many good memories. I remember when I first got the first game. My uncle bought it for me. It was the game that I always wanted the most (next to Tekken Tag). I couldn’t afford it then. But he went out of his way to get it. It didn’t go to waste.

So, I kind of also don’t want the series to end too quickly. It’s bitter-sweet.

Anyway…

Dream Drop Distance Final Mix

Dream Drop Distance has been out since 2012. So, this game isn’t new. This is the re-mastered version. So, no, Nomura wasn’t wasting his time making a whole new game.

Fans who played Dream Drop Distance asked if it would be included in Final Mix form like the other games, so this is how we got it. I’m personally happy about it.

All you people who never got to play this game will finally get to.

Kingdom Hearts X (Unchained) Back Cover

The cinematic that appears in 2.8 covers the story behind Kingdom Hearts X Unchained, the online game released in 2013 and the North American app that came out April 2016.

For those of you who think Kingdom Hearts X Unchained is new, I’m here to tell you it’s not. This game has been out ONLINE for FREE since 2013. Yes, it was in Japanese. At first, it was only meant to be for the Japanese audience, the audience Nomura knew would appreciate it more. Some people around the world realized how important it was after playing the Japanese version, so they asked for an English release.

But some westerners are complaining about it.

I hear some people saying, “Aw, this game isn’t relevant”. If you’d been smoking the words of Nomura, you should know by now that every game he says is “irrelevant” turns out to be important!

This game explains what Eraqus and Xehanort were talking about in the Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer! This game also has an interesting story. This game even has a new world: Daybreak Town! It may even appear in KHIII! Sure, the gameplay is sketchy (It’s a lot like Chain of Memories on the SP, with the same bad graphics and everything).

Still, I recommend people play the KHX game before watching the cinematic and even diving into KHIII.

Don’t think that you can just watch the cinematic and it will cover everything. Again, the 2.8 version is just the cinematic version that covers the backstory of the fore-tellers from Kingdom Hearts X Unchained and not the actual complete Kingdom Hearts X Unchained game. That’s disappointing for me because I really liked the story in X (Unchained), though I know other westerners didn’t.

This cinematic X Unchained Back Cover is a whole new piece to the puzzle to add to the already complex story line.

Kingdom Hearts fans should really take the time out to explore the game and the back story, even if it doesn’t seem relevant or cool.

Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Volume o.2~Fragmentary Passage~

This is a BRAND NEW game. If you all unlocked the “Secret Episode” at the end of Birth By Sleep, you might remember that it had the same title as this one. They are NOT the same thing. The one in Birth By Sleep was 0.1. From what I hear, this is Volume 2 of that “secret episode”.

This game is going to be the most closely connected to Kingdom Hearts III.

It follows the story of Aqua after Birth By Sleep. So if you haven’t played Birth By Sleep, I suggest you play it. It is available on 2.5 for those of you who don’t have a PSP (though PSPs are running cheap now). There is also a remastered edition that combines 1.5 and 2.5 in one game.

Kingdom Hearts 2.8 is going to be around US $60.00. I know it’s pricey, but think about it. You’re getting THREE games in ONE. Technically, two games and a cinematic version, but still that’s a lot of software. And usually ONE game is almost that price! It’s a pretty good deal. One of the games are brand new, too! This is also the FINAL PROLOGUE. That means no more additions to the story after this. THIS IS IT. It’s worth it guys. At least, I think so.

Kingdom Hearts Timeline

With all of the side stories, the story has had many additions. It has gotten a bit confusing for most people, especially if many of you haven’t played some of the games yet. Many people have asked, “In what order should I play the games? In which order do the games fit into the story?”

Well, on Kingdom Hearts’s main website, they happen to help fans out with a timeline. Still, the timeline isn’t very descriptive (so they won’t spoil everything) and is currently missing not showing how each game fits in.

So, I’ll help you all out a tad bit more.

The stories came out in this order (all final mixes are mashed with their original stories):

Kingdom Hearts or 1.5 (PS2, PS3)

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories or 1.5 (Nintendo SP, PS 2, PS3)

Kingdom Hearts II or 2.5 (PS2, Ps3)

Kingdom Hearts Coded or 2.5 (mobile phone, Nintendo DS, PS3)

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days or 1.5 (Nintendo DS, PS 3)

Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep or 2.5 (and parts of 2.8) (PSP, PS3, PS4)

~You can get 1.5+2.5 Remix Limited Edition, which combines all the above games together~

Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance or 2.8 (Nintendo 3DS, PS4)

Kingdom Hearts (Unchained) X or 2.8 Backstory (online website, mobile phone, PS4)

Kingdom Hearts III (PS4, Xbox One)

The order in which the games came out don’t match up with the order in which each game OCCURRED. So, the story can get a bit confusing. The following may contain a few *SPOILERS*. The timeline above have all the games, but it may look confusing.

1) Kingdom Hearts X Back Cover tells the untold story of the fore-tellers, characters that eventually appeared in Kingdom Hearts X. A bit about the fore-tellers was explained in Kingdom Hearts X (Unchained). The 2.8 version, the Back Cover, is the fully fleshed-out story of the fore-tellers. It tells us more about the people involved in the infamous Keyblade War. 

2) Kingdom Hearts X (Unchained) technically takes place before Birth By Sleep. KHX Unchained takes place right before the infamous Keyblade War that caused our story to begin the way it has. This story focuses on the history of the whole Kingdom Hearts series. It’s not certain how long ago this game literally took place, but the history behind it took place before Birth By Sleep. It has also been upgraded to Kingdom Hearts Union X [Cross].

3)Birth By Sleep happened sometime after Kingdom Hearts X Unchained, 10 years before Kingdom Hearts, and begins the Xehanort saga. It follows the lives of three keyblade wielders, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. These three people end up shaping events that occur later in the series.

4) Birth By Sleep Fragmentary Passage 0.2 obviously happens right after the “Secret episode” in Birth By Sleep, a little before Kingdom Hearts. However, events in the story eventually seem to align with what’s going on in Kingdom Hearts from behind the scenes.

5) Kingdom Hearts happened next. Sora becomes our main protagonist.

6) Now, you may see that 358/2 Days seems to begin smack-dab-in-between-towards-the-end-of Kingdom Hearts in one of the timelines ABOVE. This story began a bit after Sora stabbed his heart in the Hollow Bastion segment of Kingdom Hearts. This is when Roxas, Sora’s “Nobody”, was born and the reason 358/2 Days, his story, begins there. Roxas is the protagonist of 358/2 Days.

7) Chain of Memories happened RIGHT AFTER Kingdom Hearts and DURING 358/2 Days. Did you notice this in one of the timelines ABOVE? This is when it gets tricky. Remember, 358/2 Days began around the same time as the Hollow Bastion segment in Kingdom Hearts. The events Roxas experienced in 358/2 Days continued on while Sora was entering the Kingdom Hearts End of the World segment. 358/2 Days’s events continued to occur as Sora’s game, Kingdom Hearts, was ending.  358/2 Day’s events also took place while the next story, Chain of Memories, was occurring.

At the end of Kingdom Hearts’s credits, we see a cut-scene with Sora heading down a path. This path leads him straight into the game of Chain of Memories.

358/2 Days and Chain of Memories continued to happen simultaneously, adding to each other’s stories. So while Roxas was continuing to deal with his life in 358/2 Days, Sora was headed towards Chain of Memories. Riku, Sora’s best friend, also had his own story in Chain of Memories. His story began shortly after Sora’s. Even while Sora and Riku were dealing with life in Chain of Memories, Roxas’s story continued in 358/2 Days.

Chain of Memories ended with Sora falling asleep. In 358/2 Days, Roxas was still awake while Sora was asleep in Chain of Memories. He was being affected by Sora’s slumber.

8) Kingdom Hearts II continues where 358/2 Days left off. Kingdom Hearts II begins with Roxas, who has now forgotten who he was after certain events that took place in 358/2 Days. After six days with Roxas in the beginning of Kingdom Hearts II, Sora wakes up from his long slumber (the long slumber he fell into in Chain of Memories). The rest of Kingdom Hearts II is played with Sora as the main protagonist.

9) Notice that Coded comes up next, but then there’s this weird insertion above and between Coded and Dream Drop Distance labeled “KHII” in one of the timelines ABOVE. This is another tricky one. At the end of the Kingdom Hearts II credits, Sora gets a letter with King Mickey’s seal. We might think that this letter has to do with the next game, Coded. It doesn’t. This letter has to do with Dream Drop Distance. So why is Coded next? Well, right after the events in KHII, besides the cut-scene AFTER the credits, Sora returns to a pretty normal life at his home, Destiny Islands, for a while, which isn’t really shown. While Sora has returned to his normal life, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Jiminy have returned to Disney Castle. Coded takes place at this point, right before Sora gets the letter at the end of KHII. 

10) After Coded, the cut-scene at the end of KHII becomes relevant. Sora gets the letter. It’s a letter for both Sora and his best friend Riku. The letter leads Sora and Riku to the events in Dream Drop Distance.

 

11) Finally, after DDD, Kingdom Hearts III ends the series.

I hope my timeline helped any confused souls. If you decide to play all the games over or if you’re playing them all for the first time, you can decide to play them in order of release or in order of timeline. Whichever you feel will help you grasp the story more. I think it would be helpful to play them in order of timeline so that it won’t feel so jumpy and so you won’t lose track of what’s been going on. But it’s your decision.

If any of these games sound new to you, that could be the reason you are so confused about everything that’s been happening. Don’t worry, the whole confusing story will be over soon. So just hang tight until then.

Leave me a comment in the comments’ section and tell me what you think about the new release! Check back for more updates!

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance coming soon!

Just in: the next Kingdom Hearts installment has finally been announced: Kingdom Hearts 3d: Dream Drop Distance.

Is this FINALLY Kingdom Hearts 3?

Kingdom Hearts is a video game series that combines the Final Fantasy franchise with that of Disney creating a successfully popular RPG. It follows the hero, Sora, as he travels through various Disney worlds, trying to keep the darkness from swallowing the worlds. In Chain of Memories, he enters a castle of memories that ends up swiping his memories, so he’s forced to get his memories back, which is through the same worlds  Throughout the series, the designers, Square-Enix, have created several games for the franchise, most of which are considered “side stories”. Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, and Kingdom Hearts Coded. The only games that Tetsuya, the official creator of the series, said were important were Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II. The others are considered “side games”, considering that they only REVEAL more of the older stories but they don’t ADD to the actual storyline. And they keep seeming to grow in numbers in the game, adding more and more confusing plot twists.

With that said, fans are getting a little irritated.

They’re wondering about Kingdom Hearts 3D. Is this finally the REAL DEAL? Many fans are crying that if it is KH3, why is it going to be on another portable console? They would expect it to be on one of the next gen consoles that are BIGGER in storage space and size, like PS3. They also know that more effort will be put into it than the last games if it is put on a bigger console. Though really, Birth By Sleep didn’t disappoint. It was pretty good for a portable game. However, people want Kingdom Hearts to go out with a bang, and if this is 3, many will be sadly disappointed. At the same time, if this is not a 3, many of the fans are going to be whining about how they’ve just introduced, yet again, another “side story”.

It’s just safe to say that either way, the fans won’t be satisfied with this game 100%. BUT if you take a peek at this game, the gameplay is not only promising, it looks like it’s moving Sora’s story along, AND we’ll be going to new worlds (one of my personal Disney movies will be in this game! So I’m SUPER excited):

This game looks like it will be awesome. I understand the fans’ concern about it not being a sequel, or not really moving the story along. I, too, started playing this game at age 12 and now I am a grown-up person who doesn’t have as much time for fun and games anymore (well, half of my time), and I’m not getting any younger. Neither do I want to die before I get to find out what is going to happen next. I also am getting more and more responsibilities. So I can understand the frustration fans are having when they say “Hurry up, I’ve had this since I was 12!”. This game came out when most of my generation were tweens. Now, we’re all adults, and this game still hasn’t reached a conclusion. And the funny part is, many in my generation still play the game. Maybe we just have a hard time growing out of childish things. We haven’t completed the “rites of passage” where we give up all of our childhood loves yet…not until we actually have no time left for it anymore. We’re breaking that old tradition, I suppose.

Some fans are just angry that the story is getting more and more confusing with every new “side story”. Now the story seems to get a whole new chapter every new game that just keeps getting more and more complicated.

But I think the fans should chill. Think about it. If you’ve loved it this far, do you really think you will stop loving it? You might not have as much time for it, sure, but it doesn’t mean it will completely fall away from you. Besides, rushing the release of Kingdom Hearts is the worst thing to do. Besides, the complication of Kingdom Hearts is the best part. There are several reasons why I think KH3 should not come out as soon as we want it:

1) Okay, we’re getting older. So, just stop playing if you think you can’t keep up with it. Square-Enix now has to cater to the younger crowd. Our time is up. So, they have to sort of reintroduce the story to the new-comers, and make it appealing to the new generation. What better way then to make a bunch of games? But the only way to do that without having it end quickly is to put in a bunch of side games. Without them, the story would’ve been over several years ago. And this series would be invisible to the next generation. Not a smart business tactic, right?

2) What great gaming series only has three games? What legendary gaming series doesn’t have a bunch of side games dedicated to the fans? The fans asked for more info about the Black Organization, and they released 358/2 Days. We asked to fight with new characters besides Sora, we got Birth By Sleep, what more do you want? Plus, think of all the Disney Worlds they can make use of? Disney has so many movies. And they’re going to get more as the years progress, so they are trying to make use of as many of the old movies as possible before our generation grows completely up. After they’ve done all the movies catered to us, they can then focus on the next generation. We have to be patient with KH3.

3) Last time the fans complain, Kingdom Hearts 2 came out way sooner than it was supposed to. And fans now claim that as the worst game in the franchise. Well, if the fans hadn’t been pressuring Square-Enix to hurry up and release it, they would’ve been able to take more time on the game. To add, people saw so many spoilers online it spoiled the game for many people. But aside from that, they didn’t give the company enough time to develop the game, or receive feedback. The longer they wait on releasing the game, the more time they have to work on it. These side games are sort of like tests to see exactly what the fans like v.s. what the fans want to discard. This is a chance for them to use their creativity to the full and expand it to all kinds of platforms.

4) Expectations were WAY to high for KH2. They don’t want to release KH3 too soon, not knowing exactly what will “work”, and it turns around and ends up being a disappointment, like with KH2. They want to make sure that the game goes on the next big platform, one that will have new age technology. Sure, for now PS3 and XBox are the next gen game consoles, but who knows what will be invented in the future…if you’re willing to wait that long. By waiting to come out with the game, the game has the chance to come out by the time an epic gaming system is released.

5) Do you really and truly want the series to end? A great majority of fans say they’re ready to hear the end of the story already and solve the mysteries of Kingdom Hearts. They’re anxious, and tired of waiting. They don’t want to be dead before the series ends. But when it’s over, think about it. No more Sora, Donald, and Goofy. There will never be another gaming franchise like this, one where two extremely different companies come together to make the most spectacular game a success. And even if they DO have another saga, it, more than likely, won’t have the same characters, story, and may not even have the same appeal. Be careful what you wish for. Once something is over, it is over, and the joys that came with it are too. All of those Kingdom Hearts forums? A thing of the past. Closed. Or losing traffic. All of the cosplay and merchandise are going to skyrocket in prices online, and will be very hard to find. And if this was the only game series you played, tough luck. You are now a bored little cookie. Think about that mental picture, and then come back to me and tell me you want the series to end. TRULY.

So everyone, watch out for commercials dealing with the next game in the Kingdom Hearts franchise, coming soon!