Which kingdom hearts game to start with

I have heard so many different opinions about the series in general so I wanted to get into playing it but I have no clue where to start

>no Indiana Jones world

>but I have no clue where to start
You are too stupid to play this series

Play the games in release order. You can look up the plot synopses for re:Coded and Unchained X, also Chain of Memories if playing a card game and beating up monsters at the same time isn't your idea of fun. Release order isn't the chronological order of events, but playing the games in chronological order might actually prove to make less sense than just starting from KH1

I've found this order generally makes the most sense. It isn't release or chronological order, but it generally ties everything up as well as it can.
KH1 Final Mix
KH: Chain of memories (if the gameplay doesn't look/ sound fun, watch the cutscenes on youtube or something)
KH:358/2 Days
KH2
KH: re:Coded (just read a summary, there is only like 1 important thing that happens and it's pretty minor)
KH: Birth by Sleep
KH: Dream Drop Distance
KH0.2
KH: Unchained X (just read a summary)

Final Mix on KH2, I'm an idiot and forgot to put that down.

why wouldn't you play release order? why does everyone ask this question?

Because they hear how the story is a clusterfuck and are attempting to take measures so they can try to understand it. I mean you either Jump from 1 to 2 or from Chain of Memories to 2 and wonder who the fuck is this Roxas I'm playing as.

Just do it in release order. Its the intended way and not very arguable. People skipping games is their own fault for series confusion.
>KH1FM
>RE:CoM (card shit, not rlly fun. Youtubing cutscenes is acceptable)
>KH2FM (Peak of KH gameplay honestly, its aaaallll fucking down hill from here so enjoy kh2fm while you can)
>358/2 Days (This after kh2 cuz its just more development for characters introduced in kh2. Games not necessary, just watch the 3 hr movie included in 1.5+2.5 or Youtube)
>BbS (Prequel to KH1, never play it first though. It links to kh1, com, and kh2 shit heavily that it's just not as satisfying to play it without knowing shit from those games first. Also bbs just rips away how special kh1 feels when you first play kh1 so, avoid it until after kh2)
>Re:Coded (Cutscenes. Youtube. But if you manage to pick it up for ds, its not all too bad of a game honestly)
>Dream Drop Distance (This is the one that FUCKS the story, so strap in for this one. Gameplay is just BBS with added shit and some Pokémon shit that really killed the game imo. Flowmotion is cancer. Prob one of the shittier games. Only like 2 or 3 memorable/good worlds. Musics ass. Enemies are ass. Teammates are ass. Bosses are ass.
>0.2 (Meh? Game just kinda felt like a very early tech demo of what kh3 might possibly feel like. So if it's not enjoyable to ya, theeeeennn ripperino kh3 most likely. Very short game and just kinda tries inching more and more towards kh3. Feels very unecessary. But play it cuz its the only other Kh game that has traditional kh combat style after kh2. Granted not as good or as fun.)

>2018
>still playing kingpoop farts

Look dude. We're talking about a series here that is animu shit crossed over with disney, with one of the worst character designers in the jap industry being responsible for the original designs who flat out admitted that he did the shitty designs out of spite and doesn't give a fuck.

In other words, only play KH for gameplay, not for story. So definitely Skip KH1 because it's really bad.

...

wew, not even the final mix?

>kingpoop farts

hehehe

Final Mix is the exact same game except you can skip cutscenes so it doesn't really fix any of the games design flaws

>Be me
>Get meme'd into buying KH Final Mix because i played KH as a kid when it came out on PS2 and really enjoyed it
>Be faced with the reality that the game is actually awful

>Skip KH1 because it's really bad.
Good meme tbqh famalam

Don't pay them any mind. Play kh1fm.

> kingpoop farts

I'm crying hahaha

Kingdom hearts 1 is legitimately awful. Take off the nostalgia goggles, furry.

>and wonder who the fuck is this Roxas I'm playing as
And that's part of the storytelling. If you knew exactly what was happening during the intro to 2, it it kills the feeling they were trying to create with it. Honestly they should've left out all the DiZ and Sora stuff and led people into believing it was a different story only to reveal it all after the end of Roxas's part.

K. Elaborate then.
It's not a perfect game by any means so I'd say nostalgia goggles are pretty minimal there, but is it "skippable"? Hell fuckin no

KH1 being bad is the same shit as people calling DMC1 bad, it's a meme and you can ignore it

How do I level up each form in KH 2.5 and wheres the best place to do it?

If you don't care about the story (because it's an awful mess) then it's more than skippable

Hell, even if you do care about the story the only important events in that entire game is the intro

First time play order:
1. 1 (original: ps2, best: 1.5+2.5 collection on ps4. Also fine: 1.5 collection on ps3)
2. Chain of Memories (original: gba, best: 1.5+2.5 collection on ps4. Also fine: ps2 re:com or ps3 1.5 collection)
3. 358/2 Days (original: DS. Alternate: 1.5+2.5 collection on ps4 comes with a "movie" you can watch to get the story that is just all the cutscenes to the 3D remake they changed their mind about making. Missing one fight scene in 1.5 collection on ps3)
4. 2 (original: ps2. Best: 1.5+2.5 collection on ps4. Also works: 2.5 on ps3)
5. Birth by Sleep (original: psp. Best: 1.5+2.5 collection. Also works: 2.5 on ps3)
6. Re:coded (original: ds. Has a movie on 2.5 just like 358/2 Days. Included in 1.5+2.5 collection
7. Dream Drop Distance (original: 3DS. Best: 2.8 collection on ps4)
8. Back Cover x (movie in 2.8 collection on ps4. Also fine: watch it on YouTube)
9. 0.2 (only found in 2.8 collection on ps4)
10. If you still need more watch the relevant story bits from the mobile game on YouTube
11. 3

So get a ps4 and both the 1.5+2.5 collection and the 2.8 collection and you'll be covered.

>(original: ps2, best

You're fucking retarded.
If you think having to watch a cutscene over and over again before a boss fight if you die without being able to skip it qualifies as "best" then you truly are beyond lost

Valor form is by attacks you land. Go to that one mushroom in the Aladdin world where you find the lamp. Play once, leave world asap, come back rinse and repeat.

Wisdom is by heartless killed. Go anywhere there are heartless near a save point or a place where your party members leave the party and walk around so you can talk to them like npcs. Fight heartless, go back there, you'll leave form and regain all your gauges.

Master is by drive orbs collected. Go to hollow bastion to the beginning of the cavern of remembrance, hit the balloons and get drive, run back to save point, leave world and come back.

Limit is by successful limits done to completion. Go to hollow bastion Merlin's house, go outside, turn limit, finish your pp on limits on the heartless just outside, leave world and come back.

Final is by nobodies killed. Do it in the cavern of remembrance near the end or in the castle that never was near a place with your party members as npcs.

To unlock final you need to keep using drive forms and getting anti form after fighting Roxas and it'll happen randomly. Then level up once (beat a nobody) and it'll get added to your menu.

All this is off the top of my head so there might be some inaccuracies here and there.

Absolute legend mate. Cheers!

always release order.

>Original: ps2.
>Best: 1.5+2.5 collection
That means the original is on ps2 and the best is in the collection. Where did your reading comprehension run off to? You should go back to Sup Forums and look for it.

lol this post

If OP is concerned with which order to play then its quite obvious that the story is of interest, and KH1 is probably the most simple and clean (no pun intended) story in the series. It would be ridiculous to skip it. If you find it skippable (still avoiding giving any explanation btw) then it sure as hell is no more skippable than literally any game that isn't kh2fm. You really think ReCoM is great? Do you really think BbS is something to write home about? DDD is a masterpiece? Please. Opinion discarded.

>reading comprehension

Release order. There's two HD collections on PS4, if you have one, which has everything you need so you'll be ready for KH3.

If you care about the story play the in order of release play and skip the 3DS ones entirely. Just get 1.5+2.5 remix for ps4.
Birth by sleep doesn't make sense if you haven't played 2 and Dream Drop Distance is fun but pushed the story off a fucking cliff.

release order.
it's a fun series, im on my Aqua run of BBS right now


swap re:Coded and BBS

1, ReCom, 2, BBS, DDD,
forget about the other ones.

The first one you dummy.