Kingdom Hearts

Games

Timeline of release years

2002 – – Kingdom Hearts

2003 –

2004 – – Chain of Memories

2005 – – Kingdom Hearts II

2006 –

2007 – – Re:Chain of Memories

2008 – – coded

2009 – – 358/2 Days

2010 – – Birth by Sleep

The series consists of nine games—two main games developed by Square Enix, an enhanced version of Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, a PlayStation 2 remake of the GBA game Chain of Memories titled Re:Chain of Memories and a V CAST mobile phone game developed by Superscape. Another mobile phone game was developed in-house by Square Enix while the last game, created for Nintendo DS, was developed in cooperation with h.a.n.d.. The second mobile phone game has only been released in Japan although there are plans to release it in other territories. The three main games were released in chronological order, with each new title following the events of the previous title, while the V CAST game was developed independently from the main series. The latest release Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep by Square Enix is for the PlayStation Portable.

[edit]Current titles

Kingdom Hearts series chronology

Birth by Sleep

Kingdom Hearts

Chain of Memories

358/2 Days

Kingdom Hearts II

coded

Kingdom Hearts is the first game in the series, and was released in Japan on March 28, 2002 for the PlayStation 2.[5][6] This was Nomura's first time in a directorial position. Kingdom Hearts of the main characters for the series and established the plot's framework involving hearts and the dark beings known as the Heartless. It also established the role of Disney characters in the series, with character cameos from the Final Fantasy series. Kingdom Hearts was released in North America on September 17, 2002, and featured additional content that was not in the original Japanese version. The game was later re-released exclusively in Japan as Kingdom Hearts Final Mix on December 26, 2002.Final Mix includes the content from the North American release and additional enemies, cut scenes, and weapons.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories is considered the second game in the series. It was released on the Game Boy Advance in Japan on November 11, 2004 and in North America on December 7, 2004.Chain of Memories was touted as a bridge between the two PlayStation 2 titles, introducing and previewing plot elements that would be explored in the next game.The gameplay is based on a card system; player-composed decks of cards, with each card allowing the player to perform an action in battle, such as attacking or using magic. It was remade into a PlayStation 2 game titled Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, which was released in Japan as a second disc packaged with Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix on March 29, 2007. The remake was released as a standalone title in North America on December 2, 2008.

Kingdom Hearts II is the third game in the series, set one year after Chain of Memories. It was released in Japan on December 22, 2005 and in North America on March 28, 2006 for the PlayStation 2. The game further explored the "heart" concept by involving the Nobodies and "bodies". The gameplay is similar to that of the first Kingdom Hearts game, with the addition of more options to attack enemies and the Reaction Command, which utilized the triangle button to perform context-sensitive actions in battle and interaction with characters and the environment. Kingdom Hearts II was revised into Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix, which contained more material than the original release, such as additional cut scenes and bosses. Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix was released with Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, a remake of Chain of Memories for the PlayStation 2, containing polygon graphics instead of the sprites used in the original Game Boy Advance game. This collection is titled Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+ and was released in Japan on March 29, 2007.

Kingdom Hearts coded is the fourth installment in the series for Mobile Phones and was released in episodes with the first being released in Japan on November 18, 2008. The game picks up after the events of Kingdom Hearts II, focusing this time on King Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy Cricket, who discover a mysterious sentence in Jiminy's journal and subsequently digitize the journal's contents to find the one responsible. The game was released in episodes and as of January 2010, all eight episodes have been released. Square Enix has stated that it has plans for releases in other territories, and Phil Snyder, the new voice actor for Jiminy Cricket since Eddie Carroll's passing, has stated that he will be voicing Jiminy for a project titled Kingdom Hearts Re:coded which was presented in a trailer at E3 2010, and has been confirmed to be released on the Nintendo DS Platform, making it the second Kingdom Hearts game to be released on that console.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is the fifth title in the series for the Nintendo DS and was released in Japan on May 30, 2009, and in North America on September 29, 2009. It is set primarily between Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II, revolving around Roxas' time in Organization XIII and his motives for ultimately leaving the Organization to pursue the answers he seeks to questions about his existence. It was first announced at the Tokyo Game Show 2007 with cooperative multiplayer on display, in addition to the traditional use of AI-controlled partners. It is the first game in the series to feature cooperative multiplayer with the most playable characters ever featured in a Kingdom Hearts title to date, at 19.

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep is the sixth title in the series, released for the PlayStation Portable in Japan on January 9, 2010; Square Enix has plans to release it in other territories. The game is set ten years before the events of the original Kingdom Hearts.[18] The game consists of three scenarios with each focusing on one of the three protagonists: Terra, Ventus and Aqua who are apprentices of Master Eraqus. They set out in search of the missing Master Xehanort, though each travel their separate ways and encounter their own agenda along the way with the origins and backstory of Xehanort revealed. The English release is set for September 7, 2010 for North America. Europe release date is September 10, 2010.