Kingdom Hearts Full Story - EVERYTHING You Need To Know Before You Play Kingdom Hearts 3

Kingdom Hearts started out in 2002 as an ambitious crossover of Final Fantasy and Disney properties, aiming to blend a colourful and endearing cast of characters with Square Enix’s brand of engaging storytelling and RPG mechanics. In the years since then, those ambitions have become progressively loftier, and the series has continued to grow- and grow- and grow. It has been over a decade since Kingdom Hearts 2, and though we have been patiently waiting for the story to be resolved with the conclusion to this grand and winding saga, Square Enix have continued to add to the series’ narrative with spinoff entries and additional stories.
We’re now at a point where the end is clearly in sight, with the highly anticipated Kingdom Hearts 3’s release looming large on the horizon. The excitement is palpable, and as we gear up for the final chapter in this saga, it seems like the perfect time to look back on everything that has happened in this franchise up until now. After all, few franchises have caused confusion in their fanbases with befuddling twists and turns the way Kingdom Hearts has. Making sense of its long and winding tale will be no easy task, and though we’re going to do our best, as we always do in our Story So Far features, we’ll be looking at your comments as well, to make sure we haven’t missed out on any major details or plot threads. If there’s anything we do miss, let us know!
Without further ado then, in chronological order, here is the entire story of Kingdom Hearts.
Note: This video is for those viewers who missed our original 5 part series explaining the game's story.
Thanks to 'Kingdom Hearts Videos" for allowing us to use their cutscenes. You can check them out here: kh-vids.net/pages/cutscenes/
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[@GamingBolt]

Note: This video is for those viewers who missed our original 5 part series explaining the game's story. Please enjoy!

[@TevyaSmolka]

GamingBolt okay

[@emmettlachlan9770]

i dont mean to be offtopic but does someone know a way to log back into an Instagram account..? I was stupid forgot my account password. I appreciate any tips you can offer me.

[@maximuszyaire2849]

@ Instablaster :)

[@emberlily7]

>When you played Kingdom Hearts 1 & 2 but need to watch a 50 minute KZbin video before you can understand 3.

[@OfficiallyWrexx]

Just a refresher lol

[@xvc918x8]

i played all of them and still have to watch videos explaining it

[@davidwhite206]

I played that shit in my adolescence, I am a grown man now. I cannot remember that long ago. On top of that, they came out with so many spin-offs and remixes that I am honestly lost.

[@vibinjesus]

@@OfficiallyWrexx no, its not a refresher, theres like 2 games between 1 and 2, then like 5 between 2 and 3

[@Altezza447]

Watching after i played beat both multiple times on ps2 and emulator preordered deluxe edition From release date in jan 2019 and never played game yet.Today is 1/28/23 i fell asleep twice watching this to refresh my memory. Now have wait 6 more days till next day off from work to finally start playing. SMH

[@NeOmega83]

So far, I've watched like 5 hrs of Story recap from multitude of different channels but this right here was the most comprehensive and easy to follow. It bring my full understanding of the events so far to solid 56%. Thanks Gamibgbolt. 😅

[@Bleak5170]

If this is the easiest I'd hate to see the others. After about 11 minutes my brain started to hurt.

[@myguybry]

This is, without a doubt, the easiest video to understand out of the 4 I've now watched. This story is just that ridiculous.

[@amyk4503]

Lol "to a solid 56%" Same I just went to the longest recap in the top few results and hoped for the best

[@stampoulisrafail7836]

@@Bleak5170 maybe you are not smart.

[@grumpypoof9648]

@@stampoulisrafail7836 There are two people in this world. People who find KH's story/plot to be convoluted and confusing, and the liars.

[@horsemask]

You missed the most important part: Sea Salt Ice Cream

[@Nightscape_]

I feel like I am studying for a final exam just trying to understand the whole story of Kingom Hearts.

[@JunHijam]

I won't forget that "Xenahort" moment

[@bobothetroll2873]

Which one?

[@JunHijam]

@@bobothetroll2873 one of the previous videos

[@marcmaderarivera3450]

I feel a lot of darkness everytime this guys says Xenahort

[@patrickamil4670]

Got real triggered when i started hearing "Xenahort" instead of "Xehanort" but at the same time I would've hated to go back and redo that shit too LOL

[@TheUltimateRare]

he said a couple names wrong. :p

[@brettolsen615]

Thanks so, so much for putting this together, just picked up the game and really needed a refresher before I started playing, so thanks for making this!!

[@tylerskarzenski3062]

Definitely the best explanation video i've seen. Although it's still really hard to understand considering it seems every character has 5 other people based off them and 2/3 of the characters are alternate versions of other characters and sometimes they're kinda bad but not really and sometimes they're totally evil and even though Roxas looks exactly like Ventus they're not the same person TECHNICALLY but they kinda are and so is sora and that chick.... WHAT THE HELL SQUARE ENIX!? DID YOU REALLY NEED A MILLION GAMES BETWEEN THE MAIN 3!? THIS IS SO CONVOLUTED!

[@zero_ehxe]

This really helped me get to know this convoluted story as I try out Kingdom Hearts 3. I couldn't get into the previous games for various reasons, but now I feel like I can tackle the conclusion and hopefully keep up. Thanks!

[@majcarp4722]

"conclusion" this aged well lol

[@dallasscandling6329]

Best explanation I found on youtube thank you for making this video you guys!

[@ArchPendragon]

prolly one of the best explanations i've gone through

[@snoredizzle3242]

Not confused at all. Thanks for this.

[@HAMACHIGUY]

This was the best explanation video. Well done

[@LookitsDrip]

i've had to watch like 3 or 4 of these lol

[@fynnickdelarosavods3864]

Same 😂

[@yuffiekisaragi2242]

Very good summary. Thank you for your work

[@TheHeartless917]

this is the best kingdom hearts story telling so far. Ive watched a bunch before i purchase KH3 on PC and I can tell that this video is what you need if you want to pick up the story

[@vacationdood8835]

This was one of the best explanations. Long video but very necessary! Thanks!

[@RACCorpStudios]

This is the best explaining video I’ve ever seen! I feel like I know what the hell is happening in kingdom hearts now!

[@scruffyronin9382]

whelp, I've just finished watching and I'm still lost on this story

[@JON.HOUSE24]

lol I've watched this and played most of the games and I'm still lost 😂😂

[@jameskurosaki77]

Wow this lore is a mouth full...thxs for the summary...confused as hell, lets play KH3 :D

[@vaporterra]

The fact that these videos are all this long makes me think I’m better off just going into KH3 blind

[@BestNeekoNA]

if you really never played 1-2 Dont' bother with 3...

[@scrotumus]

@@BestNeekoNA I'm sure the game would be fun regardless. Unless you really think kh3 sucked that bad... you don't need to play the others to understand that heartless are bad guys, your keyblade is your weapon. And beat the shit out of things.

[@BestNeekoNA]

@@scrotumus nope if you dont play the others you will be lost A LOT... been playing kh3 and if i didnt play 1 and 2 i would not know what the characters would be referring to when they talk about the past of other characters

[@JON.HOUSE24]

You can do it, but it the over arching story relies on all of the lore built so far. Still, maybe start with three and work backwards or something if you want to know more idk it's your life lol

[@vaporterra]

Death March I know the General stories of 1 and 2 but I didn’t own the games my friends did

[@milksoda655]

I'm only here because I got kingdom hearts merch fot Christmas. I have never played kingdom hearts, but it's cool merch and I'd feel bad wearing it if I didn't understand kingdom hearts

[@codypannell9463]

No time like the present to play it lol

[@michaelalbinozurita6796]

Only played 1&2, started playing the 3rd but noticed how lost I was since I never played the in between games and all that. Now I feel caught up after watching this video so thanks

[@rudychandz7113]

Thanks i understand all the main events now

[@maximsamuels6085]

This was beyond helpful

[@ronald7795]

I think the 0.2 part is missing just where aqua helps with the door and maybe the ending of recoded where namine talks to sora. However, those aren’t really necessary. It would be more of an effort to have all the games in the list

[@ClemmyGames]

Thanks for trying to explain this lol

[@TheUltimateRare]

Sora is just like Ven Riku is just like Terra and aqua and Kairi are in the same boat too. I feel like they did that for a reason. Sora loses his heart at some point and falls for things like Ven. Riku is darkness like Terra and is controlled by someone just like terra. Kairi is trapped somewhere just like Aqua is.

[@liquidocelot4118]

I never understood how Axel got into the simulation where Roxas was being stored. It seems like it would highly difficult and access would be heavily guarded.

[@jaycorbin6145]

its implied (by Ansem/DiZ's debt to Axel for "helping" him and Roxas/Sora) is that Axel was in on it, and "hacked" the simulation to push Roxas further towards being ready to join with Sora again.

[@theone-cg9sm]

This video is perfect.

[@Blackjack804]

I think it would’ve made more since if the cutscenes were more in sync with what he’s saying

[@djames4ever431]

Thank ypu so much I just watched the last 20 min didnt know the story about nintendo ds games xD Thank you

[@AnimeProduction101]

I've watched several of these videos and this is one of the best. It's just about the story of the game. Other videos add too many jokes that I get more confused. Although I'm still confused about some of the story, overall this one video helped me than any of the other videos I watched. I started playing KH3, and I'm 10 hours in and I had to stop because they kept mentioning things I didn't know. I'm a little sad, because this could have been a great series but it's now so confusing that it is even scaring it OG fans away. :(

[@masteroftheassassins]

Beastboy: Dude! You're making my brain hurt!

[@giwrgostzetzailidis9470]

Thank you so much for that one😅💜

[@JeronisLeror]

Remember the mobile games? Including the ones that were only released in Japan, there is a story involving Dreamworld style time Loop the actually plays a part in the final battle story arc of Kingdom Hearts 3. And, never mind I just realized that you covered the last part of it

[@tememotti]

I think I need to watch this several times to get it all together :D it's beginning to go so wildly confusing and twisted around kh 2 :D

[@silvestrealonso5677]

didnt you left out kingdom hearts II.8 with some story of Aqua?

[@teamfibulous]

Ansem the wise vs the wicked made this make sense.

[@BEATmyguest31]

1:23 “and without further ado, here is the chronological order of KH.” Me: I’m scared 😳

[@BlackLemonDemon]

havent played any kh game besides 1 and 2, bought 3 a few days ago and i didn't have a clue on what was going on so i bought the rest, couldn't get myself to play every one of them so i came here :D

[@MomoGamingChannel]

I am still quite lost after watching this lol. I only played the first and currently playing the 2 (1.5 & 2.5 remix on ps4) that has a total of 6 games. Once i finish the 4, should i bother with the 4 other games, chain of memories and etc

[@NEINEINEINEINEIN]

Having 2 different narrators really threw the flow off, made it more confusing for sure. But overall pretty good summation

[@fezzzost950]

Yah same i was so focused on the furst part them the second guy had a robotic voice that killed my attention span😵🔫

[@jessepike3565]

That's why sora doesn't remember ever meeting marluxia when he sees him in kh3 for those who are new to the series because namine whipped his memory of everything that happens in chain of memories

[@kev9617]

This is the BEST SUMMARY

[@dinissantos2197]

You should talk about how malefficent came back in Kingdom hearts 2

[@jamesverner9132]

Mind brain has melted

[@anthonygriffis1600]

I just started playing Kingdom Hearts 3 and was lost. This video explains a lot, and now I want a blue popsickle.

[@BestNeekoNA]

did you skip KH 1 and 2???????? you need to play those before you EVEN think of playing 3

[@Musicyeet]

It’s a salt ice cream not blue pop sickle...😂

[@TheSlickster65]

Death March stop saying that a lot of people didn’t play 1 or 2 as a kid and don’t own a PlayStation 4 to play all the previous games so they have to go into 3 without playing, instead blame squire for not bringing the story so far to Xbox so more people can plays those games

[@TheSlickster65]

MaMiMuMa not sure why you are attacking me seems like we have the same view original post said thanks for explain since they never played the previous games. Death march said they shouldn’t play without playing the other games. All I said was some people(especially Xbox people since it at the time I commented this the story so far wasn’t on Xbox now it is) have to watch these videos instead of playing the previous games because they don’t have access to them. Never said that KH3 needed to sum up the previous 7 games for newcomers. Your comment suggests it’s ok to watch KZbin videos to learn the story so far which is the same thing I was saying.

[@TheManOfGold7]

Ya.... still don’t get it.

[@MarinijumMr]

Watch several videos of the kh timeline explanation, you'll get it

[@jubilantsleep]

Don’t feel bad. It’s horribly written.

[@catman63]

Please do a summary before playing wasteland 3

[@artemisfowlthe3]

How can I get access to your 5 part series? @GamingBolt

[@briannas9688]

would also like to know!

[@ratmilk9260]

Every “Zena-hort” hurts my soul.

[@ajtwyman2737]

I do have 1 question.... maybe this is the alcohal flowing but why doesnt Riku have a heartless or nobody!?!?!?

[@mutantkevin6306]

Probably should’ve watched this before playing KH3

[@HARBRINGERZERO]

I appreciate the explanation of this long running convoluted series before hitting up KH3. Don’t get me wrong I’m less confused but still a little confused.... Okay a lot confused.

[@ronalddave3200]

This is the counterpart of Jump Force.

[@bobothetroll2873]

Best homework ever

[@AntiTako]

It hurt me a little when he said, "little darkness in ventus." The dude has one of the original 13 darknesses in side him. He couldn't use ventus not because of the light in his heart, in fact when he was whole he had more darkness than light, it is because he has a strong heart that doesn't weaver to darkness.

[@aaronjennings1322]

Wait I’m confused, what happened to terra

[@RobMost]

Probably my favourite game series, 10hr into kh3 now.

[@nou4371]

Man’s a life saver

[@kinzoadolpha9195]

Many people want to believe that recoded doesn't exist apparently although I do agree that in the grand scheme of everything it didn't need to exist it did however tell you what was written in the letter king Mickey sent to him in fact in the end King Mickey actually reads it out loud so

[@sablerzmcg8043]

So many important details left out i guess its good if you dont care to actually understand the depth of what they went through

[@experiencedwitness2575]

The creators of this games storyline should be ashamed of themselves.

[@shahad477]

I LOVE THIS GAMEEEEE

[@MC-zr6gc]

So basically, by the 4 min mark it's basically jedi v sith , keyblades are their ability to use the force and Kingdom Hearts itself is the source of the force. In all these 17 yrs, this may be the first time that's occurred to me

[@TevyaSmolka]

Yay kingdom hearts

[@angbald]

Video number 2 before I play KH3. I have been taking a shot everytime I've been confused.............I'm now a ghost typing this because i died of alcohol poisoning.

[@KapitanPazur1]

Wait, wait ......wait................THIS GAME HAS A STORY? I did play that for past years and I though it was just "hey lets have adventure, here is the bad guy, the bad guy is dead" thingy.

[@darkstar12344]

Bartosz Skorupa lmaooooo Im not even mad cause that shit was funny 😂

[@tahuangkasa]

@@darkstar12344 my thought exactly, lol.

[@umeshbajoon6619]

So what Happened to Terra.. and his body. Where is he now?

[@thenewkid191]

skip to 2:38 when the explanation started

[@kinzoadolpha9195]

Oh and what about birth by sleep 2 I know it's like birth by sleep 2.0 or 0.2 or something but as a long convoluted title so Kingdom hearts 2 works like recoded it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of the universe and everything but it's still tells about how Mickey tried to save aqua in the realm of darkness and it is canon so

[@savageaxe]

THIS IS SO HARD

[@AdelioNightstorm]

Halfway through the video they start saying Xenahort instead of Xehanort, and it ruffles my jimmies

[@mehdibenameur96]

wow ... so I played KH 1 and 2 and didn't have a damn clue about what was going on lol

[@daikyosenshi]

If there’s anything we do miss call us names and send us death threats.

[@michaelappleseed1993]

33:08 after you smoked a lot of cigarettes.

[@CabinetKids]

Overall, this recap is accurate and enjoyable, but hearing "Xenahort" instead of "Xehanort" in the latter sections of the video... 😬

[@nicholasmorejon4856]

It's so funny cause this story is actually really good, it's just not told well in the context of the games. Like to be so convulated but still be consistent is a hard task but it's all consistent with its lore.

[@keepyupy2334]

Nicholas Morejon eeeeehhhhhhhhhh there are some things that are pretty unclear within the lore

[@nicholasmorejon4856]

Keepyupy unclear and consistent are always the same though. Accepting the fact that for me I've accepted that it has a basic anime story line so the classic "this, just because" is kinda just a staple.

[@anthonyr3624]

I thought Vexen created Xion at one point as well?

[@JON.HOUSE24]

Wasn't that Namine? And wasn't it made out of data? ... I really can't remember lol

[@gedoplanet]

“Bastion hollow”... you don’t play the game do you

[@LuxUmbraque]

Why do I feel like you didn’t say Keyblade the first time you recorded this?

[@wessen666]

i did not understand almost anything :( thought it'd help me to get the picture because i have never played a single game of kingdom heart

[@cuphasol]

Darkness?!

[@ieatpen]

I have actually watched full length of this video. thank you for the explanation. All I have played was KH 1, 2 and little bit of chain of memories, but it was confusing due to heartless version, nobody version, and real version. SO CONFUSING, but I was able to comprehend the main points. So, Sora's heartless version is Ventus, nobody's version is Roxus and the real version is sora. And Riku, dang. so confusing...!

[@ieatpen]

nvm... Ventus is one of the disciples from original keyblade masters. geez! too much!

[@silverdragon0000120]

I wish all the characters didn’t all look so similar. I have no idea who’s who sometimes. I never played any kingdom hearts game but wanted to try it. But now I’m super confused as to who’s who and what’s going on. I think I’ll pass on this and just play resident evil instead.

[@BestNeekoNA]

lol yea dont bother... if you havent played 1 and 2 DONT get 3

[@RobMost]

Xenahort?

[@EngineeredMess]

ohhhhh... ok.

[@fisharepeopletoo9653]

Organization 13s biggest struggle is having 13 members

[@pisssorceress4630]

"Xenohart" lol

[@Arfinateor]

Its X-blade not keyblade. A keyblade is a weapon forged by the heart the X-blade is forged form 13 hearts of darkness and 7 hearts of light.

[@yayajulien4510]

I believe it's the Greek letter X or chi, which is pronounced like the word key.

[@coreybettick2501]

Is it Chi? Regardless they sound different

[@RaptureSniping]

ZA-A-NORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@antihero292]

- Organization 13 try to fuck up worlds with Darkness - Sora and his friend kick theirs asses, saves those worlds - Another motherfucker comes back, get his ass kicked too - Everything back to normal There you go

[@kinzoadolpha9195]

And the more I even said it himself that all the games are Canon including recoded so

[@icemage567]

Wait, How are Xemnas and Ansem the Evil still alive? They were defeated.. multiple times... and the big bad himself is back to life.

[@keepyupy2334]

Chad Hitchcock via time travel. They all got there through time travel shenanigans. And old xehanort came back because both his nobody and heartless were killed, which causes the original to reform.

[@icemage567]

@@keepyupy2334 OHHHHHH thank you so much!

[@finnishperson6401]

Yep, just as convoluted as ever. MGS is straightforward compared to this franchise. Might have to watch an other one just to be sure.. Been some time since i've played any KH games.. Pretty sure i skipped DDD entirely. BBS is the only hand-held version i played.

[@PlanetGamz]

Wow, being new to all this wanting to start at KH3, I got to say I'm really lost. By the time I watched the 2nd half of the video I had done gotten confused of the 1st half.lol. Its alot to take in. Yo can definitely get lost with this heart attaching to that heart & body & splitting into 2 parts & attaching to 2 bodies.lol. then the whole nobody's not having a heart. Wow. My mind is having a brain fart. Atleast I feel I now have some knowledge to start part 3 with. Maybe i wont be completely lost & hopefully just lost. 😂 Guess I'm going into it with thos mind set so it is simple to me. I'm just gonna remember that sora is the good guy & xenohort is the bad guy & hopefully sora wins at the end & brings back kingdom hearts from the darkness & all goes back to normal. Phewww. This game is obviously built for the people with wandering ,intelligent, deep minds with great memory. I'm obviously not one of them cause this video mind freaked the crap out of me. My head hurts.

[@RyanKassim]

Good grief, this is like a freakin labyrinth. I played kingdom hearts 1, skipped 2 and just bought 3. Hahah I’m still lost