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Series guide

All Kingdom Hearts games in order

By Lenn Hodes · founder — every cartridge tested by hand

No series is asked about in this exact way more often, because the names refuse to help: 358/2 Days, Birth by Sleep, 0.2, 2.8, χ. Below is every Kingdom Hearts game in release order with what each one is, then the story order for a second run — and, because we open and test every cartridge we sell, the buying notes on the GBA, DS, 3DS and Switch entries. Two of them can only be played on the original Nintendo card.

The short answer

Play in release order: Kingdom Hearts (2002) → Chain of Memories (GBA) → II → 358/2 Days (DS) → Birth by Sleep → Re:coded (DS) → Dream Drop Distance (3DS) → 0.2 → III (2019) → Melody of Memory (Switch). Today the quickest route is HD 1.5 + 2.5, HD 2.8 and III on a PS4 — but 358/2 Days and Re:coded are films there, not games, so the DS cards are the only way to actually play them.

Tested Kingdom Hearts games in stock

GBA and DS cartridges, play-tested on real hardware with the save checked — listed exactly as they are, loose or boxed.

Game Boy Advance SP Kingdom Hearts Edition — Game Boy Advance

Game Boy Advance SP Kingdom Hearts Edition

€289.95−10%€260.95

Personally tested · Playable condition

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days — Nintendo DS

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

€62.95−10%€56.65

Personally tested · Good condition

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories — Game Boy Advance

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories

€49.95−10%€44.95

Personally tested · Good condition

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days — Nintendo DS

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

€42.95−10%€38.65

Personally tested · Good condition

See every game

Every Kingdom Hearts game in release order

Years are the first Western release; where Japan was earlier, the year is in the note. The Nintendo entries link to the platform they run on.

  1. Kingdom Hearts · 2002 · PlayStation 2 — where it starts — Sora, Donald and Goofy, and the Final Mix version Japan got in 2002
  2. Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories · 2004 · Game Boy Advance (Europe 2005) — the card-battle sequel to the first game; the only 2D Kingdom Hearts on a cartridge
  3. Kingdom Hearts II · 2006 · PlayStation 2 (Japan 2005) — one year after Chain of Memories; the game most people mean by "the sequel"
  4. Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories · 2008 · PlayStation 2 (Japan 2007) — the 3D remake of the GBA game — never sold in Europe until the HD collections
  5. Kingdom Hearts coded · 2008 · Mobile (Japan only, episodic to 2010) — the story between II and Dream Drop Distance, later remade as Re:coded
  6. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days · 2009 · Nintendo DS — Roxas’s year in Organization XIII, between the first game and II — read it "three five eight days over two"
  7. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep · 2010 · PSP — the prequel: Terra, Ventus and Aqua, ten years before the first game
  8. Kingdom Hearts Re:coded · 2011 · Nintendo DS (Japan 2010) — the remake of coded — the second and last Kingdom Hearts on a DS card
  9. Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance · 2012 · Nintendo 3DS — Sora and Riku’s Mark of Mastery exam; the direct lead-in to III
  10. Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX · 2013 · PlayStation 3 — Final Mix, Re:Chain of Memories and 358/2 Days — the DS game as a film, not a game
  11. Kingdom Hearts χ (chi) / Unchained χ / Union χ · 2013 · Browser (Japan), then mobile 2015–2021 — the Keyblade War, thousands of years before Sora — the earliest point in the story
  12. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX · 2014 · PlayStation 3 — II Final Mix, Birth by Sleep Final Mix and Re:coded — again as cutscenes only
  13. Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue · 2017 · PlayStation 4 — Dream Drop Distance in HD, the new episode 0.2 Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage, and the χ Back Cover film
  14. Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX · 2017 · PS4; Xbox One 2020, PC 2021, Switch (cloud) 2022 — the two PS3 collections in one — four games, two films
  15. Kingdom Hearts III · 2019 · PS4 & Xbox One; Re Mind DLC 2020 — the end of the Dark Seeker saga, thirteen years after II
  16. Kingdom Hearts Dark Road · 2020 · Mobile (inside Union χ) — young Xehanort, seventy years before Birth by Sleep
  17. Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory · 2020 · Nintendo Switch, PS4 & Xbox One — a rhythm game that retells the whole series — the first Kingdom Hearts on a Switch cartridge
  18. Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece · 2022 · Switch (cloud versions); Steam 2024 — every collection plus III and Re Mind; on Switch the games stream, the box holds a code
  19. Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link · 2025 · Mobile — cancelled before release — was to sit between Union χ and Dark Road; Square Enix cancelled it in 2025
  20. Kingdom Hearts Collection [I – III] · 2026 · PS5, Xbox Series, Switch 2 & PC (planned, October 2026) — native ports of every game, announced for Switch 2 — the first time the whole saga is on one Nintendo console
  21. Kingdom Hearts IV · 2027 · Planned — the start of the Lost Master arc; announced in 2022, planned for 2027

Story order — the in-universe timeline

For a second playthrough, or to place a game you already own. Starting here spoils the twists of the first three games, which is why release order is the better first run.

  1. Kingdom Hearts χ / Union χ — the Keyblade War, the earliest point
  2. Dark Road — young Xehanort, seventy years before Birth by Sleep
  3. Birth by Sleep — ten years before the first game
  4. 0.2 Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage — Aqua, running into the first game
  5. Kingdom Hearts — Sora’s first journey
  6. Chain of Memories — straight after the first game, in Castle Oblivion
  7. 358/2 Days — Roxas’s year, overlapping Chain of Memories and the sleep before II
  8. Kingdom Hearts II — one year later
  9. coded / Re:coded — after II
  10. Dream Drop Distance — the Mark of Mastery exam
  11. Kingdom Hearts III — the end of the Dark Seeker saga
  12. Melody of Memory — after III, Kairi’s retelling
  13. Kingdom Hearts IV — the Lost Master arc, coming next

Which Kingdom Hearts should you buy now?

  • The whole saga, quickly: HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX and HD 2.8 on PS4, then III — seven games and three films on one console.
  • To play, not watch, the DS stories: 358/2 Days and Re:coded on Nintendo DS — region-free, and they run on any 3DS or 2DS too.
  • The handheld original: Chain of Memories on the Game Boy Advance — the card-battle version that was never remade for Europe on PS2.
  • On a Switch cartridge: Melody of Memory — a rhythm game, but it retells every entry and it is the only native Switch Kingdom Hearts until the 2026 collection.

Buying Kingdom Hearts second-hand

The two DS games only exist as games on the DS cards

358/2 Days and Re:coded were remade for the HD collections as films of their cutscenes — you watch them, you do not play them. The Nintendo DS cards are still the only way to play either one. Both are region-free and play on any DS, DS Lite, DSi, 3DS or 2DS, and the saves live on flash memory, so a used card still holds a save.

Chain of Memories on GBA is a different game from Re:Chain

The 2004 cartridge is a 2D card-battle game; Re:Chain of Memories (PS2, in HD 1.5) rebuilt it in 3D. The GBA original never received a European remake on PS2 and is the only way to play the version people argued about. GBA cartridges are region-free and slot into the second bay of an original DS or DS Lite as well.

Dream Drop Distance: 3DS cartridge or HD 2.8

The 3DS game is region-locked — a European cartridge needs a European 3DS or 2DS — and uses the two screens for the Drop mechanic. HD 2.8 on PS4 has the same game with the Drop system reworked for one screen. The 3DS version is the cheaper way in, and it plays on every 3DS and 2DS model.

The Game Boy Advance SP Kingdom Hearts Edition

A limited-edition SP released in Japan and North America in 2004 alongside Chain of Memories. It is an ordinary SP inside — region-free, front-lit, plays every GBA, Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridge — with the Kingdom Hearts shell. When one comes in, it is listed with photos of the actual console.

Switch boxes: cartridge or cloud

Melody of Memory is a real Switch cartridge. The 2022 Switch releases of the collections and Integrum Masterpiece are cloud versions — the box holds a download code and the games stream, so they need a fast connection and stop working if the service does. The Collection [I – III] planned for Switch 2 is announced as native ports.

Every copy tested before it is listed

Booting, saving, label and board — checked on real hardware. We have been doing this since 2019, with 1400+ verified reviews at 5.0★, and we ship tracked to all 27 EU countries. Originals only; if something ever turns out not to be genuine, you get your money back.

Browse tested DS games

Questions we get asked

In what order should I play the Kingdom Hearts games?

Release order is the safe answer: Kingdom Hearts → Chain of Memories → II → 358/2 Days → Birth by Sleep → Re:coded → Dream Drop Distance → 0.2 → III → Melody of Memory. The story was written in that sequence, and the prequels (Birth by Sleep, χ, Dark Road) spoil less when you already know the characters they set up.

What is the chronological order of the Kingdom Hearts story?

χ (Union χ) → Dark Road → Birth by Sleep → 0.2 → Kingdom Hearts → Chain of Memories → 358/2 Days → II → coded → Dream Drop Distance → III → Melody of Memory → IV. The list on this page gives both orders.

How many Kingdom Hearts games are there?

Twelve distinct games in the story, counting the remakes once, from Kingdom Hearts (2002) to Melody of Memory (2020), plus the HD collections that repackage them and Kingdom Hearts IV, planned for 2027. Five exist on a Nintendo cartridge: Chain of Memories (GBA), 358/2 Days and Re:coded (DS), Dream Drop Distance (3DS) and Melody of Memory (Switch).

What does 358/2 Days mean?

It is read "three five eight days over two". The 358 days are Roxas’s time in Organization XIII; the "/2" refers to the two characters, Roxas and Xion, who share them. It is a Nintendo DS game from 2009 and sits between the first game and Kingdom Hearts II.

Can I play Kingdom Hearts on a Nintendo Switch?

Melody of Memory is a Switch cartridge. The main games came to Switch in 2022 as cloud versions only — a code in the box, streamed — and a native Collection [I – III] is announced for Switch 2 in October 2026. For the older handheld games you want a DS, 3DS or GBA.

Do Kingdom Hearts DS games work on a 3DS?

Yes. Every DS card plays on the whole 3DS and 2DS family, and DS cards have no region lock. Dream Drop Distance is a 3DS cartridge and does have one — a European copy for a European console.

Do you ship outside the Netherlands?

We ship to all 27 EU countries with track & trace. Parcels leave from the Netherlands, there are no customs charges within the EU, and your country’s exact rate appears at checkout before you pay.

Years given are the first Western release. Onze Nintendo DS-collectie in het Nederlands.