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00:00The door is open Sora. Now we can go to the outside world.
00:03What are you talking about? We gotta find Kairi.
00:06Kairi's coming with us. Once we step through, we might not be able to come back.
00:12We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back.
00:16But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us. I'm not afraid of the darkness.
00:22Welcome to Mojo Plays and what do you get when you mix Final Fantasy with every Disney IP
00:27under the sun? A massive f***ing ball ache. I can't laugh that hard at my own bit.
00:34Kingdom Hearts may hold the record for games that started off so simple and so cohesive,
00:38only to grow to have the most convoluted and complicated lore possible. It's a toss up
00:43between Kingdom Hearts and Metal Gear Solid, but Metal Gear Solid doesn't require you to play
00:47mobile games to follow the story, so it's taking a back seat to this masterpiece. This is the
00:52totally not complicated Kingdom Hearts timeline explained. Also, I'm very sick.
00:58I can't breathe out of my nose. Let's do it. Remember when you first heard about Kingdom
01:03Hearts? Wait a minute, it's like a sword combat RPG where your party members are Donald and Goofy?
01:08Wait a minute, I get to punch Jafar in the face? Mum, grab your coat, you're taking me to EB
01:13Games! Kingdom Hearts came at the perfect time as gaming was peaking on the highest selling
01:19console of all time, the PS2, and Final Fantasy X had shown us exactly what Square Enix was
01:24capable of on the console just one year prior. The desire for an edgy action adventure was
01:29strong with the teenage demographic that was dominating the console, and the Disney element
01:34lined up perfectly with the nostalgia of this demographics younger years. It was a formula
01:38that could have been tried in any other decade and probably wouldn't have worked as brilliantly.
01:43We'll get into Kingdom Hearts later as we bash through these games in chronological order,
01:47but we should point out that Kingdom Hearts by itself was not a complicated game. It had a rich
01:52and full story which perfectly blended characters who already had their own histories, but it was
01:57done so well whilst leaving enough room for the fleshing out and sometimes retconning that would
02:03come as this story unfurled in later entries. Welcome to 2024, 22 years after the first game,
02:10and players are getting more and more excited for the future of the series, in particular
02:14the release of Kingdom Hearts 4. It's hard to ignore however that the player count has dropped
02:19since the first two games as the story and world became too difficult to follow for casual fans.
02:24We can't be totally blamed, we're all adults now and the unfortunate reality is we don't have as
02:29much time on our hands, or as much as we wish we did, but fret not as I am an adult with enough
02:35time on my hands to run my fellow adult nerds through this game's story in the simplest way I
02:40can. If you're expecting a Keyblade Masters synopsis, I can't promise that, I'm just here
02:45to give you the highlights, but if you don't know who Hercules is, you might need to do some research
02:50of your own. Hold on to your hats, let's get chronological. I'm dying.
03:10So, did you look through the book? Yes, but I'm still analysing it.
03:16Wow, no quick skim for you, huh? Alright, let's begin our journey with a mobile game,
03:22and let's get a little lazy with it by joining Kingdom Hearts Key, Kingdom Hearts Union Key,
03:26and Kingdom Hearts Union Key Dark Road into the same entry. I'm already confusing myself,
03:31and we're only two sentences into this thing. If you're thinking to yourself,
03:34Matt is there any point including the mobile games, then you're underestimating the significance
03:38of the mobile games. There are genuinely moments in the console games that you simply won't
03:43understand because you didn't play these games. Let's acknowledge that this is insane,
03:48take a breath and power on. Kingdom Hearts Key, often incorrectly pronounced Kingdom Hearts X,
03:54sets the earliest mark in the chronological timeline, delving into the adventures of
03:58youthful Keyblade wielders battling Heartless across distant past and future realms. It
04:03intricately weaves the narrative of the Keyblade War, shedding light on the genesis of the Keyblade
04:08Graveyard, pivotal in Kingdom Hearts 2, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, and Kingdom Hearts 3.
04:12The Keyblade Graveyard serves as the battleground for the Keyblade War, where the Keyblade was
04:18shattered, and it stands as the sole location where recreating the Keyblade is possible.
04:30Furthermore, Dark Road provides insights into the genesis of the series primary antagonist,
04:35Xehanort. That's as much as we're touching on these games because we've got lots to touch on.
04:49Moving down the list, Birth by Sleep introduces us to 3 pivotal characters,
04:54Terra, Aqua and Ventus, as they strive to attain the status of Keyblade Masters,
04:59inadvertently setting the entire Kingdom Hearts timeline into motion. We could spend hours
05:03talking about this game, but instead we're going to give it about 26 seconds. This installment
05:08marks the initial canonical appearance in terms of release order of Xehanort, concluding with his
05:12manipulation of Terra's body and assumption of Ansem the Wise's identity, along with the majority
05:18if not all of his apprentices.
05:48Birth by Sleep also unveils Castle Oblivion from Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories.
05:53Surprisingly, the castle is revealed to be a transformed version of Land of Departure,
05:58concealing within its depths the comatose body of Ventus, devoid of a heart
06:02since it resides within the newborn by the name of Sora.
06:18Spoiler alert, Sora is going to become quite a big deal in this timeline,
06:44so remember Sora. This revelation clarifies why there is an uncanny resemblance between Sora's
06:49nobody Roxas and Ventus. Now is probably an opportune moment to clarify the mechanics of
06:54heartless and nobodies. Essentially, when an individual's heart is extracted, two entities
07:00remain, a body without a heart, known as a nobody, and a heartless, which is the corrupted heart
07:04consumed by darkness. So a nobody is a heartless body and a heartless has nobody's body. I don't
07:09even think that is correct, I just really wanted to say that.
07:12In a classically genius move from Square Enix we have Kingdom Hearts 0.2,
07:16which served as both a tech showcase for Kingdom Hearts 3 and an epilogue for Birth by Sleep.
07:21I imagine when Square Enix carves up the turkey at Thanksgiving, they make stock out of the carcass
07:26because they let nothing go to waste. 0.2 delves into Aqua's journey in the Realm of Darkness,
07:31acting as a bridge between Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts. It also gives the player a reason
07:36why Mickey didn't have a shirt on at the end of Kingdom Hearts 1. Oh wait, I'm sorry, no it
07:41doesn't, it just takes his shirt away from him to preserve continuity. I don't know what I would
07:45have preferred, the continuity issue, or now wondering why the hell the heartless are so damn
07:49kinky. Alright, alright, this was the beginning, the OG, the simplest game of the lot. Unfortunately
08:07I'm going to give the retconned plot instead because now we know way too much, but you should
08:11all keep in mind that the majority of this stuff we're going to talk about was not known when we
08:15first played this game back in 2002. Sora, our main protagonist, our little hero, the kid who
08:21Ventus' heart is hiding inside of, and his best mates Kairi and Riku are pulled from their comfortable
08:26and safe world to fight the heartless and a bunch of Disney villains. The ultimate antagonist of the
08:32game is Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. You might recall him as the heartless born from the division of
08:37Terra Nort, who assumed the identity of Ansem the Wise. This division resulted in both a heartless
08:42and a nobody, which we'll discuss shortly. The ominous dark shadow that accompanies Ansem
08:47strongly suggests that it holds what remains of Terra's heart, kept captive within it. All this
08:52being said, it's actually a remarkably simple plot to follow, the idea of a nobody wasn't
08:56even invented till the second game, and we had no idea what the fuck a Terra Nort was.
09:01Alright, Kingdom Hearts 358 over 2 days. I feel like it's important to note that some of this
09:06game takes place before the next entry, Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, and a bit of it takes
09:11place after, but just to keep things cohesive and because I guess it doesn't really matter,
09:14we're just going to talk about the whole thing now. In this spin-off, which also functions as
09:19a significant instalment in the series, we're introduced to Roxas, a nobody spawned from
09:24Sora during the climax of Kingdom Hearts when Sora transformed into a heartless. Unlike typical
09:29nobodies, Roxas lacks memories of his original identity, Sora, and gradually forms his own
09:34distinct personality. Additionally, we meet the 14th member of Organization XIII named
09:39Xeon, an artificial human created as a fail-safe for Roxas, who inadvertently absorbs Sora's
09:44memories, hindering their complete restoration. Under the guidance of Axel, Roxas embarks on
09:49daily missions across various worlds to combat Heartless and liberate captured Hearts using his
09:54Keyblade. These missions align with the Organization's objective of creating Kingdom
09:58Hearts and achieving wholeness. However, at Twilight Town, Xeon, manipulated by Xemnas,
10:03reverts back to her original purpose of absorbing Roxas and becoming a flawless replica of Sora.
10:09After a confrontation, Xeon's physical form dissolves, and her heart merges with Sora's,
10:13causing memories of her to gradually fade away. Subsequently, Roxas finds himself placed in a
10:18simulated version of Twilight Town, with all of his memories of life outside the town gone
10:23as part of a plan for him to eventually merge with Sora. I'm sorry I spent so much time on this
10:28entry, and I'm acutely aware that I spent time explaining who Xeon was, but didn't touch on at
10:32all what the Organization actually is. If it becomes relevant to follow the basic plot later
10:37on I might expand on it, but for now we're just chillin. This entry was originally published on
10:49the Gameboy Advance and acted as an unbelievably important plot bridge between the first and second
10:54Kingdom Hearts games on the PS2. If you don't see the absurdity in that, then you're just
10:59deluding yourself. That's like going to McDonalds for a burger and they send you to KFC to collect
11:03your chips. While Roxas enjoys his time indulging in ice cream and exploring the simulated Twilight
11:23Town, oblivious of his true identity, Sora, Donald and Goofy stumble upon Castle Oblivion
11:28during their quest to locate Riku and King Mickey Mouse. As they progress through the castle,
11:33they begin to lose their memories as was explained to them before entering, and they confront and
11:37overcome roughly half of the Organization XIII, including adversaries like Larxene,
11:42Vexen and Marluxia. Meanwhile, Riku and Mickey find themselves within Castle Oblivion as well,
11:49starting their journey from the basement and gradually ascending to the ground floor.
11:53Riku faces off against his own faction of the Organization, contending with members such as
11:58I'm not even gonna bother. You might have noticed the recurring X in the names of Organization
12:03members. It's on purpose. After ascending the castle, Naminé, a new friend, puts Sora and his
12:08party into pods to help them regain the memories they lost. This process will also erase the
12:13memories they made while in the castle, meaning that when they eventually wake up at the beginning
12:18of Kingdom Hearts 2 with no memory of how they got there, they feel much like those of us way
12:22back in 2005 that didn't realise there even was a Kingdom Hearts game on the GBA. So,
12:27swings and roundabouts and all that. Kingdom Hearts 2, baby, the highly anticipated sequel
12:32that came out 4 years after the original and the beginning of things getting really out of
12:37pocket in this story. Of course, going through the game chronologically makes it seem like this
12:41is pretty deep into the extensively confusing lore, but for those who missed the bridging
12:46entry between Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2, this game was their first introduction to nobodies,
12:50Organization XIII, Roxas, Xehanort, Xemnas, the Keyblade Wars,
12:54the Keyblade Graveyard and the world that never was.
13:02In this instalment, Roxas is compelled to rejoin with Sora, who has been in a state of suspended
13:07animation since the conclusion of Chain of Memories. Sora embarks on a mission to vanquish
13:11the lingering remnants of the Heartless following the defeat of Maleficent, but
13:16she's still alive so ignore what I just said. Meanwhile, the surviving members of Organization
13:20XIII, whom Sora has no recollection of defeating due to his memory loss at Castle Oblivion,
13:25seek vengeance and aim to summon Kingdom Hearts, an enigmatic concept that has never been thoroughly
13:31clarified. Honestly, give Mickey his shirt back and tell in clear detail what the f*** Kingdom
13:36Hearts is. At the end of the game, Sora, Riku and Kairi find themselves back on Destiny Islands,
13:41receiving a mysterious letter in a bottle from none other than King Mickey himself.
13:55I could take a second to warm you up to this entry, but what's the point? King Mickey digitized
14:00Jiminy Cricket's journal to find it has been corrupted and he creates a digital Sora known
14:04as Data Sora to go inside and investigate. The game elaborates on the concept of the data
14:09versions of our characters after it was introduced in Kingdom Hearts 2, but apart from that,
14:13there's not much else to talk about. We do, however, finally get to see what Mickey wrote
14:17in his letter to Sora, Riku and Kairi at the end of Kingdom Hearts 2. The final line reads,
14:22it's possible that all your journeys so far have been preparing you for this great new task that's
14:27waiting for you. I should have known there was no coincidences, only links in a much larger
14:31chain of events, and now the door to your next journey is ready to be opened.
14:44In the lead up to Kingdom Hearts 3, Sora and Riku embark on a quest to awaken the slumbering worlds
14:49and strive to attain the status of Keyblade Masters. This entry introduces the concept
14:54of time travel as the ancient figure Xehanort resurfaces with the aid of his younger self.
14:58Following the shortcomings of the former organization, Xehanort adopts a do-it-yourself
15:03approach and establishes the genuine Organization XIII, composed mostly of various versions of
15:08himself. The roster includes Master Xehanort, Young Xehanort, Terror Xehanort, Ansem, his
15:13heartless, Xemnas, his nobody, Vanitas, Xigbar already infused with Xehanort's essence, and a
15:19bunch of other names that are going to fire up the comments if I pronounce them wrong.
15:22In this installment, Sora fails his Mark of Mastery exam due to the near possession by the
15:28Organization. Unfortunately, the reason for his failure boils down to something as trivial
15:32as the addition of an X to his shirt, an explanation that leaves much to be desired.
15:37Kingdom Hearts 3 finally graced us with its presence, a surreal moment indeed. It narrates
15:56the climactic showdown between the genuine Organization XIII, representing darkness,
16:01and the Seven Guardians of Light, determined to thwart their plans.
16:04The finale sees Sora sacrificing himself by overusing his power of waking to save Kairi,
16:10resulting in his loss. Although, we've seen the trailers for Kingdom Hearts 4,
16:14so we know he's not lost forever, so who cares. The game unveils the surprising revelation that
16:18Xigbar, already intertwined with Xehanort, has been a covert operative from the start,
16:23actually embodying Lux, an apprentice to the Master of Masters from Kingdom Hearts Key.
16:28Additionally, the foretellers make a comeback, hinting at their potentially significant roles
16:32in the forthcoming Kingdom Hearts 4.
16:38And like bookends to our epic breakdown of the Kingdom Hearts timeline,
16:42our first chronological entry is a mobile game crucial to understanding the story,
16:46and our last entry is a rhythm game that seemingly bridges the gap between 3 and 4,
16:51as Kairi tries to find Sora following Kingdom Hearts 3.
16:54With that, we are left here to ponder and wonder. I barely, barely scratched even the
17:00surface of these games, as the characters and histories intertwined with one another in
17:04interesting and sometimes ridiculous ways. Basically, I've just told you the order of
17:08the games, so if nothing else, you've got that under your belt. Did you enjoy this video? Check
17:13out these other clips from Mojo Plays and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified of
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