#kingdom hearts 0.2: birth by sleep — a fragmentary passage (2017)

[holly-natnicole]

In my K.H. rewrite timeline, all the children have at least 1 mentor.

Vanitas' are Xehanort (who is emotionally & physically abusive) and Cloud (who starts out aloof & not even meaning to be zir mentor, but ends up giving zem advice often by accident then later on purpose teaches various skills to Vanitas).

Ven's are Xehanort (who is emotionally & physically abusive), Eraqus (who is genuinely nice despite his strict nature, but their last interaction is him trying to murder Ventus for the greater good without even trying to think of an alternative solution), and Leon (who initially reminds Ven of Eraqus, which makes their platonic friendship toxic since the lack of communication between Ven & Leon causes both to severely misinterpret what's going on; but they learn to talk properly to each other thus causing them to become close and Ven to slowly regain his trust in adults). (Terra and Aqua are more not-biological-nor-legally-adoptive older siblings to Ven than being his mentors.)

Roxas' are Axel/Lea (their not-biological-nor-legally-adoptive-siblinghood starts out casual then becomes toxic, but they work through their issues with some help; especially since Lea/Axel was the one causing all the toxicity and had learned the hard way that many of his decisions in regards to Roxas & Xion have been mean at best & cruel at worst) and Merlin (who helps Roxas study and provides a safe space to work through his various emotions).

Shion/Xion's are Axel/Lea (coz Lea/Axel is in Castle Oblivion when Shion first starts gaining personhood through Sora's lost memories, it takes a few weeks after his mission for him to warm up to her; then their not-biological-nor-legally-adoptive siblinghood gets toxic before it eventually improves), Saïx/Isa (starts out toxic, stays that way for many months whilst his firm belief that she's solely a puppet with no thoughts nor feelings bit by bit gets disproven, and slowly improves when an incident forces him to accept that she's actually a person then he bit by bit starts to platonically love her as a daughter or little sister when continuing to teach her things), and Barret (who helps Shion find her individuality and provides a safe space for her to talk through how she feels 'bout everything that happened in her short life so far plus he very much holds Lea/Axel and Saïx/Isa accountable for their treatment of the children).

Sora's are Donald & Goofy (who initially see her solely as a means to an end, but quickly grow to sincerely care 'bout Sora then – aside from 1 incident where they abandon Sora in favour of Riku who got 1 of the Keyblades from the enbe thus Goofy & Donald obeyed Mickey's order to stick by the Keyblade-wielder, but less than half an hour later they chose Sora over their mission – stick by her no matter what Mickey or anyone else says; they learn through Aerith shouting at them that their student's/not-biological-nor-legally-adopted child's mental health has taken a fast nosedive & that their meant-to-be-harmless teasing is why, so they apologise to Sora & make amends to the kid who they've been helping keep up with school ever since the Trinity Trio formed in Traverse Town), and Aerith (who platonically bonds with Sora coz he has an affinity for healing magic same as Aerith does then later she's who he confides in 'bout everything he has gone through on her adventures and Aerith helps Sora become less insecure in the enbe's abilities & skills).

Naminé's are Ienzo/Zexion (who starts out manipulative, but redeems themself after she changes from a Nobody into a Somebody since regaining his Heart awakens his conscience), Demyx/Myde (who aids Naminé in learning to simply relax & to take care of themself instead of being filled by self-hatred), and Tifa (who helps them become a badass fighter and is a confidant who they tells every insecurity & issue to then eventually Naminé tells her 'bout the emotional abuse from Marluxia/Lauriam and the emotional & physical & magical abuse from Relena/Elrena/Larxene, plus Tifa realises thanks to Naminé how hurtful secrets from people who the secrets are 'bout can be thus she grows as a person).

Kairi's are Minnie (who teaches Kairi music magic and helps her learn how to use her pure Light instead of throwing herself – and Selphie, who literally jumped through the Corridor of Light when Kairi semi-accidentally created it & fell into it – into unfamiliar places with no clue what she's doing plus Minnie assigns Pluto to guard the girls and gives them a Star Shard to travel with since it's not safe for non-Guardians of Heart to use Corridors of Light or Corridors of Darkness) and Aqua (who she specifically requests to be her mentor, as Kairi is the only one who explicitly feels the need to find someone to teach her new skills; Aqua quickly becomes a not-biological-nor-legally-adoptive big sister to Kairi who she helps regain self-confidence and improve as a fighter).

Selphie's is Daisy (who gladly teaches her how to use hand-to-hand combat whilst Kairi is busy with Minnie's lessons on music magic & intentionally using Light and she's the one who Selphie talks through with all the wild stuff that's been going on, their conversations helping the girl make sense of everything).

Riku's are Maleficent (who manipulates him), Xehanort's Heartless/Ansem the Seeker of Darkness (who manipulates him then in Castle Oblivion literally controls Riku's body for a short time twice thus taking away his autonomy before Riku finally kills the human-looking Heartless), Terra (whose Heart is freed from the Guardian Heartless form it was stuck in when Riku defeats Ansem, as the boy used his ability to communicate with Heartless therefore finding out Guardian was Ansem's victim just as much as he was plus Kairi purifying Riku from the lingering taint of Ansem lets Terra to regain his Heart & properly communicate with Riku instead of staying as Guardian Heartless; they both learn from each other to be better people just as much as Riku learns new fighting skills from Terra), and Mickey (whose support is pivotal in Riku not being stuck as Ansem's victim forever).

Shiro/the Riku Replica's is Cid (who is a very grumpy man, but still good at teaching him various computer & aeroplane skills) and his wife Shera (who takes over handling the lessons whenever he has to go do something very important same as how he helps Shiro learn whilst she's busy plus both help the enbe find hir individuality).

Ephemer's is Ava (who in some ways is more a not-biological-nor-legally-adoptive older sister than a mentor, but does teach the enbe a lot 'bout various magic).

Skuld, Strelitzia, Olette, Pence, Hayner, James, Amber, Sofia, Lani, Kari, Ruby, Jade, Yufi, Yuna, Paine, Rikku, Tidus, and Wakka each have a mentor too. But this post is getting kinda long already, so maybe someday I'll write a Part 2 & a Part 3 covering theirs. Plus some of the adults had their own mentors, so I might do a Part 4 for them.

[videogamepolls]

Requested by @giveamadeuschohisownmovie

[holly-natnicole]

That's why Sora being the heroic Protagonist for most of the K.H. videogames works so well. The sadness and tradegy hits hard coz Sora is usually a cheerful, happy kid who simply wants to hang out with his friends and is excited to befriend new people. If Sora (or, in K.H.:Birth by Sleep's case, Aqua) was some angsty brooder most of the time, none of the bittersweet endings would have felt impactful; it all woulda been Heart-crushing.

You ever think about in almost every kingdom hearts game, it's a sad or bittersweet ending? Like pretty much every game ends on a low note. The characters are lost, or away from their friends, or just straight up die.

Kingdom Hearts is such a sad, tragic story.

[cosmickiwii]

6. “Don’t Go…”

[seraph-sar]

Let me tell you, it is wild to start your Kingdom Hearts experience with 0.2 Birth by Sleep, a fragmentary passage, by watching some guy on YouTube play it in 2017. Like, I understood nothing of what was going on at any given moment, but I still thought it was cool, so I remembered it and by the time KH3 rolled around, I recognized the name and watched that too and fell down the rabbit hole that is this fandom.

Anyway, here are some things I remember thinking when first watching 0.2:

Aqua's running really fast

I adored her fighting animations, especially that light-circle-thing she does at the end of a combo

I thought it was incredibly cool that she just summoned her weapon to her hand, and that it was a giant key didn't even really register with me

Mickey Mouse?

That one scene where Terranort talks to her and Terra shows up and kinda chokes himself? I don't know why, but that scene just stuck in my head. I thought it was cool, even though I had no idea what was even happening.

[scatterpatter]

“I want to get into Kingdom Hearts, but where do I start?”

Uh oh sisters I’ve fallen into the fixation station, I wanna gush about KH so I’m gonna infodump about it! KH is confusing and there’s so much plot but it’s a really endearing series I promise

A few disclaimers if you wanna get into the series:

You can’t just play KH 1+2+3 and expect to understand everything, sadly. It’s not like Zelda where you can hop into any game at any point, you DO have to play most games if you want to understand the plot. That means that if you REALLY want to get into the KH fandom, you gotta put in a lot of hours. Of course you’re free to only play whatever you want, but if you wanna understand the plot you need to play all of them.

Even with all the games, the plot can be confusing. Nomura be like that. They ret-con a lot of plot points and give half-hearted explanations at times, you’re just gonna have to deal with that if you want to get into the series.

You WILL become emotionally attached to at least one character. Good luck making it through 358/2 Days without crying.

KH fans are usually p chill and are super eager to help make sense of the plot for you if you ask nicely. No seriously we’re THAT desperate to infodump. I once sat a friend down for 40 minutes explaining the Sora-Roxas-Xion-Namine-Kairi-Ventus-Vanitas situation. ... Also beware KH fans because of how desperate we are to infodump.

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO HERE’S A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO PLAYING THE KH SERIES UNDER THE CUT

Okay so I’m gonna lay out all of the games in 2 lists: order they were released and order they take place in the timeline. These lists will also include remakes and platforms

Order in which games were released:

Kingdom Hearts(2002 - PS2)

Chain of Memories(2004 - GBA) | Re:Chain of Memories(2007 - PS2)

Kingdom Hearts 2(2005 - PS2)

Coded(2008 - mobile) | Re:Coded(2010 - DS)

358/2 Days(2009 - DS)

Birth By Sleep(2010 - PSP)

Dream Drop Distance(2012 - 3DS)

χ* (mobile) ... See my asterisk below for this one

0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage (Only included in 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, The Story So Far, and All-In-One-Package[See Collections below for more details])

Kingdom Hearts 3(2019 - PS4+Xbox 1)

Melody of Memory(2020 - PS4+XBox 1+Switch)

Order in which games take place chronologically:

χ* (mobile) ... See my asterisk below for this one

Birth By Sleep(2010 - PSP)

0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage (Only included in 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, The Story So Far, and All-In-One-Package[See Collections below for more details]) 

Kingdom Hearts(2002 - PS2)

Chain of Memories(2004 - GBA) | Re:Chain of Memories(2007 - PS2)

358/2 Days(2009 - DS)

Kingdom Hearts 2(2005 - PS2)

Coded(2008 - mobile) | Re:Coded(2010 - DS)

Dream Drop Distance(2012 - 3DS)

Kingdom Hearts 3(2019 - PS4+Xbox 1)

Melody of Memory(2020 - PS4+XBox 1+Switch) [I presume it takes place after 3, but it wasn’t released yet so I’m not 100% sure]

Note: Chain of Memories and 358/2 Days kinda take place at the same time, but 358/2 Days goes past where Chain of Memories ends to I put CoM first

*What’s going on with χ :

Kingdom Hearts χ is... complicated. Long story short, it’s χ, Unchained χ, Union χ, and Dark Road all in one? Kind of? I’ll let Wikipedia explain:

So... yeah. They’re kind of all in one. To be honest, KHUX is not necessary for understanding the KH plot, but is still fun for people who enjoy mobile games and want a bit more lore- esp for fans who like self inserts. The plot of KHUX is the player’s self-insert character dealing with everything leading up to and going through the Keyblade War, whereas Dark Road covers Xehanort’s origin story. Back Cover(a movie, not a game) is in the same bundles as 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage, and covers the plot of the Union Leaders and Master of Masters leading up to the Keyblade War.

Don’t worry about it if you just want the plot, just watch the Back Cover movie and you’ll be fine <3

Collections:

Do you want to not have to buy like 10 games and like 5 different devices just to play the KH series? Have I got you covered! The following collections were released, each one containing more games than the last. Go with All-In-One if you want everything up to and including 3 

NOTE: some games are included as “Movies”. Rather than having a playable remake of the game, they play CG cutscenes of the game that explain the plot. Good if you just want the plot, but you’ll have to get the original game if you want the gameplay.

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix (2013 - PS3): Kingdom Hearts, Re:Chain of Memories, 358/2 Days[MOVIE]

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix (2014 - PS3): Kingdom Hearts 2, Birth by Sleep, Re:Coded[MOVIE]

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue (2017 - PS4, 2020 - Xbox One): Dream Drop Distance, 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage, χ Back Cover[MOVIE]

Repackaged collections AKA more bang for your buck: 

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 Remix (2017 - PS4, 2020 - Xbox One): Everything in both 1.5 Remix and 2.5 Remix listed above

Kingdom Hearts: The Story So Far (2018 - PS4): Everything in 1.5 + 2.5 Remix AND all games listed in 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue

Kingdom Hearts: All-In-One-Package (2019 - PS4) Everything in The Story So Far AND KH3. Your entire KH plot before Melody of Memory is covered in this one

Videos:

“I can’t afford to get all of these things,” you cry in agony, “But I still want to understand the plot without just watching a summary video!” I feel you, I feel you. Well thank the youtuber gaming community, because every game has at least one compilation of every cutscene spliced together. The downside is you dont get to play the games, and you’ll miss some small things such as normal NPC dialogue that isn’t triggered by cutscenes alongside setting-centric context, but these are still your best friend if you want the full emotional weight and comprehension of the story. ... It’s also much faster to get through than watching or playing the entirety of the game. Length of each video is noted.

Kingdom Hearts (~4.5 hrs)

Chain of Memories (~3 hrs)

Kingdom Hearts 2 (~13 hrs)

Re:Coded[MOVIE] (~3 hrs)

358/2 Days[MOVIE] (~3 hrs)

Birth By Sleep (~6.5 hrs)

Dream Drop Distance (~5 hrs)

χ Back Cover[MOVIE] (~1 hr)

0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage (~1hr)

Kingdom Hearts 3 (~10 hrs) | Re:Mind DLC (~3 hrs)

(protip: when i was binging these i watched them on 1.5X speed to get through them much faster. They talk slow enough that you can usually absorb it fine. Srsly I binged everything up to KH3 and watched most of these on 1.5X speed- I did the math it took me ~29.5 hours to get through ~40.5 hours worth of content.)

In Conclusion:

pls play kingdom hearts i need more people to cry with thank u for ur time

[biocontagious-rabbit]

Here's a list of games I've beaten to see if I qualify for being mentally Ill (these are games with story modes that I've beaten)

Sonic Heroes

Sonic Forces

Sonic Colors

The World Ends With You

Borderlands 2

Borderlands Pre Sequel

Tales from the Borderlands

Bioshock

Bioshock 2

Bioshock Infinite

The Darkness 2

Until Dawn

Detroit Become Human

Heavy Rain

Beyond Two Souls

Indigo Prophecy

Uncharted 2 Among Thieves

Uncharted 3 Drake's Deception

Uncharted 4 A Thief's End

Resistance Fall of Man

Resistance 2

Resistance Retribution

Pokemon Platinum

PokemonEmerald

PokemonSapphire

Pokemon Alpha Sapphire

Pokemon Y

Pokemon Black

Pokemon Black 2

Pokemon Moon

Call of Duty Black Ops

Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

Professor Layton and the Last Spectre

Professor Layton vs. Ace Attorney

Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright

Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations

Ace Attorney Apollo Justice

Ace Attorney Investigations Miles Edgeworth

The Last of Us

Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts 2

Kingdom Hearts 3

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep

Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance

Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth By Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage

Life is Strange

Silent Hill 4 The Room

Silent Hilll Homecoming

Silent Hill Shattered Memories

Touch the Dead

Dementium The Ward

Dementium 2

Hotel Dusk Room 215

9 Hours 9 Persons 9 Doors

Virtue's Last Reward

Zero Time Dilemma

Persona 5

Prey (2006)

Prey (2016)

Battleborn

Splatoon 2

The Wolf Among Us

Resident Evil 3 Nemesis

Resident Evil 5

Resident Evil 7

Marvel's Spiderman

Undertale

Portal

Infamous

Infamous 2

Code Lyoko Quest for Infinity

Super Smash Brothers Brawl

Guitar Hero 3 Legends of Rock

Guitar Hero On Tour

The Crooked Man

Ib

Dead Space

Star Wars Battlefront 2 (2017)

Doki Doki Literature Club

DanganRonpa Trigger Happy Havoc

DanganRonpa 2 Goodbye Despair

Assassins Creed Bloodlines

Assassins Creed Altairs Chronicles

The 3rd Birthday

God of War Chains of Olympus

Crisis Core Final Fantasy 7

Outlast 2

Super Smash Brothers Brawl

Left 4 Dead 2

The Order 1886

Gone Home

What Remains of Edith Finch

Here They Lie

Soma

Batman Arkham Knight

Army of Two

Murdered Soul Suspect

Bleach Soul Ressureccion

Family Guy Video Game!

F.E.A.R 2 Project Origin

F.3.A.R.

[danirhiart]

A Fragmentary Passage

[deep-dive]

2017 year-end lists: albums: Bibio – Phantom Brickworks Blanck Mass – World Eater bvdub - Heartless Felicia Atkinson – Hand in Hand Fever Ray – Plunge Galcher Lustwerk – Dark Bliss Jean-Michel Blais & CFCF – Cascades Keiichi Okabe – NieR: Automata Soundtrack Lorde – Melodrama Max Richter – Three Worlds: Music from Woolf Works Mica Levi – Delete Beach Rjyan Kidwell – Certainity/Identity Ryuichi Sakamoto – Rage Soundtrack Shinichi Atobe – From the Heart, It's a Start, A Work of Art William Basinski – A Shadow in Time v/a – Air Texture, Vol. V v/a – mono no aware x/o – cocoon egg Yamaneko – Spa Comissions Young Thug - Beautiful Thugger Girls Yves Tumor – Experiencing the Deposit of Faith

songs: Arca – Desafío Bibio – Capel Celyn Blanck Mass – Hive Mind Carly Rae Jepsen – Cut to the Feeling Claude Young – Fukui Morning Elysia Crampton – Spittle (Safeway Parking Lot) Forest Swords – The Highest Flood Honey Dijon – Houze (ft. Seven Davis Jr.) [Houze Rebuilt Mix] Hype Williams – Loud Challenge IVVO – Good, Bad, Baby, Horny Jeff Russo – Milton’s Tower Jessie Ware – Your Domino LOOΠΔ – New M.E.S.H. – Search. Reveal. Malibu – Held Manaka Kataoka – Battle (Shrine) Mr. Mitch – VPN (ft. Palmistry) Nicki Minaj – Regret in Your Tears Octo Octa – Preparation Rituals Organ Tapes – Nosso Amor OT VERSION (MC Pedrinho) Paramore – Told You So Perfume Genius – Choir Shinichi Atobe – Regret Syringe – So Autistic x/o – insecurity lurks in shadows

mixes: http://musicforprogramming.net/?fortyseven https://soundcloud.com/blu174/mix-007 https://soundcloud.com/blu174/mix009 https://soundcloud.com/eande/elysia-crampton-w-grace-wales-bonner-fw-2017 https://soundcloud.com/marcitlali/pulse https://soundcloud.com/rinsefm/rinse-fm-podcast-swanmeat-9th-april-2017 https://soundcloud.com/s_m_i_le/smile-radio-dasychira https://soundcloud.com/threeandahalfseconddelay/dumbass-exodus

games: Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep: A Fragmentary Passage Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild NieR: Automata Nioh Persona 5 Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Super Mario Odyssey Tales of Berseria Universal Paperclips What Remains of Edith Finch

[yourgamecheats]

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue Launches February 18 for Xbox One

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue Launches February 18 for Xbox One

The Microsoft Store listing for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue will launch for the Xbox One on February 18.

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is a collection of three Kingdom Hearts titles, which first launched for the PlayStation 4 in January 2017.

Here is the list of games included in the collection:

Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage –

Kingdom…

[satoshi-mochida]

The Xbox One version of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue will launch on February 18, according to a listing on the Microsoft Store.

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue is a compilation of the following three Kingdom Hearts titles:

Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage –

Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover (movie)

Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue first launched for PlayStation 4 in January 2017.

[darizardcosplay]

Katsucon roundup post! I don't have like any actual photos to post this year cause Katsucon 2017 ended up being drunken-Kingdom-Hearts-cosplay con and I never managed to snag someone to take pics of any of my outfits. Instead, have dumb Kairi selfies, and the reason why I don't have any decent pics--hey, you can sort of see my out fit in the mirror of that one? I also took a photo as Aqua with some cute Birth by Sleep cosplayers on Saturday! You can see my new shoulder armor in that picture, most of which I cast the night before leaving for the con, but it turned out pretty good. Also we discovered on Saturday night that one of my guy friends looks better in my cosplay than I do...I don't know how to feel about that (but if anyone snapped a pic of male-Aqua send it my way, lol.) Lastly, I finally got around to beating Kingdom Hearts: 0.2 A Fragmentary Passage! The final boss on proud mode must have killed me like 15 times but i persevered and cried like a baby throughout the whole ending cause HD Destiny Islands kills me. Now I really might have to make customized-outfit Aqua for the next con I go to? I will never be free of this cosplay.

[caithsithfa]

KINGDOM HEARTS BIRTH BY SLEEP 0.2 -a fragmentary passage- (2017)

[theouterhavenprod]

Kingdom Hearts HD II.8 Final Chapter Prologue Review

Kingdom Hearts HD II.8 Final Chapter Prologue Review

Kingdom Hearts has become one of those titles that is in the same vein as Half Life, Portal and other Valve properties. Aka, where the heck is the third installment in the series!?

While we wait again for the next proper installment in the main series, we get another remastering of some previous titles along with a new distraction piece in Kingdom Hearts HD II.8 Final Chapter Prologue… And you…

[misterjackal]

Good Games Podcast: Episode 136 - NOPE

Good Games Podcast: Episode 136 – NOPE

http://traffic.libsyn.com/goodgamespodcast/GG_Episode_136_NOPE.mp3

Frank, Alex, and Khalik reconvene to talk about the Royal Rumble, the fantastical and sometimes scary Disney World, and the occasional video game. They find out what happens when you flip the rules of chess on its head, discover new ways to enjoy the age old game of solitaire, spend some time with the holiday event in Overwatch,…

[rozalynpaige]

“How should I go about getting the entirety of what is currently released of the Kingdom Hearts series?”

Basically, I just did a little bit of research and math for three different ways you can go about getting the whole current series.

I started with checking GameStop’s website, since they tend to give the prices you tend to find anywhere else (unless there’s a sale wherever), and then I checked Amazon. Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems like you cannot get the PS2 games on GameStop’s website? Anyway...

Getting them on the original-ish platforms:

KH1 (PS2) - $15 Re: Chain of Memories (PS2) - $18 (Assuming you want Re: CoM on PS2 instead of the original GBA version which is $5.) 358/2 Days (DS) - $20 KH2 (PS2) - $15 Birth by Sleep (PSP) - $20 Re: Coded (DS) - $15 Dream Drop Distance (3DS) - $30 Total: $133 (or $120 if you get CoM on GBA)

This is the most expensive way to go about it, even if you already have all the necessary platforms. It gets even more expensive when you consider that KH3 will be $60 (raising the total to $193) and that you may want 2.8 for 0.2 Birth by Sleep: A Fragmentary Passage (which Nomura said will help understand some things in KH3) and the KHX mini-movie. 2.8 costs $60, which then takes the total up to a whopping $253, or $240 if you drop Dream Drop Distance from the list since 2.8 has Dream Drop Distance HD.

Getting them across PS3 + PS4:

1.5 HD ReMIX (for PS3) - $20 2.5 HD ReMIX (for PS3) - $20 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue (PS4 exclusive) - $60 Total: $100

This is, to be honest, actually the cheapest way to go about it (by $10), and it even has benefits over going the “all originals-ish” route.

1.5 and 2.5 have KH1: Final Mix, KH2: Final Mix, and Birth by Sleep: Final Mix, all of which were previously exclusively available in Japan. What’s different about the Final Mix versions is:

I’ll start with the biggest thing - KH2: Final Mix has extra cutscenes.

They each have extra keyblades and an optional boss fight

KH1: Final Mix has KH2′s system of having the player press Triangle to interact with things instead of having to move the cursor to the bottom of the command box and press X. Super convenient.

Birth by Sleep: Final Mix has much nicer graphics, considering it’s taken from the PSP and turned into a console game.

For some reason, the Unversed (the enemies) in Birth by Sleep: Final Mix are recolored??

However, you may consider it a downside that you’re receiving 358/2 Days and Re: Coded as cutscene movies instead of video games. I haven’t played 358/2 Days, but I’ve heard that, while the story is nice, the gameplay isn’t very good, so assuming what people say is true, that’s actually a win. Allegedly, they were trying to remake 358/2 Days for 1.5, ran out of time, and already had all the cutscenes animated and voice acted.

Another downside is that the games in 1.5 and 2.5 have some glitches.

TL;DR: Cheapest method by $10, with it only costing you $100 (which turns into $160 once KH3 comes out) assuming you already have a PS3 and a PS4. You’re getting special versions of three of the games, which even gives you new cutscenes in KH2. However, you’re getting 358/2 Days and Re: Coded as cutscene movies, and there are glitches in the actual games.

Getting them all on PS4:

KH 1.5+2.5 (for PS4) - $50 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue - $60 Total: $110

Only $10 more expensive than going with PS3 + PS4. Once KH3 comes out, your total will go up to $170. The new 1.5+2.5 pack on PS4 has changed some of the games from 30 FPS to 60 FPS. However, there have apparently been some complaints that the 60 FPS makes some fights harder due to how fast some of the attacks and enemies are because of the increase in FPS. There have also apparently been reports of games crashing. As I type this, it’s March 15, 2017, and it’s unknown if Square Enix will patch 1.5+2.5, but there’s hope since they patched some issues in 2.8.

TL;DR: Only $10 more expensive than going with PS3 + PS4, but there are complaints of the increase to 60 FPS making certain fights harder in the series’ earlier games, as well as games crashing. Currently (as of March 15, 2017) unknown if Square Enix will patch this, but they did patch 2.8.

For reference, if you get the four games that are actually still games in 1.5 and 2.5 on their original-ish platforms, that comes out to $68, and if you add in the two games that are cutscene movies, that makes $103. Compare that to $40 for 1.5 and 2.5 on PS3 and $50 for 1.5+2.5 on PS4.

Alternatively, you could spend the money on the combo packs and then spend $35 to get the actual playable DS games of 358/2 Days and Re: Coded, meaning you spend $75 or $85 (this total not including 2.8 and KH3).

Edit: Additionally, if you don’t have the funds to buy the games and/or the time to play the games and be ready for KH3, I know of a Youtuber who makes KH Let’s Plays: MegamanNG. I found him when I couldn’t continue playing BBS, since my mom’s PSP went all wonky. He’s great because:

He’s already played the games before, so he knows what he’s doing in his videos. You won’t see him wander in circles trying to figure out what to do or fight the same boss over and over again.

He doesn’t record when he’s doing major grinding for levels, so you don’t have to sit through that.

When a cutscene comes up, he stops talking, and he increases the game’s audio so that you can actually hear the cutscene! Once the cutscene is over, he lowers the game’s audio back down so you can hear his voice.

He has Let’s Plays of the Final Mix versions.

LPs as of the date this was posted:

KH1 Final Mix, on PS3

Re: Chain of Memories, on PS3

KH2 Final Mix, on PS3

Birth by Sleep Final Mix, on PS3

Dream Drop Distance HD

0.2 Birth by Sleep: A Fragmentary Passage