Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep – Must play
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep is a prequel that takes place prior to the original Kingdom Hearts game, providing the origins for some of the series most important characters. The main story pieces in Birth by Sleep are the origins of Sora, the main hero of the series, as well as his connection with Roxas, and Xehanort, its main villain. The game was originally released on the PSP; however, an updated version of the game is included in the HD 1.5+2.5 ReMix collection.
The game follows Keyblade apprentices Terra, Aqua, and Ventus as they battle Unversed across different Disney worlds. Birth by Sleep is one of the more important side games in Kingdom Hearts, laying a ton of foundational work for the rest of the series. As mentioned earlier, the whole game is included in the HD 1.5+2.5 ReMix collection and the All-in-One collection. This does not include Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Birth by Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage, which is a short extension of the Birth by Sleep story, sharing extra details about Aqua. This short game, which is included in the Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue collection, does tie into Kingdom Hearts 3, but isn’t necessary for your understanding of the plot.
