DBD is the only cult where it's members will congratulate you on getting out while they load into another match.

My first memories of Kingdom Hearts was school clamoring of a crossover between Disney and Final Fantasy. At that time I couldn't think of a Disney film I had not seen and Final Fantasy was and still is one of my fav franchises ever so I knew I had to play it but for whatever reason I assumed it was some sort of card game given the title. Oh how wrong I was but how right I would be come the next title.

It began in the start of Summer 2003 when I got my PS2. I got FFX, Jak & Daxter, Tekken Tag Tournament and of course Kingdom Hearts. I love the PS2 and it is hands down one of the greatest consoles of all time and I really enjoyed the games I received playing them constantly but for some reason at the time KH did not speak to me. I lost interest during the start at Destiny Islands and dropped the game to finish up Jak and FFX at the time. It was nearing the end of Summer and with me already going through my new games looming thoughts of KH were taking over. So I popped it in and let's just say I didn't put the game down until I got to Hollow Bastion it was THAT good and a few
sessions later the game was beat.

The story while simple and clean was intriguing and worth sticking around for, the combat was unlike most games at the time and the music was great and relaxing. Plenty of side content to explore and things to fill out the journal for. Some of the areas are what we would now call archaic were fun to explore and definitely do not hold your hand like games do today or how later games in the series appear to do with their world design. It was a very cherished time in my life and I regret not getting into it sooner.

Kingdom Hearts II
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After my fantastic experience with KH1 I proceeded to replay the game over and over and eventually when news of a sequel began to emerge I looked up every bit of info I could even if a lot of it didn't make sense to me at the time. Oddly enough even though I would look through magazines and even had Nintendo Power at the time and either just completely forgot or totally glanced over CoM existing which I really don't feel it had like any coverage back then but anyways. Time finally came for KHII to release and oh man I loved every moment of the game.

The story really threw me off and I was confused right from the intro none of it made sense but as I played through the game I started to piece it together more and more as it went along there is definitely more going on this time around. The combat is more fluid and flashy but overall easier than KH1. There is so much more in the way of collectibles and things to do this time as well. Ever since the PS3 HD collections we have had the Final Mix versions of the games so they are pretty much the standard. KHII Final Mix when it came out amazed me with all the new collectibles, enemies, locations, cutscenes and bosses they added. I could barely wait to get Swap Magic and the Final Mix games for an early Christmas present in 2007.

The extra content and Critical mode definitely adds a much needed difficulty to an otherwise easier game than it's predecessor. The music is just as good if not better than the original and you aren't really left directionless. The game is overall a longer more content filled epic that is worthy of being a perfect sequel and what would become the standard for KH from this point on.

Chain of Memories
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There was a GBA sequel to the first game that is also important and has more plot going on than even the original? Huh? So within the month of me buying KH2 on release I quickly bought Chain of Meories on the GBA. I am happy to say this game starts off directly from the end of KH1. We are introduced to a whole new cast of characters and a plot that really shows some character development. Also for the first time we have two characters to play as. Sora desperate to find Riku and Mickey and it's interesting to see the group's decent into their memories being messed with. Riku dealing with and accepting himself and moving forward. The big downside is most of the same places from KH1 are found here so a tad bit of repetitive scenery.

The gameplay on the other hand is not your typical ARPG is instead mixed with what you remember from the first game with a card battle system. Every action is cards. Even the worlds are intertwined with the cards. Each room in the world can be altered to have certain affect. Stronger enemies? Pitch dark room? Save room? So as long as you fight and earn these room cards you can make them as you wish. Enemies are on the field and you can be ambushed or strike first and transition to it's own field. You can roam around and dodge enemies while you play your next cards. Becareful your enemies use cards as well so stock yourself well with high number cards and 0s to break combos. When you level up you can choose between HP, Card Points and Sleights. HP for health. Card Points so you can have more and or stronger cards in your decks and Sleights are combos you can use from the cards you combine. Riku does not build a deck but has a pre-built one every world he visits.his leveling is based off HP, Attack Boost or Darkness Points. The first two are self explanatory and DP helps with Dark Mode which if activated in battle gives you more speed, allows sleights and higher damage outputs. Riku has some excellent development but the stories during worlds that Sora had are nonexistant here. It is all before and after the worlds for him. Music is mostly the same from KH1 with a few additions.

When KH2 got it's Final Mix version it got a remake of Chain of Memroies that was released on the PS2. With full 3d and voice acting. It took awhile but was finally released in the States and that is the version used as the basis here. Besides those additions there are a handful 9f new cards and Riku has a dual mechanic in battle to in quick succession when he gets higher cards than his opponents he can use an additional attack on them for more damage. Some people prefer the GBA version to the PS2 version and while I kinda wish they would have included but I am glad we ended up with ReCoM as I do think it is overall the better version.

Days/Recoded
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Now here me out this collection ONLY includes cutscenes from both of these DS games and while neither "movie" gives the games justice To make a long story short and to make sure this review is viewable on Steam (seriously I had like 4 paragraphs on these two written) Play Days to see it's story to the end with the best story this series has to offer and Recoded for some of the best gameplay the series has to offer up to the point of it's release. I'm glad there are movies in this collection as opposed to nothing but they could have done so much more with these.

Birth by Sleep
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Ever since watching the secret endings from KH2/KH2FM I could not wait until Birth by Sleep finally hit stores for the PSP It was a long agonizing wait but it was worth it. We have three different protagonist this time around and it's a prequel to the series.

There is so much here with many new places to explore and music to hear. Plenty of new things with mini games and the combat system. The command deck came from this game. You can equip these for new magic and special attacks. Level them up and meld them to get a new powerful command and new abilities. Each of the 3 protags have their own playstyle and sometimes being the only one to visit certain places in the worlds making each character feeling very unique. A very high recommendation for sure.

All in all this is four excellent games with their own merits and two movies which while serviceable deserved better and still a joy to see. I HIGHLY recommend this collection to anyone who is remotely interested in RPGs it's hard to pass this up with endless hours of great content you really could never go wrong with this BUY NOW!!!