Kingdom Hearts Timeline, Explained

The Kingdom Hearts series is a beloved franchise that mixes the magical world of Disney with the fantasy themes of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy. Understanding the timeline can be overwhelming, with over a dozen games released across many platforms. Whether you are new to the series or need a refresher, this guide will help you follow Sora’s journey from beginning to end.

Kingdom Hearts χ / Unchained χ / Union χ

The story begins in the distant past during the Age of Fairy Tales. This is the earliest point in the Kingdom Hearts timeline and sets the stage for everything that follows.

The games are set hundreds or thousands of years before the main series. The entries explore the origins of the Keyblade War, the Foretellers, and the first Keyblade wielders. The Foretellers, each leading their union, are deceived into starting the Keyblade War. The war shatters the world and scatters its people. In addition, the conflict sets up the mythos that drives the rest of the series.

This Keyblade War reveals the origin of the Keyblades. It also explains the division of the world into separate realms and establishes darkness as an enduring and powerful force.

Players take on the role of a Keyblade wielder under one of five Foretellers. They are disciples of the Master of Masters, who foresaw the coming darkness.

Kingdom Hearts: Dark Road

Fast-forward a few generations, and we meet Xehanort, the saga’s main villain. Dark Road explores Xehanort’s training as a Keyblade wielder in Scala ad Caelum. His fascination with darkness grows, eventually turning him into a villain.

Dark Road takes place 75 years before Kingdom Hearts and goes into the origins of Master Xehanort, the saga’s central antagonist. The game explores his younger years and the events that shaped his path toward darkness. Hence, it provides crucial backstory and context for the entire Dark Seeker Saga. It also introduces key elements like the inheritance of Keyblade power and Xehanort’s obsession with Kingdom Hearts.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep

Birth by Sleep takes place ten years before Kingdom Hearts I and introduces three main characters: Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. The three Keyblade apprentices are also training under their mentor, Master Eraqus.

Terra struggles with darkness, Ventus is revealed to have a heart connected to Sora’s, and Aqua plays the role of the group’s emotional anchor. Xehanort manipulates them all for his plans to create the ultimate being, the “X-Blade,” by fusing light and darkness. Ultimately, Xehanort possesses Terra, and Aqua is lost in the Realm of Darkness. Additionally, Ventus’s heart is damaged, and he finds refuge in a newborn Sora.

Kingdom Hearts (KH1)

At this point, we reach the heart of the series, where Sora’s quest is to protect his friends and save the worlds from darkness. After the Heartless attack that destroyed Sora’s island, known as Destiny Islands, Sora was granted the Keyblade. Sora teams up with his friends Donald and Goofy to find Riku and Kairi and also save the worlds from darkness. Riku falls into darkness, and Kairi’s heart is revealed to have been inside Sora all along.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories

The game takes place immediately after KH1. Sora enters Castle Oblivion, a strange place where the higher he climbs, the more memories he loses. A mysterious group, Organization XIII, manipulates Sora and uses memory as a weapon. Sora begins to forget Kairi and instead remembers Naminé, a girl altering his memories. Meanwhile, Riku navigates the castle’s basement and confronts his dark past.

The sequel also introduces Organization XIII and sets up significant character developments. Sora ends the game in a deep sleep to restore his memories.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

The events in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days overlap with Chain of Memories. The timeline runs alongside the end of KH1 and throughout Chain of Memories. The emotional story in 358/2 Days follows Roxas, Sora’s Nobody. The game also tells the story of Axel and Xion within Organization XIII. Roxas joins Organization XIII and forms a friendship with Axel and Xion. But things aren’t what they seem. Over time, it’s revealed that Xion is a replica created to absorb Sora’s memories. Roxas slowly begins to question everything. Eventually, Roxas rebels against the Organization and disappears to help Sora recover. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is a heartbreaking look at what it means to exist without a heart.

Kingdom Hearts II

The game is set a year after Kingdom Hearts 1 and picks up the events right where KH1 ends. The game begins with Sora in deep sleep, and he wakes up to resume his journey. He faces Organization XIII’s true leader, Xemnas, who is Xehanort’s Nobody. Sora learns more about the nature of hearts, Nobodies, and friendship.

Roxas, now part of Sora again, lingers in his heart. The lines between identities blur, and emotional reunions and battles unfold. Sora is also reunited with Riku and Kairi. They all travel to new and familiar worlds, confronting the Nobodies and uncovering Xehanort’s evil plan.

Kingdom Hearts: coded / Re: coded

The setting of the game is after Kingdom Hearts II. After beating Xemnas, King Mickey looked at Jiminy Cricket’s journal, which had all of Sora’s adventures written down. The journal is digitized to investigate mysterious messages hidden within its pages. But the journal was full of weird digital bugs. Consequently, Mickey makes a digital version of Sora to go inside the journal and fix it. Kingdom Hearts Coded/Re: coded is like a puzzle that gives clues about what might happen next.

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance

Sora and Riku undertake the Mark of Mastery exam to become Keyblade Masters. As they traverse sleeping worlds, they fall into a trap set by Young Xehanort, who uses time travel to gather multiple incarnations of himself. Riku passes the exam, and Sora sadly fails. In addition, the story reveals Xehanort’s plan to create the ‘True Organization XIII’.

Kingdom Hearts III

Kingdom Hearts III is the final battle of the Xehanort saga. Sora and all his friends finally faced the main bad guy, Xehanort, and his new Organization XIII. To rescue his friends and gather the Seven Guardians of Light, Sora travels across multiple worlds. Sora, Riku, Kairi, and other Keyblade wielders join forces to stop Xehanort and his new Organization XIII. They also travel to different Disney and Pixar worlds to gather strength and allies.

The final battle takes place at the Keyblade Graveyard. After many emotional moments and tough battles, Sora defeats Xehanort. However, he uses a forbidden power called the Power of Waking to save Kairi and disappears.

Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory

Melody of Memory is the game is a rhythm-based series recap that summarizes the story told through Kairi’s memories. Kairi searches for clues, trying to find Sora. In one of the scenes, Kairi remembers something that gives Riku a clue to where Sora might be.

Riku decides to travel to a new world called Quadratum, a strange and realistic place outside the known universe, hoping to find Sora.

Kingdom Hearts IV

Kingdom Hearts IV is currently in development. While details about the game are limited, it continues from Melody of Memory. Sora is now in Quadratum, a city that looks like Tokyo. The world looks more realistic than any we have seen before. The game marks the start of a new story arc called the “Lost Master Arc”.

As Sora tries to find his way home, fans can expect new characters, new enemies, and more mysteries. Familiar and new faces appear, including Strelitzia from Union χ.