Set chronologically after the events of Kingdom Hearts II, Re:coded’s story begins with Jiminy Cricket & King Mickey creating a digitized version of Sora to uncover the secrets behind a mysterious message that suddenly appeared in the journal Jiminy chronicled the events of the first game in. coded wasn’t meant to be an essential part of the Kingdom Hearts mythos, but this of course changed along the way. This, in part, explains both Re:coded’s strange implementation of gimmicks and seemingly inconsequential story. Released episodically between November 2008 and January 2010, coded was initially developed as a more naturalistic title– one that could exist outside the confines of the series as a legitimate spin-off.

Despite releasing the same year as Birth by Sleep (just 10 months later in October of 2010,) Re:coded is actually a remake of the fourth Kingdom Hearts title, the Japanese and mobile phone exclusive, Kingdom Hearts coded.

There is value in revisiting familiar set pieces and recontextualizing events from the first two games, but audiences can only stomach the same content so many times before they sour on it.Īt times seeming like a cheap imitation of Kingdom Hearts I, Re:coded is stuck between its great mechanical contributions to the series and falling at a very awkward point in the franchise’s release timeline. Both Chain of Memories and 356/2 Days lift quite a lot from Kingdom Hearts I and II, but to call either one derivative would simply be a lie. Chain of Memories, 356/2 Days, and Birth by Sleep are all unique games that would be spin-offs in any other franchise, but they’re essential to not just understanding Kingdom Hearts’ narrative, but appreciating the scope of the series’ game design. This set up a trend for the series’ non-numbered installments. CoM filled an important narrative gap that needed filling. It’s different enough in design where one might consider it a spin-off, but not so detached from the first game where it feels inconsequential, filler, or just out of place. Audiences may have placed down their Keyblade for a pack of playing cards, but Chain of Memories stayed true to the Kingdom Hearts experience.

Despite being a GBA follow up to a PS2 game with completely different combat, Chain of Memories served as an immediate & important direct sequel to the events of the first game– one necessary to play in order to understand everything in Kingdom Hearts IIwith as much clarity as possible. Kingdom Hearts made a bold statement with Chain of Memories in 2004: there are no spin-offs.

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