Summary
Thanks to collections likeKingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece,every single main seriesKingdom Heartstitle is now available on most gaming systems, whether they’re playable games or animated cutscenes (with the sole exception of mobile releases likeUnion χ). More people than ever can now experience the entirety of this magical crossover betweenSquare EnixandDisney.
However, there are a good number of titlesin the series that have been lost to time and have been completely forgotten by most people, to the point that not even the most passionate fans are aware of their existence. From outdated mobile releases to innovative VR experiences, these are some ofthe most obscure games in theKingdom Heartsfranchise.
7Kingdom Hearts V CAST
A Forgotten Game For A Forgotten Device
Surprisingly enough, theKingdom Heartsfranchise delved into the world of mobile gaming as far back as 2005, with the release ofKingdom Hearts V CAST, the first ever mobile game in the series. It was notable for being one of the few exclusives developed for Verizon Wireless’ service, theV CAST. Although this game was discontinued many years ago, fans and preservationists managed to recover some footage and gameplay.
Since it was released during the early years of the series,Kingdom Hearts V CASThas an odd and bizarre identity that doesn’t fit with the atmosphere of subsequent games. Yet it still achieved some truly impressive feats, like being a 3D action game for mobile devices in 2005, featuring Disney characters that wouldn’t appear in mainline games until years later (like Jafar’s Cobra form),or characters that never appeared again at all(like the Caterpillar fromAlice in Wonderland).
6Kingdom Hearts Mobile
An Unexpectedly Important Game For The Franchise
Square Enix didn’t shy away from the world of mobile gaming after their V CAST failure, especially in Japan, where these types of apps were becoming more and more popular during the mid-2000s. As a result, they would later release their own standalone mobile title, known simply asKingdom Hearts Mobile. Like most products of its time, this game not only provided an entertaining interactive experience, but also offered a lot of personalization for the player’s device, since they could download themed ringtones and wallpapers.
Kingdom Hearts Mobilewas a fun distraction where players could experience a variety of mini-games, like puzzles or card game. However, it’s most important contribution to the series was the signature art style used for the player’s avatar, which would not only be used in subsequent mobile releases,but would also inspire the Chibi art style of other games, likeUnion χ.
5Kingdom Hearts Coded
Most People Are Only Aware Of Its Remake
Unbeknownst to most newcomers to the franchise, every game that has the prefix “Re:“in its title is a remake. So,Re: Chain of Memoriesis a PS2 remake of the GBA classic,Chain of Memories. However, this means that a lot of people have playedKingdom Hearts Re: Codedfor the DS (or watched its cutscenes in one of the collections) yet know almost nothing about the original mobile game where this story originated.
This was an unusual endeavor for Square Enix, seeing as all their other mobile releases of that time were just harmless spin-offs that added nothing to the overall plot of the series. This was an exception, asKingdom Hearts Codedtakes place immediately after the events ofKingdom Hearts 2andslowly sets up a story for future installments. The most interesting aspect of this game was its gameplay, which featured action combat from an isometric point of view, which is extremely different from all the other titles in the series.
4Kingdom Hearts Magical Puzzle Clash
During the late 2000s, Square Enix was making good use of both mobile devices and the internet in order to market their games to an even broader audience.So, looking to advertise the brand-newKingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, they created an online flash game titledKingdom Hearts Magical Puzzle Clash. However, since this game was completely forgotten by most people, it’s hard to determine if this new publicity effort worked or not.
Magical Puzzle Clashwas a puzzle game themed entirely after358/2 Daysand its characters. Players were tasked with swapping around multiple tokens in order to match them with their respective colors. They could play asRoxas,Axel,orXion,and could even visit different boards based on iconic worlds from the game, likeWonderlandorAgrabah. This was a simple but fun game, and it was a unique new way of advertising for the company.
3Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded Gummiship Studio
Another Puzzle Game With A Colorful Gummi Ship Theme
Magical Puzzle Clashmust have been somewhat successful, because Square Enix developed a similar online flash game to promote the release ofKingdom Hearts Re: Codeda few years later. However, this game had the unique distinction of being exclusive toFacebook, since this social media website was way more popular during that time, especially because of its flash game offerings.
Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded Gummiship Studiohas tile-matching gameplay that is very similar to (and somewhat derivative of) its predecessor, but this example had a colorful & charming aestheticthat is based on the Gummi Ship builder from previous games. This was an especially odd design choice, becauseRe: Codeddoesn’t even have any Gummi Ship sections.
2Kingdom Hearts Digital Painter
An Art Studio For Creative Fans
Like many other popular video game franchises,art was a crucial part ofKingdom Hearts’success.As a result, it makes sense that this IP would be used for an online art studio, simply known asKingdom Hearts Digital Painter.What is especially interesting is that this is the only game in the franchise that was actually developed by Disney and not Square Enix, since it was available on theDisney Createsection of their official website.
As its title implies, this game was part of Disney’sDigital Painterline, so it worked similarly to other art applications that were available on the very same website. With it, players could draw and paint whatever they wanted by using official assets from theKingdom Heartsseries. This was a fun & creative project that was made for a younger audience, but sadly, it has been lost to time ever since it was discontinued after Disney Create closed its doors in 2014.
1Kingdom Hearts VR Experience
The VR Game That Most Fans Are Asking For Already Exists
In an age in whichVirtual Reality devices are more and more accessible for ordinary audiences, a good number ofKingdom Heartsfans have been begging for Square Enix to develop a VR game in the series, so they can experience these beautiful worlds and this engaging storyline from their own perspective. It turns out, this has already happened, and most people have no idea it exists.
Kingdom Hearts VR Experienceis aPlayStation VRexclusive that was released a few weeks after the long-awaitedKingdom Hearts 3,which explains why it was ignored by so many gamers. As its title implies, this was merely a free demo, and not a full game, but the technology showcased in it was impressive enough that it could’ve been further expanded into a full video game, or at least become an optional mode in another installment. The few fans who managed to playVR Experiencewere completely enamored by it, so it’s definitely recommended for the most dedicatedKHfans who want to submerge themselves in this magical universe.
