KHUX ► How to enjoy the whole X saga?

[NoWay]

So, my girlfriend is beginning to play all Kingdom Hearts games and I was wondering how to make the X saga enjoyable for her.

There is this 5hrs video from Everglow on YouTube but I thought watching this and X Back Cover would be rather demotivating because it’s so long.

I was thinking about watching the X cutscenes till Player wakes up in Enchanted Dominion after playing KH2, so she has the direct reference to Maleficents whereabouts between KH1 and KH2. I’d do it like that:

- KH1
- Re:COM
- KH2
- Days
-> X

- BBS
- Re:Coded
- DDD
-> X Back Cover (because of KH3 I’d place Back Cover right before it)

- 0.2
- 3 + ReMind
-> Union X (because of all the different references to the whole franchise)
- MoM

Do you think it makes sense to place the X cutscenes like that? Or how would you do it?

 

[bambii (aka foreteller)]

The way I've preferred to do it has been perhaps a bit unusual, but I really stand by it as making narrative sense and being the most enjoyable sequence (have received positive feedback from friends experiencing it for the first time this way).

• Watch X and X Back Cover alongside BBS. You can break up the long watching into small episodic segments between actually playing BBS. A few points here:
  • (a) X and Back Cover should really be treated as a single cohesive whole; the full story of X requires both to really make sense and have resounding impact. Damo does a good job of putting them together chronologically -- I'll link down below, watch up until the ~2hr 40min timestamp).
  • (b) BBS' plot revolves around the mystery of the Keyblade War, and I think this reveal is even cooler if you've been watching the buildup to what turns out to be the War in parallel. Extra points if you can time your X/Back Cover watching to culminate in the Keyblade War before getting to the climax of BBS, which takes place in the Keyblade Graveyard.
  • (c) Assuming you do Re:Coded after BBS, the scene in Re:Coded in which Maleficent mentions the Book of Prophecies will actually have some context.
• Similarly, watch Union X alongside Re:Coded and DDD.
  • I actually really strongly believe Union X is better experienced pre-KH3. It doesn't spoil anything, increases the stakes for the Luxu/Foretellers reveal in KH3 epilogue, increases the impact of Ephemer coming to Sora's rescue, and generally just increases intrigue in the X-relevant plot details sprinkled throughout KH3/ReMind (including Ven's return/Chirithy, Marluxia/Larxene, Vanitas and Darkness, "Darkness" speaking to Maleficent through Dark Riku, Maleficent searching for Marluxia, basically everything Maleficent-relevant lol).
  • Further, if you can time it such that you watch the Union X finale just before finishing DDD, the Dream Eaters revelation hits really hard.

That's my take. I'm waiting to see how Dark Road pans out before I figure out where to place it, but at the moment I have a feeling it'd be fun to watch alongside a KH3 playthrough (barring any KH3 spoilers) to maximize the impact of the final Xehanort/Eraqus scene.

 

[Silver_Soul]

I'm gonna have to go with the tried and true advice on how to enjoy this series. by release order. I feel like jumping back and forth between games and UX cutscenes will become very convoluted.

I'm the biggest advocate for a UX remake for this very reason. We need this story to reach the fandom.

 

[NoWay]

Thank you for your answers! I guess I’ll try to introduce her slowly into the X saga. And @bambii your order seems to be interesting! Thank you for that

 

[Chie]

If you want to do it in proper order, you have to figure out exactly when each update came out and watch the cutscenes in-between the entries couching those dates. It's very annoying and yes, why it needs a re: game so we can point to it and say "just play that when it came out" like coded.

I think the only alternative is to ignore the mobile stuff for now and then say "now go watch UX and Dark Road if you want the deep lore" after finishing everything else and presumably becoming invested. It's not great, but it's what makes sense. Definitely still watch Back Cover when it came out though, it's a "real entry" despite being a movie.

 

[Genocide]

I'm the biggest advocate for a UX remake for this very reason. We need this story to reach the fandom.

That's actually what I was hoping MoM would be