The Kingdom Hearts franchise is somewhat polarizing, but its fans are some of the most passionate devotees of any franchise. Soon we will see if more fans will flock to the series since it is coming to PC on March 30th. In addition to the mainline entries, many of the spin-offs are also coming.
Among these is Birth By Sleep, a 2010 portable spin-off for the Sony PSP. If you are going through the series for the first time on the PC, here are some things you should know before diving into it. Don't worry, none of these are negative or demeaning of the game's quality.
10 It Might Just Be The Best Kingdom Hearts
Despite being a portable spin-off, Birth By Sleep might very well be the best in the series. The character progression is compelling and steady, the 3 protagonists are all lovable, and the story is incredibly unique. By being a prequel, it introduces a lot of new narrative ideas to the series. All of these elements come together to make what is one of the finer spin-offs of any franchise.
9 You Have To Go Through It Three Times
The game has three protagonists, and the choice to put three in there is not a superficial one. You cannot say you have beaten Birth By Sleep unless you go through the campaign with everyone.
They all have distinct stories and you do not understand the whole picture until the story is done with everyone. At about nine hours for each, it takes a little shy of 30 hours to see the ending.
8 Play On Proud Mode
Unless you are an absolute novice at video games or action-RPGs, and there is no shame in this, it is ultimately recommended to play on Proud Mode. Easier difficulty modes are too much of a cakewalk, but Proud hits a great balance. It is a little tough at first, but it keeps players on their toes. It also makes you dive deeper into melding, which is one of the finer points of the whole journey.
7 The Secret Ending Is Actually Important
Pretty much every Kingdom Hearts game has a secret ending. For the most part, they are stingers for the future. In Birth by Sleep the secret ending is more of a period put on the end of the game's story, showing us where the characters are shortly after the events of the game. On Proud or Critical Mode, all that's needed to unlock this cutscene is beating the final secret episode, which itself has its own set of requirements to unlock. In true Kingdom Hearts fashion, it is a strange conclusion.
6 Play Kingdom Hearts One And Two First
Despite Birth by Sleep's status as a prequel, you should only play it after first completing Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts 2. While it feels like a separate story at first, it starts connecting more heavily to the mainline games during the last hours. Additionally, it is easier to appreciate Xehanort's actions in Birth by Sleep after you know the mainline games' story.
5 Aqua Is The Best
Of the three playable characters in Birth By Sleep, Aqua is far and away the best and most likable. She is the most virtuous and incorruptible, and her design is more unique. It feels like the developers realized this too, because she is the playable character in the playable prologue to Kingdom Hearts 3, Kingdom Hearts 2.8. Even though she is the best, you should probably play her story last.
4 Leonard Nimoy And Mark Hamill Have Prominent Roles
Leonard Nimoy voices Master Xehanort, while Mark Hamill plays Master Eraqus. The casting of these two in rival roles was intentional. Even though it is nothing personal between the two actors, a famous rivalry exists between Star Wars and Star Trek, which each actor played in respectively.
After Leonard Nimoy's passing, Rutger Hauer took over the role, and then eventually Christopher Lloyd is the most recent actor to voice Xehanort.
3 Play The Characters In The Recommended Order
While you can play the characters in whatever order you choose, there is a clear recommended order to go through. First, go through as Terra, then Ventus, and finally Aqua. All the stories are different, but they all connect and each one is easier to appreciate after playing the recommended one beforehand. By the end, they all come together to paint a complete picture of each character.
2 Keep Changing And Upgrading Abilities
Birth by Sleep has an interesting character progression system where you are continually encouraged to mix and upgrade abilities to unlock new, more powerful abilities. You earn new abilities through Melding, and doing this regularly is just as vital to success in battle as having a high enough level. This introduces a new level of customization absent from prior Kingdom Hearts games lacked.
1 Ignore The Command Board
Like any RPG worth its weight in experience points, Birth by Sleep features a minigame called Command Board, which plays like a board game. It is extremely boring and time-consuming. Fortunately, you can completely ignore it and get along in the game just fine. Anything worthwhile you receive from it can be found through other means or else is not that exciting regardless. As far as RPG minigames go, it is one of the weaker offerings.