Kingdom Hearts Spin-off Games Ranked by Necessity
6. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
It’s surprising how little of Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days you need to understand the main plot, especially considering how much it covers.
Set during the year when Sora was asleep and Roxas was working for Organization XIII, 358/2 Days does cover some pretty interesting story beats.
It explores the relationships Roxas built up with Axel and other Organization XIII members, and it introduces a forgotten fourteenth member named Xion who may or may not appear in Kingdom Hearts 3.
On top of these things, it also shows what happened to Riku during this period and how he came to resemble Ansem in the second game.
As it stands though, most of the rest of the game is pretty unnecessary. Roxas’ relationships with the rest of Organization XIII aren’t essential to what’s going on, and Xion’s erasure by the end of the game makes her chance for a return slim at best.
If you have the time and really love Roxas, it’s still worth looking into. Otherwise, stick to the game’s recap film released as part of the recent rerelease collections.
