TLDR: I probably wouldn’t suggest playing 3 unless you’re willing to play/watch the side games. The conclusion will not hit hard at all if you didn’t play the side games.

I literally just played through all the games (besides Re:coded, watched it) and I have conflicting feelings about it. Storyline wise, I didn’t love or hate it, as some parts were really nice and heartwarming to see (I really loved the reunion of the other two trios) and certain worlds are nice to meet your fave characters (Toy Box my beloved). But the main plot feels both satisfying and meh. I watched the fandub of union x and got really excited to see the lore be teased more in 3, but because 3 tries to appease everyone (crowd who played all the games vs crowd who only played 1 & 2), they don’t get to dive as deep as I wanted. I am more willing to ignore some of the bs and laugh rather than cringe, but I do understand why many find the plot corny.

The combat… I’ve basically hated the combat in every KH game, BBS is the only one where scrolling through the skill menu didn’t feel like ass, meanwhile DDD executes flowmotion beautifully (while it feels useless in 3), and yet CoM had my favorite system overall (might be my favorite game honestly). 3 controls are far better than KH 1, but the actual difficulty is non-existent and makes blocking feel almost useless. The attraction attacks are there I guess (my mom liked them lol). KH 1 normal mode had me near tears (Even the fucking Traverse Town Armor), CoM was frustrating but satisfying, 2 was boring besides the impossible super bosses, all of 358/2 was just awful overall, BBS was very normal until final boss, and DDD was slightly frustrating but beating the final boss was satisfying. 3 was a snooze fest besides final bosses that just made me go, “oh, I guess I won. I kinda just mashed x.”

IDK, I’ve had a KH shaped hole in my heart over these past two days, wondering what I want to play now that I got through my 2 month marathon. I both miss the games but also acknowledge that they get very repetitive and tiring over time. My mom only played 1,2 & 3 and has basically said KH and Square are dead to her.

CoM, BBS, and DDD are a must to watch/play. 358/2 is only worth it if you like challenge missions (I skipped them, hated the gameplay), Fragmentary Passage is only on the 2.8 disc and is literally 4-5 hrs, and Re:coded is supposedly good gameplay but the plot is just “what if data simulation Riku and Sora went through KH 1 together?” And Union X is gonna be vital to watch for those preparing for KH 4.