Kingdom Hearts Timeline
As of May 2nd, 2016, this is the chronological order in which the games take place. Credit goes to the Kingdom Hearts Wikia Timeline article. I'll link to the each of the games on the wiki for reference, but if you haven't played them, I'd recommend not clicking these links.
I'm going to divide this into 2 parts: chronological order in which the events in the stories/games occurred and a recommended playing order in order to understand the stories (as best as the KH storyline as a whole can be understood at least... it's... confusing).
Chronological Order
- Kingdom Hearts (Unchained) χ (Web Browser, Mobile) is the prequel to the Kingdom Hearts series as a whole, set 100 years before the events of Kingdom Hearts.
- Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (Playstation Portable) comes next in the timelines, excluding portions of its secret ending, Blank Points.
- Kingdom Hearts (Playstation 2) aka KH1.
- Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (Nintendo DS, pronounced "three-five-eight days over two"). Days 1-24 take place at the same time as the finale of Kingdom Hearts.
- Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (Game Boy Advance) aka KH:CoM. Since been rereleased as Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories for PS2.
- Days 25-27 of KH:358/2 take place at the same time as Chain of Memories.
- While not a separate game, days 28-358 of KH:358/2 take place here in the timeline
- Kingdom Hearts II (PS2) aka KH2.
- Kingdom Hearts coded. Takes place between the ending of KH2 and KH2's epilogue. This was released as a mobile phone puzzle game in Japan only. It's since been rereleased for the NA and EU territories as Kingdom Hearts Re:coded on Nintendo DS.
- Blank Points. This is Birth By Sleep's secret ending. It goes from the end of BBS to some time after Signs of What's Next, the secret ending of Kingdom Hearts Re:coded. The secret ending apparently has spoilers for Birth by Sleep, which is why the final episode for Re:coded wasn't released until after Birth by Sleep.
- Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (Nintendo 3DS) It's set after the events of Kingdom Hearts Re:coded.
- Kingdom Hearts III (Officially announced for Playstation 4 and Xbox One). Officially in development. We may still end up with more games in between before it is released.
So, that was slightly confusing. You may also have heard of the various Final Mix versions of the games. These are enhanced re-releases of the game that have additional content in them. These versions were previously only released in Japan as explained below are being released in the NA/EU regions in HD Remixes.
Recommended Playing Order (Pre-September 2013. See Alternate Order as of 2014 below)
- Kingdom Hearts (PS2). Obviously. This is where you'll get the very basis of the story and the heart (no pun intended) of the conflicts. The first "main" game in the story.
- Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories (PS2, only available for Japan and NA). Alternatively, you could play the original GBA version, which was 2D gameplay, but the PS2 rerelease is full 3D, like KH1 and 2, and also has voice-acted FMVs. It uses a card/deck system for fighting, which is different from the action RPG stylings of 1 and 2, but I still found it quite fun.
- Kingdom Hearts II (PS2). The second "main" game in the story. You pretty much have to play this in order to understand the stories of the prequels/sequels/sidequels/whatever.
- Kingdom Hearts 358/2 (Nintendo DS). Considering the heavy tie-ins with the two main games and CoM, it's best to play this one after them. It's generally considered the weakest game, both story and gameplay-wise by the fanbase, as its plot twist is kind of... weird, but if you want to know everything in lore, I wouldn't really consider it a waste of time, though of course, your mileage may vary. Probably the most skippable if you just want to read a wiki entry on its plot.
- Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (PSP). This is a prequel, with different characters than the main game (mostly), and is, in my opinion, a must play. Aside from a lot of important story elements, the gameplay is simply fantastic (though I haven't completed yet due to gaming ADD). Despite it being a prequel to the series, I would not advise starting with it, as many of the references and tie-ins to the other games' plots would simply not register.
- Kingdom Hearts Re:coded (Nintendo DS). Though it takes place during KH2's epilogue, because of its secret ending heavily tying into Birth by Sleep's, it's recommended to play this one after that game. I haven't gotten my hands on this one yet, as it was only released in January 2011.
- Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (Nintendo 3DS). Taking place after Re:coded, this is where it fits in.
As of July 9, 2014 only Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix has been released but Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix has been announced for release in Oct 2, 2014 (JP), Dec 2, 2014 (NA), and Dec 5, 2014 (EU).
Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX contains Kingdom Hearts 1 Final Mix (Previously exclusive to Japan), Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories, and ONLY the cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts 358/2
Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX contains Kingdom Jearts 2 Final Mix (Previously exclusive to Japan), Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep Final Mix (Previusly exclusive to Japan), and ONLY the cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts Re:coded
I have not heard of any plans on re-releasing Dream Drop Distance on another platform just yet so you will still need a 3ds.
Alternate Playing Order involving the HD Remixes
- Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX (PS3) Play Kingdom Hearts 1 Final Mix
- Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX (PS3) Play Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories
- Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX (PS3) Play Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix.
- Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMIX (PS3) Watch Kingdom Hearts 358/2 cutscenes
- Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX (PS3) Play Birth By Sleep Final Mix.
- Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX (PS3) Watch Kingdom Hearts Re:coded cutscenes.
- Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance (Nintendo 3DS).
(?. Kingdom Hearts III (PS4) No release date announced yet. And no games announced between Dream Drop Distance and it's release although still possible.)
With the re-releases you now can play all of Kingdom Hearts up to but not including KH3 on 2 systems (the PS3 and 3DS). When KH3 comes out it will be 3 (PS3, (PS4 or Xbox One) and the 3DS).
I recommend playing them in order of release, and in my opinion they're ALL significant; however, chronologically they look something like this.
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (be aware, the epilogue takes place after KH2)
Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories
(remade as Kingdom Hearts RE: Chain of Memories for the PS2)
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (this actually starts during the events of Kingdom Hearts, but ends just before KH2)
Kingdom Hearts II
Kingdom Hearts coded (only available on Japanese cell phones)
(remade as Kingdom Hearts Re:coded for the DS)
The upcoming Dream Drop Distance seems to go at the end of this list.
EDIT: I wouldn't recommend playing 358/2 Days before KH2, even though it finishes first - it spoils a few very major plot points in KH2.