Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days

Looking back, it’s kind of wild how well Kingdom Hearts II manages to introduce characters like Roxas and Axel without giving you the full rundown on their whole deal. But luckily, fans wouldn’t have to wait very long for them to get their own prequel game in 2009’s 358/2 Days. The DS game tells the story of Roxas coming up in the villainous Organization XIII, and introduces another fan favorite in Xion. Even for a DS game, 358/2 Days does a pretty solid job at recreating the Kingdom Hearts series’ action, and lets you play as multiple characters from across the series, each with distinct playstyles. It’s sadly not playable in modern remasters, as the 1.5 Remix compilation only includes its cutscenes so newcomers can familiarize themselves with its story. But at the time, it was a solid effort to bring the series to the DS, and proved, like Chain of Memories before it, that the non-numbered Kingdom Hearts games could have substance and be vital pieces of the overarching puzzle.