I was nine years old and in the third grade when Kingdom Hearts was first released. I remember first seeing an ad for it in an issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, and later on saw the commercial for the game. I got excited for it, seeing my favorite Disney characters, and at the time I had never heard of Final Fantasy. I rented it from Blockbuster, and I immediately became addicted to the game. I had gotten so addicted to it, that when I finally bought the game, my mom had made a rule where I could only play Kingdom Hearts for 45 minutes per day.
I later got Chain of Memories when that was released, and I liked it at first, but the only reason I had gotten it was so I wouldn't wonder what was going on in Kingdom Hearts II. Later on, however, I began to really dislike the game, especially because of the flawed card battle system, and the small battlefield. I could not get past the final boss battle against Riku in Sora's Story, and got so frustrated that I eventually went ahead and spoiled myself to the ending so I wouldn't wonder what was going on during Kingdom Hearts II. Chain of Memories is easily my least favorite game in the series.
Then, Kingdom Hearts II was released. I was definately excited for the game, and had been waiting for nearly three years for the game to come out. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the game the day it was released, because of shipping problems where I lived, and most stores in my area weren't getting the game until April 1st, rather than March 28th. Luckily, a nearby Toys'R'Us got a huge shipment of copies the day after release, and I was able to get the game. I had a blast with the game, and since Kingdom Hearts II had been released the day before Spring Break, I had the entire Spring Break to play it. I spent almost the entire Spring Break playing the game (except for one day when I went to a friend's house, and another day when I went to my Grandma's). I beat it within eight days, and wondered if the game was too short, seeing how it took me a month to beat the original. I then did play the original, but this time, it took me a week to beat, so I assumed it was because I was used to Kingdom Hearts. Kingdom Hearts II is definately my favorite in the series.
I had later on gotten 358/2 Days over three years later. I didn't really have much expectations, since most of the hype towards future games was going towards Birth by Sleep, so I wasn't very disappointed. However, I felt 358/2 Days was rather boring and the game really started to drag on towards the end.
Finally, Birth by Sleep came out, and it was definately worth the three year wait. While not as good as the original or II, it was still a great game, and has definately the best set of main characters and a great villian in Master Xehanort. The story was also the best in the series, as well as the most tragic, seeing as it has such a sad ending.
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