When Sora, the main character of the legendary Kingdom Hearts franchise, was announced as the final DLC character for Super Smash Bros Ultimate, it sent waves across the internet. Many long-term Kingdom Hearts fans and those with just a passing interest in the franchise celebrated the arrival of this legendary character.
Sora's arrival has made some fans keen to refresh themselves of the Kingdom Hearts story. However, this is no easy undertaking as the franchise is massive, containing 13 different games. And, as Kingdom Hearts is an RPG franchise, each one is large and sprawling, taking many hours to complete -- especially if you're a completionist. However, those who want to remember Sora's epic tale without replaying all the games have a second option: the Kingdom Hearts manga.
The Kingdom Hearts manga is written and illustrated by Shiro Amano, who has also worked on manga based on other video games like the Legend of Mana and The World Ends With You. Currently, there are five different Kingdom Hearts manga series. However, these are not direct adaptations of the games, as while they follow the same plot, Amano made some changes to the story. As the manga is obviously not interactive like the games, Amano has to turn battles and other gameplay moments into an easy-to-follow narrative. This means that some in-game locations are not featured in the manga, and some places that players rush through in the game are given more time and focus.
The first manga series to be released was Kingdom Hearts, which adapts the first game in the franchise and was serialized in the Famitsū PS2 magazine. Thus it is read left to right, rather than the manga standard of right to left. This series was compiled into four volumes which were released in America by Tokyopop. However, in 2007 it was re-released as Final Mix versions that included some extra bonus material. The Final Mix version is collected into only three volumes and, due to Tokyopop shutting down, was brought to America by Yen Press.
Following this came an adaptation of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. This series was serialized in Monthly Shōnen Gangan and was then collected in two volumes. These were first released in America by Tokyopop. However, Yen Press would later release an omnibus edition that combined the books into one and re-translated the series fixing some common fan complaints about Tokyopop's version, specifically the overly clunky dialogue.
Kingdom Hearts II was next to be adapted, however, it has a slightly tumultuous release history. Midway through the series, Shiro Amano put it on hiatus to make a series based on Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. And, once all five volumes of 358/2 Days were finished, he returned to Kingdom Hearts II, which ended up spanning ten books. Additionally, only two volumes of the series were released in America before Tokyopop closed its doors, leading many to believe the series would never be completed in English. However, when Yen Press acquired the Kingdom Hearts license a few years later, it published the entire series, letting fans finish the story. Finally, in 2019 Amano's version of Kingdom Hearts 3 began serialization. Yen Press is releasing the series digitally and physically in America, with the second collected volume being released earlier this year.
The Kingdom Hearts manga doesn't currently cover all the games as Birth By Sleep, Dream Drop Distance, and Union X are yet to be adapted, but what has been covered acts as a fantastic primer for Kingdom Hearts' overarching storyline. It allows fans to catch up with the story in half the time it would take to play the games, making it the perfect way to remember Sora's story before taking control of him in Smash Bros.
