Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance/Story

Kingdom Hearts 3D is the latest entry in the notoriously complicated Kingdom Hearts series. The six other games in the series are casually referred to throughout the game, making it potentially difficult for newcomers to understand what's going on.

The following is a brief summary of the Kingdom Hearts series thus far. Feel free to skip entries you've already played as you familiarize yourself with the games' stories. The events are presented in the universe's chronological order.

The Beginning
Long ago, there existed a single world full of light. Keyblade wielders fought over the light, also known as Kingdom Hearts. They sought to create the χ-blade in order to unlock it, but in the process, created the darkness that consumed their world. However, light lived on in the hearts of children, leading to fragments of the world reforming, albeit in a divided form. This event created a universe of small, usually separated, worlds. These worlds have radically different characteristics, and are the home to wide varieties of characters.

Birth by Sleep
Many years later, a man named Master Xehanort was obsessed with Kingdom Hearts and the χ-blade. He abandoned his apprentice, Ventus, on the Destiny Islands, after failing to convince him to unleash the darkness in his heart. Instead, he extracted the darkness to create Vanitas, hoping to eventually use the two together to form the χ-blade. A few years later, a traumatized Ventus had forgotten about the event, and found a new home in the Land of Departure, a sort of home-world for various keyblade wielders. He met two other pupils there: Terra and Aqua, and the three trained under Master Eraqus in order to become Keyblade masters.

In a Mark of Mastery test, Aqua was found worthy of becoming a keyblade master. Terra, however, failed his test, isolating him. Meanwhile, mysterious new creatures called the Unversed appeared, which thrived on negativity. Terra went out among the worlds to discover their origins. Ventus ran away to be with his friend, and Aqua was sent to track Terra and bring Ventus home.

On his journey, Terra was corrupted by Xehanort, who convinced him that darkness was an important force. Meanwhile, Ventus met Mickey, another keyblade apprentice, and fought against Vanitas. The trio reunited in a world called Radiant Garden, but Terra, who felt betrayed, retreated further into Xehanort's clutches, while Ventus continued to run.

At some point, Terra went to the Destiny Islands and found a boy named Riku. He decided to give the power of the keyblade to the boy, who he saw as a kindred spirit. Later, Aqua visited the same world and met Riku's close friend, Sora.

Meanwhile, Ventus was confronted by Xehanort, who told him about his connection to the χ-blade. When Ventus went home to ask Master Eraqus about his past, the Master locked away his pupil's heart to prevent disaster. Terra arrived home just in time to witness this, and battled Eraqus to defend his friend. But after the fight, Xehanort struck down the weakened Eraqus.

Terra tried to bring Ventus to a safe place, the Destiny Islands. But Vanitas was already there, and revealed the truth about their common heritage and their destiny.

Terra, Aqua, and Ventus met up at the Keyblade Graveyard, the site of the original battle for Kingdom Hearts. After a violent struggle between the trio on one side and Xehanort and Vanitas, Xehanort possessed Terra's body. Ventus, rather than letting the χ-blade be formed, decided to sacrifice himself, taking out Vanitas in the process. Mickey showed up later on in the fight, and was able to save Aqua and a comatose Ventus. Seeking a place to keep Ventus safe, she chose to lock away the Land of Departure, which would eventually become "Castle Oblivion." What was left of Ventus's heart found its way into Sora, the boy from the Destiny Islands.

Aqua found and confronted Xehanort, who was now in possession of Terra's body. In order to usher Terra back into the realm of light, Aqua dove into the darkness, where she remained for years to come.

Kingdom Hearts
Sora, Riku, and Kairi of the Destiny Islands had been close friends for the past decade, most of their childhood. They wanted to explore the outside world, and built a raft to go exploring. On the day before they meant to leave though, Sora encountered a mysterious figure in a robe that told them the world was now connected. That night, a storm hit the islands, and the Heartless attacked.