Square Enix says that there's no "correct" order to play Kingdom Hearts in.
It's a pretty common joke from both fans and onlookers of the Kingdom Hearts series that there's a ton of side games that make it hard to know what order to play them in, especially with a new mainline title on the horizon. Although fan interpretations have existed for a while and the general belief is to play in release order, Square Enix has its own suggested path - anarchy.
In a new blog post titled, "Which Kingdom Hearts game should I play first?", Square Enix tackles the age-old question that newcomers to the series often have. It begins with the studio clarifying whether there's a "correct" order to play the games in, to which it says, "While some fans have very strong opinions on this subject, our position is: no, there isn’t a ‘correct’ starting point. As a general rule, we don’t believe in gatekeeping, so while we can suggest a play order for new fans to enjoy the whole story (and have), it’s entirely up to you where you begin with the series."
While the message here is more about how some gatekeep the series and judge others who play recent releases without the whole story, most fans have found this blog post quite funny and laugh at the idea that there's no "correct" order to play the series in, especially when it's infamously reliant on knowledge of older games and their twists and turns.
Square Enix's official suggestion for what order to play the series in hasn't been received much better. After clarifying its stance on whether there's a correct order to play the series in, Square suggests that you play 358/2 Days before Kingdom Hearts 2 and Dark Road before Melody of Memory.
Dark Road isn't even fully out yet which makes the suggestion a bit silly, and playing 358/2 Days before Kingdom Hearts 2 ruins many of the surprises in the second game and is generally seen as the worst way to experience it. Although it's nice to see Square trying to clarify the confusing running order, it might need to take another look.