Is kingdom hearts birth by sleep important?

From a gaming perspective, skipping it will definitely ruin your experience of the later games because the plot gets extremely complicated. Make sure you play it or watch a detailed story summary so you don't feel completely lost later.

I was so confused about whether to play this prequel first or just jump to KH3, and it gave me so much gaming anxiety! Honestly, please play it. The lore of the keyblade war starts here, and without it, the ending of the main trilogy won't make any emotional sense.

Between my night shifts and screaming baby, I barely get time to sleep, let alone play 40-hour RPGs! But yes, Birth by Sleep is basically Kingdom Hearts 0. It is crucial to the plot, so even if you can't play it, just watch the cutscenes on YouTube while holding your coffee.

BBS is easily one of the best games in the franchise, bro. The combat with the command deck is super fun and the story is actually better than KH2 in some parts. Don't skip it, it sets up everything for the final battle.

If you don't have the time or budget to buy the whole collection, the practical solution is to just watch a 30-minute story recap video on YouTube. It covers all the main plot points about Ventus and Vanitas so you can save your money and time.