Its only a mess if you don't pay attention to cutscenes and journal entries in the games. Yeah, reading, tough job.
no, it is a mess no matter what. just because it is possible to understand it if you devote the time to it does not mean that it is actually presented in an entertaining, digestible, and engrossing manner. It is like the star wars prequels, they create a kingdom hearts universe, but the games don't each tell a good story themselves (except the first one which is actually focused rather than being convoluted).
--
I'm "kind of a big deal".
http://img.imgcake.com/cyclo/Cyclopngegpngre.png