I enjoyed 358/2 and Birth By sleep but I agree, KH2 was peak. I couldn’t even play the third one as the stupid Disney park rides annoyed me(even though I heard that it could be disabled)
I always considered Birth by Sleep to be the last good entry to the series. Admittedly I never played the actual game of 358/2 and only got the cinematic version from the collection.
I was a massive fan of 1 and 2 as a kid and did a full series playthrough prior to the release of 3. I had a blast through BBS, but my god it was a slough in the later games(including 3).
I also stopped playing after I think the first level because it just became Disney park rides. I’ve heard people say just don’t use it. But I don’t know if the game is built around using them. Like playing a Final Fantasy game without limit breaks. You can skip it, but it gives you a break every once in awhile and keeps up the pacing.