I know KPowerIndustries has a K24A2 kit - I found a really cheap k24a4 junkyard engine for $200, 170k miles on it.
I want to keep it in my garage and take it apart and mess around several times as I've never worked with cars too much. It comes with a rebuild kit previous owner had gotten to busy to finish. I plan to either sell it or junk it since its mostly to learn - I'll probably look for a more popular 2.5 swap.
But hypothetically, if I wanted to swap a K24A4 odyssey engine, could I do it? I know the compression ratio is lower so might need some forced induction to go with it
You didn't mention what generation you're talking about, but based on "a more popular 2.5 swap", I'd guess this is about NC.
From what I've read, putting the 2.5 is a no-brainer: very easy swap with nice improvements in torque and power in the whole RPM range. It's obvious why it is so popular among the people.
Now, can you put K24 in? Well, everything is possible, but it'll probably be much much more complicated. My vote is that you use that engine to play with it to learn stuff and/or sell it, and then you get the 2.5 and do like 98% of other swappers did.
I found a video series on YouTube of a guy doing the swap but it needs a LOT of custom work (channel name is "The Art Of....")
I'm wondering if I should just get a busted MZR 2.0 or Duratec 2.5 and play with that instead of an engine that doesn't really have a swap kit (KPowerIndustries kit is only NA/NB unfortunately)
If you've never swapped an engine before, picking a swap that requires fabwork/orientation changes is a bad idea. While I've never personally done a 2.5 swap in an NC (since I have an NA6), it looks fairly straightforward.