Kingdom Hearts Re:coded

Kingdom Hearts coded is a puzzle game with action elements mixed into the gameplay, which is similar to the action-RPG style of the previous titles in the series. It also features a similar interface with fight, item, and "magic" in the command window. There are also minigame and platforming elements. The game features a mix of different graphic styles, with three-dimensional backgrounds and two-dimensional characters.

The initial trailer showcased the main character, Sora, in dungeons with floating red and black blocks. Battles feature a "debugging" mode to remove the blocks and progress towards enemies. Blocks are also used to solve puzzles or reach higher ground.

The game is set after Kingdom Hearts II and follows the story of Jiminy Cricket, King Mickey, Donald Duck, and Goofy in Disney Castle. In the game, players progress through a series of levels which are virtual representations of worlds contained within the digitized version of Jiminy's journal from the first Kingdom Hearts game, and are arranged according to the order in which Sora visited the worlds originally in Kingdom Hearts. These virtual worlds are based on various locales from many Disney animated films as well as original worlds seen in the first game of the series, including Destiny Islands, Traverse Town, Wonderland (Alice in Wonderland), Olympus Coliseum (Hercules), Agrabah (Aladdin), and Hollow Bastion. Castle Oblivion also appears as the game's final level.

The main protagonist and sole player character of the game is an artificially intelligent virtual avatar of Sora, occasionally referred to in-game as "Data-Sora", created from the data from Jiminy's journal entries. Because the game's setting is based on the first game, Data-Sora resembles the original Sora in his attire from the same game. Three other original Kingdom Hearts characters—Riku, Naminé, and Roxas—similarly appear as virtual avatars. Like previous Kingdom Hearts titles, coded features numerous Disney and Final Fantasy characters who have appeared in the first game.

In mid-2007, Nomura mentioned a desire to create a spin-off Kingdom Hearts game on a mobile platform and wanted it to play slightly different than other titles in the series. The game's concept was devised by Nomura, who wanted to make the game feel like a "playground" for fans. Co-director Hajime Tabata originally thought the plan was terrible, but still interesting.

The story was initially supposed to be "fluid" and did not fit into the chronology of the Kingdom Hearts series, but later developers tied the game's final chapters into Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. The development team planned to make use of mobile phones communication abilities to facilitate interaction between players. Coded was developed with 3D and 2D graphics to have the game available on a range of mobile phones for distribution overseas. The game was designed around hardware that was more powerful than any yet available, like Final Fantasy Agito, but developer were not as aggressive with this boundary-pushing with Coded to help it spread to overseas markets where mobile hardware was not as powerful.

Prior to Coded's release, Jeremy Parish of 1UP.com praised the game's graphics and scope. He stated the graphics were comparable to those of the PlayStation Portable and commented that coded was a sign of mobile games turning into "full-fledged" games. 1UP.com's Kevin Gifford commented that the game deserved the attention of video game enthusiasts, and praised its features: the themes and the online mobile phone portal.

Kingdom Hearts Re:coded received mixed reviews. IGN praised the gameplay variety and graphics, but criticized the story and platforming. GameSpot said that "Frustrating platforming and a tepid narrative mar this journey into classic Kingdom Hearts realms." Game Informer called the game "The most skip-worthy entry in the series".