I’ll make this simple: Just get Rhythm Heaven Groove. You will be happy. I think.
Every few years, Nintendo returns to its quirky franchises. WarioWare, a strange set of arcade minigames, has appeared in Switch form twice already. But Rhythm Heaven, a series that has never been on Nintendo Switch at all, is now back. Its price below the average Nintendo $40 makes it an even better value.
If you like games where you go along with the rhythm of the song, that’s exactly what Rhythm Heaven Groove is all about. The excitement comes from the novelty, animation, cute and Japanese pop soundtrack. Perfect for quick play sessions, it asks you to turn up the volume and is best played without wireless headphones. Keep the ping low.
Now, to be clear, I’ve always loved music beat games like PaRappa the Rapper, Frequency, Elite Beat Agents and Patapon. And I love the weird minigames. The rhythm of Heaven speaks directly to me.
But it also speaks directly to the handheld/portable benefits of the Nintendo Switch. I love a game like this that I can play on the go with friends, which you can do with a bunch of multiplayer mini-games or just passing it around the room to try different challenges.
Rhythm Heaven as a series has spawned new entries every few years, all based on song-length minigames. The latest, Rhythm Heaven Megamix on Nintendo 3DS, was a compilation of the previous Rhythm Heavens. But Rhythm Heaven didn’t appear on Switch, not even in any compilation of Nintendo’s Switch Online classic console. This is your chance to get back in the middle.
A mini reaction time ninja game for many players.
Not much has changed in the design, which is somewhat disturbed. Song-length mini-games with written rhythms all have different synchronized challenges and feature simple combinations of button presses and animations that often try to break your attention. There are plenty of song-length games, as well as more challenge modes, multiplayer mini-games and a few unusual surprise modes. It’s a great bag to hold, and unlike the old Megamix, these are all new.
A few examples: One of the pop-up umbrellas with adorable blob creatures. The other features an assembly line of fingers protruding from the balls. In another, a couple communicates rhythmically with a stranger. And another has crabs that throw things into the pit. All the songs are contagious, they get into my head. They have become my anthem at the beginning of summer.
My kids grew up loving Rhythm Heaven on the Wii and are so excited that the series is back. So am I, and I have to admit I’ve been trying not to rush through it, or have a review embargo.
BeatSpell is a bonus mode where spells are made with beats.
I wish that new ideas are included here, to expand the meaning of every experience. One additional mod, called BeatSpell, does some of that. A series of RPG-style battles using rhythm-trigger movements, but in the age of indie games that have moved into rhythmic areas (like Crypt of the Necrodancer), I expected innovation. Nintendo made a safe move with this one.
But thank you. Heck, I’d love to see Elite Beat Agents come back one day, too. I take this on vacation with me, I find it addictive, meditative and my comfort speed. It’s playable on both Switch and Switch 2, something that’s becoming rare for first-party Nintendo games. And it’s just family-friendly enough — and funny enough — to bring us together for a while, too.
