Everyone knows I’m a sucker for rhythm games, but it’s also an equally unkept secret that I generally am not that great at them. Part of the reason why I see myself this way is thanks to Rhythm Heaven on the Nintendo DS. A game where I even struggled to make it past the first few levels, and it was so unforgiving that it did not let you move on unless you had mastered every minigame before it.
I haven’t kept up with new releases in the series since then, but when the opportunity presented itself to review this new release on the Nintendo Switch, I wanted to see if they had learned along the way or if I had improved in some way. Note: Rhythm Paradise Groove is the title here in Europe, but in other places it’s called Rhythm Heaven Groove, I just wanted to get that possible confusion out of the way first.
ℹ️ Reviewed on Nintendo Switch 2 | Review code provided by Nintendo, this review is the personal opinion of the writer.
| Developer | Nintendo EPD and TNX |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
Things I liked!
- The Music | Having good music would seem like an automatic requirement for a rhythm game, but the Nintendo DS version I played of Rhythm Heaven earlier relied mostly on sound effects and, to my recollection, didn’t have any actual music in it. In Groove, there are some actual bangers among the soundtrack, with vocals, and even music in various languages. They’re not of the type “I want these on my Spotify playlist ASAP,” but I enjoyed what was available a lot
- A ton of games | There are over 80 minigames for the single-player part of the game and 30 dedicated multiplayer games that aren’t just reskinned versions of the solo ones. Each game does have multiple variations played to different songs, though, but you shouldn’t be worried about this not having enough content; there is more than enough variety.
- Super original ideas | Rhythm Heaven is a master of using silly situations and turning them into rhythm games, from tiny people jumping over windshield wipers to dodging the sight of the moon as it sneezes, or chopping veggies to the rhythm (one of my favourites). There is a fresh experience waiting around every corner. I also want to shout out the stick-catching game, which is full of fake-out “the end” messages, making you think the song is over, only to throw some extra surprises your way.
- New RPG/Story mode | This one I have to slot into the positive section with some doubt, as I did expect more from it when I first saw it teased during a Nintendo Direct. But there is an RPG rhythm game where you cast spells to take down monsters, and in between fights, you get to choose which spell to learn or upgrade, or which items to enhance your run. It makes it feel like a mini roguelike, but each run is only a few fights and not very deep in mechanics. There is also a text-only story you have to go dig up in the main menu, which was weird to me (why not present the option to read this during the RPG game itself?). I did have a great time with it, but it’s rather short, and unlocking new levels requires earning medals in the other games.
- Multiplayer | With 30+ minigames in multiplayer, it also serves quite well as a party game. This varies from games you play against each other, like who is best at counting down to zero from ten and snatching the treat with perfect timing. But also co-operative minigames where more players equal more tries, like plucking the hairs from an onion with tweezers, or an RPG-like scenario where each player has a tennis racket to smash a bouncing ball at incoming enemies.
Mixed & disliked!
- Earbugs | This feels like a weird negative to bring up, but it’s an honest negative for me, as at the time of writing, I haven’t touched the game in five days, and every empty moment my brain gets, it will still play this particular moment on repeat. It’s driving me insane, and I’ve never experienced this quite at this level. It’s like an audio wave-shaped parasite lodged in my brain.
- Tutorials don’t have songs | When playing the tutorials (and trust me, you’ll want to play them!), there sadly isn’t any music playing in the background. I think this was to prevent any distractions, but in more than a handful of tutorials, I couldn’t even successfully beat them because I had trouble sticking to a rhythm without the music to guide me.
- Perfects | Even if you landed a perfect run through a minigame, you won’t be awarded with a “Perfect” medal. Instead, the opportunity to go for a Perfect will only randomly present itself on a level you previously did well on, and you only get three attempts. You can’t even restart the attempt without first diving into the song-select menu. This added stress and frustration for me, but I’ve heard from other players that this raised the stakes for them and they found it a good design choice.
- How long did I play the review before publishing? 12 hours
- How long to beat the story? 6 hours
- How long to get 100%? | guesstimating it at 25 hours for the skilled people at rhythm games
- You’ll love this game if you like these | WarioWare games, Rhythm games, Party Games
Score: 85/100
Some games go viral; this one is a sound-shaped virus that finds a home between your ears and nests there for days.
Rhythm Paradise Groove is an amazing rhythm game full of silly ideas and sound effects that are impossible to forget. The controls are intuitive and the various minigames will keep you busy for days. This is an easy recommend for every Nintendo Switch owner of almost any age.
Robby lives and breathes video games. When he’s not playing them, he’s talking about them on social media or convincing other people to pick up a controller themselves. He’s online so often, he could practically list the internet as his legal domicile. Belgian games-industry know-it-all.
