Verdict
Rhythm Heaven Groove is a fantastic return to form from Nintendo and Tsunku, filled to the brim with fresh beats and funny characters, with plenty of modes to explore alone or with friends while you work on perfecting your skills.
I've wanted a new Rhythm Heaven game for the Nintendo Switch practically since the console released in 2017, so getting to do this Rhythm Heaven Groove review has been a dream come true. I'll state my bias up front - Rhythm Heaven for the DS fundamentally changed me as a person, solidifying my love of rhythm games with its wacky cast of characters and generational bops, so I knew that I was bound to love this new entry.
Despite being a Nintendo first-party series, Rhythm Heaven is criminally underrated, so I'll forgive you if you don't know what it is. Rhythm Heaven Groove is the fifth entry in a series of rhythm games from Kazuyoshi Osawa of WarioWare fame and famous Japanese musician and producer, Tsunku. The experience is broken down into minigames, each with its own theme, control scheme, and beat to master. After every four minigames, you mash them all together into a Remix level to test your skills in a new environment.
Considering that the last Rhythm Heaven game we got was Rhythm Heaven Megamix nearly ten years ago, which was mostly a compilation of previous minigames, it's fair to say that I was looking forward to some new experiences. Rhythm Heaven Groove doesn't disappoint, with over 80 new solo minigames introducing me to a huge cast of silly little characters and a range of art styles. I'm particularly fond of the little alien in Lightning Bolting as he reminds me of Ikea's Aftonsparv.
Historically, Rhythm Heaven has used a range of different control schemes, from the GBA's A and B buttons to the touchscreen taps and flicks of the DS. Rhythm Heaven Groove combines the Nintendo Switch's ABXY buttons and directional arrows to allow for more complex patterns between both hands, which feels perfectly comfortable in both handheld and docked modes. The tutorials for each minigame are well-paced and robust, and you can view an example of the correct pattern before trying it yourself, which is a nice added feature.
As well as the main bread and butter of the minigames, there are plenty of side modes in single player to enjoy. The most in-depth of these is Beatspell, a dedicated rhythm RPG mode that uses beats as magic to help you traverse a monster-filled cave. The gameplay vaguely reminds me of Patapon, as you're managing your offensive and defensive capabilities via different inputs during a battle, but Beatspell mainly rewards you for rhythmic accuracy, with perfectly timed spells dealing critical hits. With the main game, Beatspell, the Drum Lessons, and Rhythm Toy Box to play around with, you'll never run out of things to do.
What is a rhythm game without fantastic music to groove to? As is standard for the series, Rhythm Heaven Groove is filled with catchy tracks that fit perfectly with their respective rhythm games and get stuck in your head for hours after you finish playing. One complaint about previous entries that I've heard in the past is that global versions had the music localized out of Japanese, losing some of the flavor of the original. I'm happy to say that there's plenty of Japanese music in this game, and it all slaps, which is unsurprising, given Tsunku's involvement. I was particularly excited to see that Yui Sakurai, a member of the idol group Fruits Zipper that I follow, sings on the track for Feed The Beast. She's just one of many renowned artists who feature on the soundtrack.
Rhythm Heaven is traditionally a single-player experience, but Rhythm Heaven Groove comes equipped with a suite of over 30 cooperative and competitive multiplayer games to explore. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about these games, as I tend to like playing rhythm games alone and perfecting my performances, but getting to share that joy with someone while showing off my years of experience in the genre was really fulfilling. I can see myself breaking out these multiplayer minigames at a game night as an alternative to something like Mario Party or Jackbox, especially as they allow for up to four players at a time.
I always like to look for accessibility features in games that I review, and Rhythm Heaven Groove makes its stance clear from the very beginning. Li'l Miss Reeds starts the game by reading aloud all on-screen text, including instructions for the minigames, and you can adjust just how much or how little she reads. She's essentially a built-in screen reader, and as Rhythm Heaven's gameplay has always been more about the sounds than the visuals, this makes the game incredibly accessible for those who are blind or partially sighted. Beatspell suggests certain buttons for moving and casting, but you can actually use a range of different buttons to suit your mobility needs, and the aforementioned tutorials and examples are very handy for new players.
Overall, Rhythm Heaven Groove is exactly what I was hoping for as a long-time fan. It's filled with fun surprises that you'll have to discover for yourself, and for just $39.99/£33.99, it's more than worth the price of admission. If you already know that you like Rhythm Heaven, you're going to love Groove, and if you've never tried the series before, this is a fantastic starting point - there's even a demo on the eShop!
Let me know what you think about the series as a whole and whether you'll be picking up Rhythm Heaven Groove in the Pocket Tactics Discord server. This is just one of many exciting new Switch games on the horizon, so go and fill up your wishlist.