After a decade-long sleep, one of Nintendo’s best handheld series is finally making its Switch debut. Rhythm Heaven Groove ignites a competitive fire within players, challenging them to tackle tempo-shifting trials in pursuit of perfect scores. While its RPG-inspired Beatspell mode may not be a standout, the remainder of Rhythm Heaven Groove stands as a worthy successor, packed with a medley of moreish minigames that are both deeply satisfying and surprisingly difficult to master.
The core gameplay revolves around deceptively simple controls. Different button presses, from quick taps to lengthy holds, command characters in bite-sized levels to perform various tasks in time with specific beats. Players will find themselves accelerating and braking a sports car to film a promotional video, engaging in call-and-response challenges with aliens, and dancing with sentient umbrellas. A clever twist is the absence of a clear note highway; success relies on recognizing a mixture of visual and auditory cues to hit the sonic sweet spot. As players progress, the musical arrangements increase in complexity, demanding a meditative focus that is both demanding and relaxing.
Each game begins with an in-depth tutorial guided by the series' adorable mascot. These lessons introduce new skills individually before layering them together. Even with these interactive pointers, achieving rhythmic excellence typically requires practice, as the arrangements in actual levels often differ significantly from the warm-up exercises.
Music, curated by series veteran composer Tsunku♂ and other secret artists, spans a wide range of BPM and genres, skillfully blending guitars, synths, and percussion. This dynamic approach is mirrored in the minigames themselves. Some levels require matching the flow of other creatures, while others involve bouncing items or popping bubbles independently. The inclusion of surprising fake-out endings can lull players into a false sense of security, but this unpredictability enhances the experience, ensuring Rhythm Heaven Groove feels fresh throughout its approximately eight-hour solo campaign. Additional hours can be spent hunting for medals and completing side modes.
Beyond simply staying on beat, many minigames introduce distractions designed to disrupt the player's flow. In one instance, during a game called Disc Dog, the camera unexpectedly zooms in on the frisbee-throwing owner instead of the dog, forcing reliance on audio cues to time a catch. Another minigame, Ribbit Rocket, features an amphibious creature appearing in front of the launch pad, obscuring vision as the music intensifies. These challenges, while seemingly cruel, are integral to Rhythm Heaven’s rewarding approach to the genre, emphasizing audio prompts over constant visual targets.
The solo campaign is structured into eight stages, each containing four games and a finale remix that blends the stage's rhythm games and tracks into an engaging interactive DJ set. These remixes are particularly exhilarating, capturing the ultimate rhythm-game high when muscle memory and pure instinct align.
For players utilizing their televisions, Rhythm Heaven Groove includes a dedicated TV sync system to mitigate latency and input delays. While this system proved effective, a slight improvement in timing accuracy was still noticeable when playing in handheld mode on the Switch. The difference is negligible for most, but the inclusion shows consideration for potential issues.
Upon completing a rhythm game, players receive a rating from "Keep Trying" to "Amazing." Progression requires at least a "Good" rating on every rhythm puzzle and its respective remix. Earning an "Amazing" rating awards Medals, which unlock additional minigames within the Rhythm Toybox submenu. These unlocked games offer more straightforward, yet still amusing, experiences.
Rhythm Heaven Groove focuses on mechanical momentum rather than an overarching story, though familiar characters make appearances. The individual vignettes are meant to be enjoyed at face value. Even simple premises, like controlling a bunny in the Hop & Slide game to test a programming class project, can deliver thrilling challenges and cute micro-stories through unexpected twists like screen-warping hyperspeed and bug-induced obstacles.
This ingenuity makes Rhythm Heaven Groove's disparate world a joy to inhabit. The game's irreverent humor and effervescent randomness keep curiosity piqued, even when faced with frustrating challenges.
Cooperative play is also featured, with a separate pool of minigames that harness the same infectious energy as the campaign, enhanced by the chaos of up to three additional players. These games range from collaborative to competitive, with player-versus-player stages proving particularly engaging. Cake Wait, where players attempt to snatch a treat at precisely 3 p.m., is a standout example of straightforward yet compelling fun.
While Medals also unlock chapters in the pint-sized RPG mode, Beatspell, this mode proves less successful. Players chain button presses to cast spells against enemies, but the constant repetition quickly becomes tedious, leading to silly mistakes. Though the tedium lessens as more spells are learned, the mode feels underbaked compared to the other offerings.
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