I was pretty happy to see Rhythm Heaven Groove appear during the March 27th, 2025 Nintendo Direct because it’s one of those franchises that has been dormant for long enough that you start to worry if it’s being forgotten. Which is certainly strange for a series that, despite being one of the lesser-known Nintendo franchises, has been pretty consistent since its release in 2006—did you know it was actually the final game released on the Game Boy Advance?
I’ve loved Rhythm Heaven ever since I first played it on the Wii back in 2012. It was a game that perfectly suited the system’s unique design and focus on social gaming—combining tight gameplay with incredible style. Fourteen years later, Rhythm Heaven Groove feels like a true sequel, maintaining the series signature style and fun, and elevating it to an experience that feels as perfectly suited to its system as its predecessor did.
I’ll forego the story section of my standard review format because Rhythm Heaven Groove—or the whole series for that matter—doesn’t really have one. It’s a collection of rhythm-based mini-games designed to test the player’s reflexes and perception, all while providing them some of the slickest beats imaginable. At its core, the experience remains largely the same, but it’s amazing how it’s both a bit more complex and a far more open game than its Wii predecessor.
While Rhythm Heaven Fever kept things pretty simple, allowing most of the game to be played with only the A and B buttons, Groove leans more towards the GBA version, utilizing a combination of A and some of the directional buttons on the Joy-Cons. Some games are just A, some are A and Left, and others are A and Down. But, like its predecessors, the main thing every game utilizes is its beat and unique audio cues to indicate when players need to make an input.
And Rhythm Heaven Groove really wants players to feel the beat. Something I noticed in this game more than in any others is how often it puts distractions or visual blockers on screen to try to trip up the player. Unlike its predecessors, it’s far less reliant on visuals for almost all its games, and it’s clear that it really wants players to get familiar with the audio cues and get into the…well, groove!
They really weren’t kidding when they said you can play this game with your eyes closed. I actually played quite a few of the games with my eyes shut the entire time, and was genuinely impressed that I only missed one or two beats. And while this makes Rhythm Heaven Groove an incredibly fun experience because it’s so focused on good music and precise timing, what makes it particularly amazing is how accessible it is for low or even no vision players.
“Rhythm Heaven Groove an incredibly fun experience because it’s so focused on good music and precise timing…”
By default, Rhythm Heaven Groove is played in a “Read Aloud” mode, where text-to-speech will read all text on screen as well as provide players with detailed descriptions on how to play. With this turned on, as soon as you select a mode, the game will not only tell you how to select a game, but describe what game you’re currently considering. Players can also change the Read Aloud setting to “With Descriptions,” so when you start a game, it will describe characters, locations and essentially what you’re seeing.
This is what I mean when I say the game has opened up for players. In fact, this might just be the most accessible Nintendo game for differently abled players. While it downplays its visual cues, they’re still there in a way that reduced hearing players can still excel at the game—although some games do use strict audio cues and may be harder to play. And the simplified button options allow players with dexterity issues to likely handle the game with few issues.
This is even apparent in how Rhythm Heaven Groove teaches you how to play each game; while all its predecessors did this, it feels a lot more generous this time around—giving players a really broad understanding of how every input works and how to utilize them both individually and in combination. Rhythm Heaven Groove even gives players a visual demonstration of how each game’s timing should work, should players need even more reference.
I wanted to save the actual content of Rhythm Heaven Groove for the audio/visual section of the review because I honestly feel the two go hand in hand. Of the 80 games, each one has a unique style and theme, and while it still blends the weird and silly with anime and more traditional art styles, it has an aesthetic that very much mirrors that of the WarioWare series. So many games set up quirky and charming scenarios and pair them with both a beat and really incredible music in such a great way—from smashing cans to catching veggies to talking with aliens.
Beatspell is genuinely in a league of its own. There’s a surprising amount of strategy to it, outside of just keeping up the beat, combining the signature rhythm gameplay with a kind of turn-based battle system that moves like a faster and funkier Patapon. Not only that, but the new mini-games for multiplayer add a lot of dimensionality and fun to Rhythm Heaven Groove, which makes it feel a lot more like a viable party game than its predecessors. There isn’t a single song or game mode that I didn’t end up enjoying immensely.
And the music in Rhythm Heaven Groove is so unbelievably good it’s genuinely hard not to find a new favourite as each new stage opens up and gives you access to new games and songs. I got particularly attached to Stop N Go N Stop, Can Do, particularly because of how good their backing music was; and Fruit Flex not only had great music, but its premise was so silly I genuinely had to pause the game because I started cracking up.
Rhythm Heaven Groove was well worth the wait. It’s yet another excellent entry in a fantastic series that has gone too long without a proper entry. It’s incredibly approachable, stylish, backed by an amazing soundtrack and above all, unbelievably fun. Whether you’re a longtime fan or a newcomer to the series, you definitely need to check this out!
- Tune in and groove to a variety of games that will challenge your rhythm
- Chop flying veggies, flap along with birds of a feather, and more to catchy original music—including tracks by renowned Japanese musician Tsunku♂
