Rhythm Heaven Groove Wiki
Rhythm Heaven Groove is the fifth mainline entry in Nintendo's quirky rhythm-minigame series, developed by Nintendo EPD with series co-developer TNX and published by Nintendo. Released July 2, 2026 for the Nintendo Switch family of systems, it's the first genuinely new entry in the franchise in over a decade, following 2015's Rhythm Heaven Megamix on 3DS. It's known as Rhythm Paradise Groove in PAL regions and Rhythm Heaven: Miracle Stars in Japan and the rest of Asia.
What the Game Actually Is
As the reveal trailer itself put it, Groove "doesn't have a big, epic story... but what it does have is lots of funny little rhythm games!" The core structure is a collection of over 80 solo rhythm minigames plus more than 30 local multiplayer minigames (supporting up to 4 players), each testing timing and rhythm rather than complex controls -- often just a single button press, matched to the beat rather than purely visual cues.
Beatspell: A Genuinely New Mode
The headline new addition is Beatspell, an Eastern-RPG-styled campaign where you perform actions timed to the beat of the music -- a structural departure from how prior Rhythm Heaven games have organized their minigames, adding a genuine narrative/adventure framing on top of the series' usual loose collection format.
Series Veterans and Returning Talent
Legendary Japanese musician and series producer Tsunku composes the music once again, series creator Kazuyoshi Osawa returns as director, and artist Ko Takeuchi provides the visual style -- all continuing the creative lineage established since the original 2006 Rhythm Tengoku.
Structural Firsts (and a Few Deliberate Omissions)
Groove is the first entry since the original Rhythm Tengoku to use only a single save file (a deliberate choice given the Switch family's multi-user support) and the first since then to feature a dedicated main menu before the Game Select screen. It notably does not include a Polyrhythm/Built to Scale-style minigame or Extra Games -- instead bringing back the Drum Lessons feature and replacing Endless Games with a new Score Attack mode. Every main rhythm game in Groove also receives its own sequel variant, matching a structural pattern from past entries.
Commercial and Critical Reception
The game debuted at #1 on Japan's Famitsu boxed sales charts and has stayed there in subsequent weeks (126,073 copies sold in one tracked week alone, pushing the running total past 500,000). It's not on Steam or any platform besides Nintendo Switch and Switch 2.