Rhythm Heaven Groove Guide#
Rhythm Heaven Groove (Japanese title romanized as Rhythm Tengoku: Miracle Stars; European title Rhythm Paradise Groove) is the fifth mainline entry in Nintendo’s rhythm game series, released worldwide on Nintendo Switch on Thursday, July 2, 2026. It is the series’ first all-new work in about 11 years, since 2015’s Rhythm Heaven The Best+, and the first entry to support a Chinese interface and Chinese voice acting. This hub centers on the new game and also covers verified historical facts about the series’ four earlier entries; everything here is based on public information checked by NTGame in October 2026.
Game Overview#
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Official names | Japanese: Rhythm Tengoku: Miracle Stars (romanized); English: Rhythm Heaven Groove; European: Rhythm Paradise Groove |
| Chinese support | Official Chinese localization, Simplified and Traditional, in all regions |
| Release date | Thursday, July 2, 2026, simultaneous worldwide |
| Latest news | On September 17, 2026, Nintendo of Singapore’s site mentioned a Switch 2 related version (details not further verified) |
| Platforms | Nintendo Switch (physical and digital); playable on Nintendo Switch 2 via backward compatibility |
| Developer | Nintendo EPD, with Intelligent Systems and TNX collaborating |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Director | Kazuyoshi Osawa |
| Producers | Tsunku, Koichi Kawamoto, Takayuki Shimamura, Yoshikazu Yamashita |
| Music | Tsunku, Koji Kanda, and others |
| Genre | Rhythm (music) |
| Ratings | CERO A (all ages); ESRB E (Mild Fantasy Violence) |
| Solo content | 80+ rhythm minigames |
| Solo structure | 8 chapters, each with 4 standalone minigames and 1 mixed Remix stage |
| Multiplayer content | 30+ multiplayer games, up to 4 players locally on one console, no online play required |
| Price | Japan ¥6,500 (tax included, digital and physical the same price); US $39.99; Hong Kong HK$329; Europe €39.99 |
| Download size | About 3.2–3.5 GB (regional store pages differ slightly; defer to each Nintendo store page) |
Core Gameplay: Hear the Music, Hit the Beat#
Nintendo’s own pitch for the game boils down to hearing the music, feeling the rhythm, and pressing at the right moment. The series has never used falling-note charts; instead it hides rhythm inputs inside absurd, funny little scenes. Take the officially shown solo example minigame, a food-prep scenario: you press A on the beat to catch ingredients — the rule takes one sentence to explain, and all the difficulty lives in whether your timing is exact.
The solo skeleton is very clear: the game collects 80+ rhythm minigames, organized into 8 chapters, each made of 4 standalone minigames and 1 mixed Remix stage. Remixes stitch the minigames you have already cleared in that chapter into one continuous performance — the closing exam of every chapter.
Unlike the “story-driven new entry” some players imagined, Nintendo has been explicit that this game has no grand story; it is built around a large collection of quirky rhythm minigames. The new progression mode is Beatspell — a solo rhythm RPG unlocked along the main line, where you fight monsters with rhythm spells, adding a long-run progression track alongside the series’ traditional minigame-collection play.
On the multiplayer side, the game offers 30+ multiplayer games with up to 4 players locally sharing one console. TV and tabletop modes support 1–4 players, handheld mode is single-player only, and nothing requires online play; basic play also does not need a Nintendo Switch Online membership (online features such as cloud saves do).
Series History: Five Mainline Entries and One Arcade Port#
| Entry | Platform | Japan release | West release | Verified notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhythm Tengoku | GBA | August 3, 2006 | Never released in the West (Japan only) | 48 rhythm games (8 sets of 6, each set with 1 Remix), plus 4 endless games and 4 Rhythm Toys; about 320,000 copies sold in Japan |
| Rhythm Heaven | NDS | July 31, 2008 | US in 2009 | About 1.97 million copies sold in Japan |
| Rhythm Heaven Fever | Wii | July 21, 2011 | 2012 (European title: Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise) | 709,762 copies in Japan; two-player Remix play was its signature; arrived on the Wii U Virtual Console in 2016 |
| Rhythm Heaven Megamix | 3DS | June 11, 2015 | 2016 | Compilation in nature, bundling a large number of stages from the first three games; 70,031 copies in Japan |
| Rhythm Heaven Groove | Switch | July 2, 2026 | Same day worldwide | Fifth mainline entry; first with a Chinese interface and Chinese voice acting |
The series did not stay on home consoles: on September 20, 2007, the original Rhythm Tengoku was ported to arcades on Sega’s NAOMI board — the series’ first arcade appearance. Also, for copyright reasons the Korean market had always received the series under the name “Rhythm World”; Rhythm Heaven Groove is the first entry released in Korea under the Rhythm Heaven name.
Development History#
The original through the Wii entry were developed by Nintendo’s Planning & Development division (later reorganized as SPD), with the original game jointly credited to J.P.ROOM, music by Tsunku, Masami Yone, and others, and series founding core Kazuyoshi Osawa at the center. The new game, Rhythm Heaven Groove, was developed by Nintendo EPD (Entertainment Planning & Development) with Intelligent Systems and TNX collaborating — TNX is a collaborator, not a co-development lead. The new game’s director is again Kazuyoshi Osawa, the producer lineup is Tsunku, Koichi Kawamoto, Takayuki Shimamura, and Yoshikazu Yamashita, and the music is by Tsunku, Koji Kanda, and others.
On release timing: a preview video for the game appeared in the March 27, 2025 Nintendo Direct; on April 9, 2026, Nintendo announced the release date and opened preorders; a free demo was distributed on the eShop before launch; and the game released worldwide on July 2, 2026.
What the Sub-Guides Cover#
The Chinese hub splits coverage into 21 sub-guides: a beginner route covering onboarding, basic play, and the demo; a controls guide for buttons, supported player counts, and console compatibility; playstyle breakdowns of confirmed minigames; a songs page tracking music-team and track information; rhythm practice methods built on listening, counting, and moving with the beat; a perfect-run guide for zero-miss challenges; the rating and medal systems; platform achievements; the Beatspell rhythm RPG progression; the solo mode’s structure and its no-narrative positioning; the series’ style and this game’s worldview; revealed minigame characters and series character history; local four-player party rules and advice; the collectibles system and the verified limits of public information; verifiable unlock directions; post-game content; long-term replay motivation; series art history and this game’s visual upgrades; a practical advanced-tips list; purchase and play FAQ; and the verified release and version record.
Quick Answers#
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Does it support Chinese? | Yes. It is the first series entry with a Chinese interface and Chinese voice acting, official Simplified and Traditional in all regions |
| How many players? | Up to 4 locally on one console, no online play needed; handheld mode is single-player only |
| Is Nintendo Switch Online required? | Not for basic play; online features such as cloud saves need a membership |
| Is there DLC? | No verifiable source mentions any official DLC plan, so this site does not speculate |
| How long to beat? | Neither Nintendo nor media outlets have published clear-time data, so this site does not estimate |
More complete answers are collected in the FAQ sub-guide on the Chinese hub.
Media Scores#
| Outlet | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic average | 82 (52 outlets: 47 positive, 5 mixed, 0 negative) |
| IGN | 9 |
| Wccftech | 85 |
| GamesRadar+ | 80 |
| Gamekult | 70 |
| CGMagazine / Digitally Downloaded | Perfect scores |
On user word of mouth: kakaku.com, a Japanese price-comparison site, shows a user review score of 3.89 / 5 — based on only 5 samples, so of limited reference value. The lowest street price for a physical copy in Japan is around ¥5,577; it moves with the market and is already below the official ¥6,500 price.
Data Boundaries#
The following could not be verified against any official source, so this hub does not speculate about them and will not fabricate them:
- Official sales: no verifiable official sales data found, and media-built sales charts show no entry for this game yet.
- Official OST: no release information found for any official physical or digital soundtrack.
- Official DLC: no source found for any official DLC plan.
- Version numbers and patch timeline: apart from the pre-release demo and the September 17, 2026 Switch 2 related mention, no official version records found.
- Clear times: no official or media clear-time data published.
- Solo chapter names, the complete minigame list, and the complete song list: not fully published by Nintendo.
Each of these boundaries is explained in the matching sub-guide. If official information lands later, this hub will be updated accordingly.
If this is your first Rhythm Heaven, start with the beginner sub-guide; if you have already cleared the main line, jump to the perfect-run or multiplayer sub-guides and squeeze out the game’s long-run and party appeal.
Related Games#
- Hollow Knight — a hand-drawn action exploration classic built with the same polish-first craft Nintendo fans expect
- Super Mario Odyssey — the 3D platformer benchmark and another first-party Nintendo showpiece
- Ori and the Will of the Wisps — gorgeous hand-painted platform action in the same approachable-but-precise mold
- Celeste — tightly tuned pixel platforming where frame-level timing matters as much as it does here
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder — a 2D platformer packed with inventive, comedic set pieces in the spirit of Rhythm Heaven’s minigames
Related Rankings#
Best Co-Op Games · Most Anticipated Games of 2026
Full Guides#
In-depth sub-guides — beginner onboarding, controls, minigame breakdowns, songs, rhythm practice, perfect runs, ratings and medals, achievements, the Beatspell challenge mode, story structure, lore, characters, local multiplayer, collectibles, secrets, endgame content, replay value, gallery, advanced tips, FAQ, and the update log — are available in Chinese on NTGame’s Rhythm Heaven Groove section.