Rhythm Paradise Groove Nintendo Switch Review

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Fast Facts

Rhythm Paradise Groove is a wonderfully fun, intuitive game that anyone can enjoy. It skilfully dances on the line of being easy to learn yet difficult to master. With over 80 solo games and more than 30 multiplayer games, and catchy music throughout, you’re sure to find something you and your friends will love. 

Solo or Multiplayer fun!

Each stage is very simple, all you need to do is press the button(s) in time with the beat. However just because it is simple, does not mean it is easy. Rhythm Paradise Groove relies on very precise button press timing and will let you know in an often hilarious fashion that you didn’t quite hit the beat. Each stage is very unique but offers a different level of challenge. You only need to hit a button or two, but some stages can be very difficult! The stages come in blocks of four. You will learn each one in turn, then as the final challenge of each block you will do all four at once in an hilarious and tricky mashup.

The multiplayer is fantastic fun and will have you belly laughing with your friends. You will work together to beat a boss, or stop a barrage of arrows, or whatever the game decides you need to do. There are often bonuses to keeping good timing between yourselves as well as to the main beat. This will help you point the finger at whoever made the mistakes which made you fail the level. Rhythm Paradise Groove is a brilliant couch coop game.

Practice Before You Party!

You will start off each stage by learning how the basic mechanics work, in a sort of practice mode. You will have to earn a number of hearts by getting the beat on time before you progress to the main challenge. Once in the main level, the game will try to distract you in a number of ways such as changing the background, closing your field of view, or having other things appear on screen. The trick is to ignore all of this, as all you need to do is listen to the sounds. You could even try closing your eyes for an extra challenge!

All of the animations are very cute, especially when combined with the noises your character/object makes. When you make a mistake there will be an off key sound and a groan to let you know you’ve done wrong. This sort of charm is what makes Rhythm Paradise Groove so much fun and adds to its replayability. 

Beatspell serves as the “story” mode for Rhythm Paradise Groove. In this mode you will fight a series of monsters, doing damage to them with, you guessed it, well timed button presses. If you achieve perfect timing you will deal a critical hit. Unfortunately it is gatekept by the number of medals you’ve earned in the minigames. It would be nice if you could just progress this independently. Medals are earned by completing the minigames and scoring an ‘amazing’ rating. Beatspell is a little repetitive at the start until you unlock more moves, but the style is quite nice.

When you first start the game there is a warning about using wireless headphones. This is because there could be a delay in the sound. There is then a similar warning about using your Switch docked and having a TV input delay. In fact when you dock your Switch it will force you to calibrate the sound by playing a mini minigame of sorts. It will then warn you that the adjustment could cause strange effects, such as playing a successful action sound when you fail. It is quite good that Nintendo has thought of these effects and given warnings rather than letting you get frustrated about them blindly. If you want to play this game I would recommend playing in handheld or tabletop mode, with no headphones.

Final Thoughts

Rhythm Paradise Groove is a lot of fun and can present quite a challenge. You will laugh and laugh either when you play solo or when you play with others. If you’re looking for a good party game, this will fit the bill. There is a huge variety in the minigames so you and your friends will find a game that suits you best. You can even enjoy it if you have as much rhythm as a scarecrow like me. If you’ve ever been to the arcade and enjoyed the rhythm games there you will love Rhythm Paradise Groove. 

Rapid Reviews Rating

4.5 out of 5

4.5