Can you believe it’s been ten years since we’ve had a Rhythm Paradise game? Nintendo cooked up something good, and then just decided to do nothing with it on their best selling console ever. At least until now. Is the Rhythm Paradise series still worth getting excited for in 2026 though? I’ll save you the suspense, I sure think it is.

Just to get the elephant out of the room, you might also know this series as Rhythm Heaven if you’re not a resident of the various PAL regions. It’s all the same though, so you can be excited too. If you’re completely new here, let me fill you in on the basics. And they are basic. The core concept behind the series is delivering an assortment of tiny rhythm games. They’re pretty easy to pick up, with much of the difficulty coming from having to recognise audio cues quickly, and getting consistent with it. It’s hard to write about the ways rhythm games are fun, but there really is something special about how Rhythm Paradise does it. The latest game doesn’t let the series down.

Things are pretty linear when you’re starting out. You only have one minigame to play, with you unlocking one new one each time you complete the one you have. The game is split into a number of stages, where each stage is made up of four individual minigames and one remix that mashes each of them together to a new song to really test your mastery of what you’ve just played. You’re not just thrown to the dogs though, with each minigame getting a brief introduction to run you through each of the audio and visual cues before the song starts. If you like to learn on the job, these are skippable.

There’s a genuinely fantastic scaling of difficulty for the majority of minigames, with many featuring small twists to keep you on your feet. These usually involve tempo shifts or just mixing up the ordering after you get into a groove. Some games would just click and be freebies, while others would take me a good few attempts to chase that illustrious “Amazing” medal. The practice is worth it though, with a good score on the remix really feeling fantastic.

Of course, for those easy games, there are twists you unlock as you play. You get a healthy number of unique games, but you also get a harder difficulty version to play of pretty much every stage. Add to this the series high number of remixes, each with their unique music tracks, and you’re set for a winner. As somebody who enjoys rhythm games but has never found the time to really get good at something heavier like Project DIVA or Osu, Rhythm Paradise has historically been a breath of fresh air. It’s a game I can pick up and just enjoy. There are challenges, but it’s not a game that’s designed to keep you vehemently hooked. It’s one to pick up for five or ten minutes, and then go back to your day. It’s nice that we still have rhythm games like that.

The price certainly helps too. In the UK you’ll have no problem finding a physical copy for £30, with digital (and purchasing from Nintendo directly) being a touch higher at £34. It’s well priced for what you’re getting, even if not an extraordinary bargain. It’s not locked to the Switch 2 either, so if you have a Switch lying around, this is a game I’d encourage you to dust it off for. I really don’t think you’ll regret it.

 

[Kwyjor]

Can you believe it’s been ten years since we’ve had a Rhythm Paradise game? Nintendo cooked up something good, and then just decided to do nothing with it on their best selling console ever.

Tsunku, the driving force behind the series, had laryngeal cancer, if you missed the news.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsunku

 

[Scarlet]

Tsunku, the driving force behind the series, had laryngeal cancer, if you missed the news.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsunku

I did miss that, hot damn. Here's hoping they're doing better now.