Rhythm Heaven Groove, the long-anticipated 5th mainline installment in Nintendo’s classic rhythm game series, finally launched on July 2 for the Nintendo Switch. The new title marks the return of the franchise after almost 11 years, and many fans were delighted to see Japanese musician Tsunku, who pitched the original Rhythm Heaven to Nintendo, back as the game’s composer and producer.
Recently, Tsunku published a lengthy blog post about his feelings on Rhythm Heaven Groove, reflecting on the past 11 years leading up to its development and release.
In the post, Tsunku confesses that, at times, he was under the impression that the series would never get another sequel, thinking that “popularizing rhythm was much harder than I imagined after all.” However, requests for Rhythm Heaven to get another installment had been coming from fans all around the globe, both via social media and directly to his office, which convinced him that there was still strong demand for the franchise.
The generation “who spent their formative teenage years playing the Rhythm Heaven series” back in the late 2000s and early 2010s are now working adults, the musician writes. As many of them are also working for video game companies, Tsunku has occasionally been getting offers to create games similar to Rhythm Heaven elsewhere. But while he says he was grateful for the consideration, he ultimately made the decision to refuse all of the offers coming his way.
“I always believed I would get the opportunity to work with Nintendo on the next Rhythm Heaven, so I politely declined such offers. I’d say it’s my way of showing indebtedness to Nintendo for all the support I’ve received throughout the years,” Tsunku says.
Back in 2014, Tsunku was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer and had his vocal cords removed as part of the treatment. This was right around the time he was working on Rhythm Heaven Megamix, and the illness heavily impacted both his work and his mental health. However, seeing Nintendo’s diligent approach to development was one of the reasons he was able to push through the hardship.
“The fact that Nintendo never halted development and kept working on the game ahead of its release became one of my beacons of hope. It’s what helped me gain the courage to tell myself, ‘You can do this!’,” he writes. “What I later learned was that Nintendo’s CEO Satoru Iwata had also been battling an illness around that same period…Once again, I extend my deepest condolences.”
Reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic turmoil of the early 2020s, Tsunku explains that he wanted people to know that “Rhythm Heaven Groove was completed amidst turbulent times.”
“Both me and Nintendo’s Rhythm Heaven development team have grown 20 years older since the release of the first game – we’re all uncles now. But Rhythm Heaven Groove was a work made by many different generations of people; from our own uncle generation, to the new generation of young staff members who told us, ‘I played the game on the DS back when I was in elementary school.’”
Rhythm Heaven Groove is available for the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.
Related: Rhythm Heaven Groove is super popular with cats in Japan for some reason
