Rhythm Heaven Groove songs & soundtrack
In Rhythm Heaven, the music is the game. The story of the Groove soundtrack, its funk-and-J-pop sound, and the composer who has driven it for twenty years.
The whole series exists because of one pitch. Back in 2004, J-pop producer Tsunku brought Nintendo an idea: a rhythm game you play by feel, with no visual note-chart to follow. The music itself would be the cue. That pitch became Rhythm Tengoku in 2006, and Tsunku has composed for every mainline entry since.
His sound is funk and disco filtered through J-pop — think Chic, Kool & the Gang and Earth, Wind & Fire. That bounce is why the songs stick in your head and why the timing feels natural once you stop staring at the screen.
For Groove, Tsunku returns as composer, joined again by Nintendo's Masami Yone. Feast your ears on catchy original tracks while you focus — the game explicitly leans on the music to carry your timing.
Writing without a voice
In 2014 Tsunku revealed he had laryngeal cancer, and in 2015 he shared that his vocal cords had been removed as part of treatment. He kept composing anyway — through Megamix, and now Groove. The series' signature vocal songs live on, sung by other performers, but the writing is still his.
Vocal tracks have been a series staple since the start — Rhythm Tengoku had them, and Fever re-recorded songs like "Tonight" in English for the West.
Hear the new Groove tracks in the official overview trailer.