The final game for the original Switch to be made by Nintendo themselves will be released in July, as the publisher begins to focus solely on the Switch 2.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is coming up to its first anniversary soon, but its predecessor is still on sale and plenty of new games are still being made for it. Because the Switch 2 is backwards compatible, anything released on Switch 1 automatically works on it, so a lot of lower budget indie titles just make games for the original – safe in the knowledge that it will also work on the Switch 2.
Somewhat surprisingly, Nintendo has done the same thing with some of their less graphically complex games. They’re planning to release two Switch 1 titles this year, with the first being Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream on April 16.
The other is Rhythm Paradise Groove (aka Rhythm Heaven Groove), which until now has not had a release date. But now they’ve revealed that it’ll be out on July 2 for a price of £33.99.
Rhythm Paradise Groove is almost certainly going to be the last first party Nintendo game to be launched on the Switch 1, as no others have been announced for this year and it seems very unlikely they’d plan any for 2027.
Both games are sequels to long-running Nintendo franchises, that have appeared on multiple previous consoles, with this being the fifth entry in the minimalist rhythm action series, which started out in 2006 on the Game Boy Advance.
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That first game was only released in Japan, where it was known as Rhythm Tengoku, but became an import favourite, which convinced Nintendo to release the subsequent ones in the West.
Not much has been shown of Rhythm Paradise Groove so far but it seems to be following the same style of the other games, with purposefully simplistic graphics and a focus on keeping to the beat that is traditionally much less forgiving than other rhythm action games.
Unlike Living The Dream, there’s currently no sign that Rhythm Paradise is getting a free demo but then Tomodachi is a much bigger franchise in Japan, so it’s understandable that the two games are not being treated equally.
Although at first it seemed like Nintendo might’ve accidentally revealed the release date on the eShop, it was officially announced via their Nintendo Today! app and social media.
That kind of a low key annoucement is becoming increasingly fashionable at the moment, for all publishers, and it’s also how Splatoon Raiders was announced (about which we’ve heard nothing since) and how it’s rumoured Star Fox will be unveiled this month.
It remains a mystery as to when there might be a general first party Nintendo Direct but it’s looking increasingly likely that it won’t happen until the usual June not-E3 time slot. That would be before the release of Rhythm Paradise Groove, so that may end up being the only other time it’s shown off before launch.
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