Rhythm Heaven Groove is all about feeling the flow and hitting the beat. But sometimes it can be hard to get a grasp on the rhythm and audio cues in the game, and that in turn can stop your progression. Don’t be discouraged, though: you can skip games in Rhythm Heaven Groove, and we’ll show you how in three simple steps with this guide!
Step 1: Unlock the Café
While more of a prerequisite than a step, in order to skip a particularly troublesome game, you need to make sure you’ve unlocked the Café first.
The Café is located on the bottom-left tile of the game select menu, and is unlocked immediately after clearing Remix 1. So long as you’ve cleared Remix 1, you’re all set here.
There isn’t much to do here normally, aside from listening to the Barista’s musings about rhythm, their life, and the game itself, but the Café (or Lounge) is literally the place to go to trigger a game skip.
Step 2: Fail a New Rhythm Game, Three Times in a Row
Skipping games is limited only to the latest game you’ve unlocked. Sneezy Moon is the first game to break my flawless streak, and one that seems to throw many people off, so we’ll use it as our example.
In order to skip a game, you need to show that you’re having trouble with it, so simply start the rhythm game in question. The key here is to fail, and let the game continue to completion and to the feedback screen. Quitting a game mid-session will not count.
Tip: You don’t even need to actively play a rhythm game to skip it! You just need to get a non-passing score three times in a row.
After getting three failing scores in a row, you’ll notice the cafe has a blue exclamation mark above it. Once you see this, you can then skip the game by talking with the Barista (or Manager).
Step 3: Talk with the Barista/Manager
After failing the game three times, head back to the Café (or Lounge) to discuss your progress.
The Barista/Manager will let you know they’ve heard you’ve been having difficulty with a game, then suggest viewing gameplay for the game through Video Examples on the main menu, and, lastly, offer you the choice to skip the bothersome game.
Simply choose “Yes, please!” when prompted, and you’ll return to the game select menu, with the next game unlocked and ready to play!
If you choose not to skip a game, you’ll have to fail the game another 3 times before the offer is presented again.
In our testing, we’ve found that there doesn’t seem to be a limit to the number of times you can skip successive games, either. Just because you can, however, doesn’t mean you should…
6 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Skip Games
While there aren’t any permanent penalties to skipping rhythm games, (and it’s perfectly fine to skip a particularly tricky one now and then), it’s generally recommended to play through each and at least get a passing score. Here’s some reasons why:
Your Flow Will Drop
The most obvious reason why you shouldn’t skip games is that your Flow will drop.
While a bit of a vanity metric, Flow is an approximation of your overall rhythmic proficiency and skill in the Rhythm Heaven series.
In Groove, there is a maximum Flow rating of 140. Skipping games and intentionally poor performance will naturally tank your Flow rating.
While you can always improve your flow rating, skipped games are indistinguishable from other “Good” rated games, meaning you’ll have to play through the each of the games again if you don’t recall which ones you’ve played and which you’ve bypassed.
Failure is a Learning Opportunity
Just like all other games, failure isn’t something to avoid, but something to learn from. It simply means that what you did before didn’t work, and you have an opportunity to improve your skills and try again and again until you get it right!
By learning to view failure less as a condemnation or judgment, and more as an opportunity to grow, you’ll improve your sense of rhythm, both in the game, and in real life.
Remixes Will Feature Skipped Games
Don’t think that just because you skipped that once-a-milennium night, that you’ll never experience it again in your lifetime: every game will come back again in at least one remix. (And that’s at a minimum!)
By intentionally skipping games, you might wind up making the game even harder for yourself later if you haven’t quite mastered the controls, patterns, or audio cues.
Skipping a game is perfectly fine if you know what to do, but can’t. But if you don’t understand the game at all, things can only get harder.
Complexity is Satisfying, When Mastered
Do you recall doing something you once thought to be impossible? Something that was really difficult at first, but over time, became something you achieved? You might also have noticed something paradoxical after: meeting that challenge becomes satisfying!
As you continue to get better and better, you’ll likely find that the things you once did with ease aren’t nearly as exciting or fun as the more difficult ones! The same applies to gaming as a whole, especially with rhythm games.
By sticking with some of the harder games, those tricky patterns, syncopated rhythms, and faster than normal sections tend to be the most enjoyable parts! Sneezy Moon, for example, may have been one of my least favorite games at first, but its chaotic sequel easily became of my favorite rhythm games.
You Won’t Unlock Bonuses
If you haven’t yet gotten an Amazing score/medal on any of the games, and opt to skip games more than not, you’ll wind up missing out on some of the game’s bonus modes and unlockables.
From Beatspell chapters, to additional items in the Rhythm Toy Box, and other things aside, if you don’t play through the games, you won’t get to experience all of the little things Rhythm Heaven Groove has to offer.
You’ll Miss Over Half the Game’s Experience
Simply playing through the rhythm games in Groove is half the experience, and if you don’t revisit and master the games you’ve skipped, you won’t get to experience the challenge and rewards of the Perfect Campaign.
Groove pushes its players to strive for Perfection and beyond, offering its own set of rewards for players who meet the added challenge.
But aside from just perfection, Groove adds a new way to experience games with Night Mode. We’ve also covered what Night Mode is and how to unlock it on another post already.
Final Thoughts
That’s everything you need to know about skipping games in Rhythm Heaven Groove! If you’re looking for more resources about the game, check out our Rhythm Heaven Groove page, or if you’re wanting to hear our thoughts about the game, you can read our review!
