Rhythm Paradise Groove Guide: What is Beatspell and tips and tricks to conquer it

You may have seen during the Nintendo Direct that aired in early June, but Rhythm Paradise Groove is bolstered by a dedicated new game mode that ties together the rhythmic gameplay with that of RPG and dungeon-crawling-esque systems. It's called Beatspell and if you're wondering what exactly this mode is and how to master it, we've cooked up this handy guide.

Where to find Beatspell?

For starters, you unlock Beatspell rather early through the Solo mode. You don't need to have completed the 80 or so levels to unlock this mode, as the first "chapter" will be made available after the first few Remix levels.

• Don't miss: Our guide on mastering all 30 Solo mode mini-games

It's located on the Frontside array of mini-games, on the far left two slots above the cafe and one below the credits activity. If some of these points seem alien to you, fear not, you'll soon unlock them while playing through Solo mode.

When you do actually click on Beatspell, you'll learn rather soon that much of it is locked away, with the progression caveat being a necessity to earn medals in Solo mode mini-games, for the most part. You will also need to complete the Beatspell chapters in order to unlock the next one, but that's fairly standard progression. In total, you'll unlock a new chapter every three medals you earn, meaning Chapter 2 is unlocked after three medals, Chapter 3 after six medals, Chapter 8 after 21 medals, and so forth.

How do you play Beatspell?

Playing Beatspell may seem quite complex to begin with, but it's actually rather intuitive and smart when you put it through the ringer. You are presented with a diamond shape where a cursor moves clockwise around the four points in time with an underlying beat that changes depending on the encounter and song. The aim is to align your inputs with the circle to cast spells, with these being straightforward commands that could simply revolve around pressing A for two beats (to align with the top and the right-most side of the diamond) to cast a flame, or instead sprinkling in double-beat inputs, the use of other buttons, having to skip a beat, the list goes on.

The difference between Beatspell and the main mini-games of Rhythm Paradise Groove is that you have far more agency in how you operate, as you can decide which spells to cast depending on the scenario. For example, you may encounter a fire-based enemy, hence using water attacks are more effective than fire attacks, so that will define the spells you cast. Similarly, the aim is to remain alive in combat, and if an enemy delivers a couple of quick strikes, you may need to sprinkle some healing spells in to top your health bar back up. Regardless, spell casting is entirely up to you.

In a way, Beatspell is more of a turn-based RPG experience, except instead of strategically planning your attacks and then passing the baton to the enemy, you treat every four beats like a turn where you make a plan for how you will continue to cast spells and deal with the strikes dealt in return.

Tips and Tricks for conquering Beatspell

1. For starters, paying attention to enemy types is absolutely crucial. This is mostly defined by the colour of an enemy, but if you see a spell glowing on the left of your HUD, it means that spell is more effective against that threat, so put it to good use. Before an encounter, it will also tell you which spell will be most effective for that enemy.


2. Secondly, don't worry about missing beats, as it happens. Rather, when you stumble, take a minute and reset, using the first beat at the top of the diamond as your North Star, if you will.


3. Thirdly, don't worry about mana or stamina or any limiting factor of that regard. You can cast as many spells as you like, as frequently as the casting recipes allow for. To that end, you can cast two fireball spells in the space of one rotation around the diamond, both starting at the top and bottom of the diamond. Similarly, you can pick and choose; slinging a fireball, switching to a curing heal spell, and then capping off with a water strike. The point is, spell casting doesn't need to begin at the top of the diamond, at the 'first position'.


4. Fourthly, when upgrading spells between encounters, employ a balance between damaging spells predominantly. Essentially, while it can be useful to have a more powerful cure, you can spam that spell quite effectively, where if you perfectly time it, you can go from 40 HP back to full (100 HP) in the space of four total beats. The point is, the healing spells are rather good as they stand whereas the damaging spells could always be improved.


5. Lastly, for boss encounters, don't worry about the boss' health bar. Just keep chipping away, minding your own business, and eventually you will win. As long as you consistently cast spells, hitting perfect spells as frequently as you can, and constantly top up your own health, you most certainly will succeed and overcome the bosses thrown your direction.

What are the best ways to achieve top scores?

As a final note, you will likely notice that Beatspell has a scoring system in place. This is more of a replayable element than anything, as victory simply revolves around defeating the enemy standing in your way. That being said, if you want to hunt for top marks and earn five stars on each encounter, there are a few key tricks to keep in mind.

• Speed - The faster you complete an encounter/chapter, the higher your end score will be.


• Retain hearts - If you don't die during an encounter and finish the chapter with all three hearts intact, you will get an added bonus score.


• Hitting perfects - The more perfect inputs you get, the higher your end score will be.

And that's about it all things considered. Beatspell is perhaps the most complex unique mode in Rhythm Paradise Groove, but at its heart, it's still a rather straightforward rhythm experience where timing and remaining cool under pressure are the most important tricks to keep in mind. For more on the game, don't forget to read our dedicated review.