Rhythm Heaven Groove producer and composer Mitsuo Terada (known professionally as Tsunku) has stated that he declined offers to make similar games due to his “indebtedness” to Nintendo, remaining convinced that the company would want to make a new entry.

This comes via a blog post (thanks, Automaton) in which Tsunku says that many individuals who grew up with the original Rhythm Heaven are now adults who work on games of their own. As such, he was inundated with offers to help make something similar. However, Tsunku maintained faith that he would work with Nintendo again, and so declined every offer that came 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.”

He goes on to praise Nintendo for its ability to push ahead with the development of Rhythm Heaven Megamix, despite Tsunku suffering from laryngeal cancer back in 2014. He says that it inspired him to be courageous before later learning that the late Satoru Iwata was also severely ill at the same time.

“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!’.

“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.”

Rhythm Heaven Groove is well worth a shot if you haven’t played it yet. A demo is available, but we scored the full game a well-deserved 8/10, calling it “a surprise and a delight” and a fitting swan song for the Switch.