Rhythm Heaven Groove producer and composer Mitsuo Terada, known as Tsunku, says he turned down numerous offers to make games resembling Rhythm Heaven because he felt indebted to Nintendo. He remained confident that Nintendo would eventually invite him to work on another official entry, and his comments underline the long-standing partnership behind the series.

Tsunku said offers came from developers who had grown up with the original games and later entered the industry. He also praised Nintendo for continuing development of Rhythm Heaven Megamix while he was being treated for laryngeal cancer in 2014, which he said gave him encouragement; he later learned that then-Nintendo president Satoru Iwata was seriously ill during the same period.