The player controls Mr. Hi-Hat (ハイハット君?, Hai hatto-kun), also known as Hi-Hat in Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise, a percussion instrument with a round face, nice eyebrows and cute tongue. Bouncing on Hi-Hat are weights with springs. The player must clamp the Hi-Hat down when the first weight hits and release as the biggest weight lands. Repeating this creates a simple rhythm, with more instruments added the longer the beat is kept going. The player can choose to view a demo at any time, but viewing it will not progress the addition of instruments.
The player can select from three different beats, each with an arrangement of an existing song from the Rhythm Heaven series: