Them's Fightin' Herds

I was a bit of a Brony back in the day. Not the nasty 4chan ones; I was one of the fans who felt that the fandom should be considerate of the fact that most My Little Pony fans were, are, and have always been little girls. But there was a fangame I took an interest in called Fighting Is Magic.

From what I recall playing the beta, it was a fairly balanced fighter that handled well. But Hasbro sent a cease-and-desist in 2013, and I assumed it was over.

I was wrong.

Turns out the programmers of Fighting Is Magic, Mane 6, decided to revive the project with all the MLP references removed as a new game called Them's Fightin' Herds. Lauren Faust, who also designed the characters of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, even designed the main cast of Them's Fightin' Herds.

The basic storyline is that ungulates (hoofed animals who chew the cud) have lived in peace in the land of Foenum, but the Predators, who were sealed away centuries ago, are threatening to escape. It's up to the Champions of Foenum to strengthen the seal and save the world. Each champion is a different species and has a different personality and fighting style.

Arizona, a young calf, is the Champion of the Prarie. She's a straightforward fighter with a no-nonsense, country-girl attitude. She's also the only character who currently has a chapter in Story Mode.

A young reindeer named Velvet is the Champion of the Tundra. She uses Winter Magic to put her foes on ice, and is a bit vain.

Oleander the unicorn is the Champion of the Woodlands. She weilds a dark magic tome called the Unicornomicon to fight her foes with arcane spirits, and is determined to use it only for good.

If you're familiar with Friendship is Magic, Paprika the alpaca, Champion of the Highlands, is basically Pinkie Pie. She carries around an assortment of items that she uses to attack.

Pom the sheep is the reluctant Champion of the Meadow. Like most sheep, she's rather timid, and prefers to summon her dog friends to do her bidding on the battlefield. (Why there are dog friends in a world where predators have been sealed away is a good question, and as far as I know the game doesn't really address it.)

A longma, or dragon-horse, Tianhuo is Champion of Huoshan. She is deeply respectful of her opponents and loves a good challenge. She's a mainly aerial fighter.

Rounding out the cast is Shanty, a goat pirate. She's not a Champion, but is determined to steal the Prophet's Key that is sealing the Predators away in order to prove herself.

The story scenes in Story Mode include both these cute sprites reminiscent of old 16-bit games, and more elaborately illustrated scenes. All of them are beautifully rendered, and you feel like they enhance the action instead of getting in the way of the Good Stuff.

Gameplay is your typical four-button fighter style. Rapid button-mashing allows for impressive combos, and some characters are easier to master than others, with Arizona being the most basic character. Each character has really great special moves, too.

You can make characters battle Predators as well as each other, and fight against the computer or other players worldwide.

Verdict

I've always loved fighting games, even though I'm not particularly good at them. Them's Fightin' Herds is a title with something for everyone. MLP fans probably already know and love this game, but it's got a lot to recommend it to non-fans, including a cast of well-known voice actors and a pretty nice soundtrack. 9/10.