Them's Fightin Herds - Steam, 2020

 


Jason "Mr Midnyte" Pinon

Hey everyone, welcome back to another Forgotten Fighting Legends!

So, if you hand't noticed, this one is not an old game.  As much as I enjoy talking about some of the games from times long past, I also want to highlight some standouts in the modern scene.  2020's Them's Fightin' Herds brings the cuteness, but doesn't lack the hallmarks of a good fighting game with a diverse (although small) cast and exciting game play.

First, a little history.  Created by indy studio Mane6, this game features a group of quadrupeds hell bent on becoming monarch of the field.  If you think that the fighters look like side characters from My Little Pony, you're actually not far off.  The original version of this game was called "My Little Pony: Fighting is Magic", featuring the main cast members in a brawl for all.
 

This however was not a licensed game, and Hasbro being a multi-million dollar toy juggernaut didn't want anyone taking money out of their pocket and hit the game designers with a cease-and-desist.  It looked like the game would be DOA until Laura Faust, original character designer of the Friendship is Magic series saw the how hard they worked on it and created brand new (and legally distinct) models for the game to use and rebranded as Them's Fightin' Herds.  

This link is to a video of the MLP design and gameplay.
https://youtu.be/_YBZqWNnFOQ

Now, I have not had a chance to play this game.  But from all angles, it seems to check all of the boxes for a great fighting game: fun, fast, and fluid gameplay; deep mechanics; colorful (hand drawn!) graphics; a large story mode; a robust training mode; Rollback netcode for smooth online play.  The one hitch that people often have with it is the small roster, featuring only six playable creatures from the outset.  This includes Oleander the unicorn (not Twilight Sparkle), Arizona the cow (not Applejack), Velvet the reindeer (not Rarity), Paprika the alpaca (not Pinky Pie), Tianhuo (not Rainbow Dash) which is some sort of dragon, and Pom the sheep (that other horse, I dunno) .  There is also a seventh character Shanty (a goat) who is in production.  And before you say anything, yes I am sort of familiar with the show having young kids and curious about it due to it's popularity.  Don't judge.  


Eatin' cans and kickin'...cans.

Despite all of that, the game has gotten good reviews and was even going to be featured in many of the major tournaments in 2020 before everything got the kibosh due to COVID.  It was going to be a part of EVO-Online before the other events of last year.  But like many of the smaller games, there is a dedicated fan base that enjoy it for exactly what it is: a good fighting game.

If you'd like to learn more, here is a link to IGN's review of the game.
https://youtu.be/F8rud-J-iK8

And, because I love fighting game tournaments, here is a link to the Cyber Stun City event, held late last year with some high-level gameplay.
https://youtu.be/7vfORhYqkR4

Midnyte Score: 4.5 out of 5!

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