Them's Fightin' Herds is one cease-and-desist away from a My Little Pony fighting game

Sometimes a cease-and-desist letter sent to the creators of a fan project can be a good thing. Sure, you can't use the licensed property that inspired you anymore, but creative minds can still produce something exciting. You might, oh, I don't know, be in the middle of making a My Little Pony fighting game when Hasbro gives you the wag of its legal finger, and you just might take that as the chance to make a game like this:

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By that point however, the project had gained itself a dedicated following. When news of the C&D spread, the group - thanks to their own prominence and fan grassroots campaigns - earned the support of Skullgirls developer Lab Zero Games and Friendship is Magic's original creative director, Lauren Faust. That's Lab Zero's engine running Them's Fightin' Herds and those are Faust's designs you see in Arizona the Cow and Velvet the Reindeer.

This makes Them's Fightin' Herds both the closest fans will likely ever see of such a thing and a buttery-smooth fighter. It's still an independently produced effort, though, so the group has released a trailer showing a sneak peek at gameplay while simultaneously announcing a crowdfund campaign start date of September 21.

As for my thoughts, well, I'll let Rainbow Dash sum up my feelings: So! Awesome!

Sam is a former News Editor here at GamesRadar+. His expert words have appeared on many of the web's well-known gaming sites, including Joystiq, Penny Arcade, Destructoid, and G4 Media, among others. Sam has a serious soft spot for MOBAs, MMOs, and emo music. Forever a farm boy, forever a '90s kid.