After what seems like a lifetime of waiting, fans can finally saddle up for the launch of Them's Fightin' Herds, now on Steam Early Access. This unique fighting game puts players in control of one of many quadrupedal combatants for fast-paced, highly animated 2D battles. The game, originally developed as a fan project starring My Little Pony characters, was almost cancelled when My Little Pony owner Hasbro threatened legal action against the game's creators. But now it's back with all-new original characters and finally ready to kick some tail.

Since it was originally developed as a My Little Pony homage, the game's characters and world take on a more cutesy appearance than most fighting games. Instead of battling on the mean streets, these animals take the fight to enchanted forests and pristine winter wonderlands. But that doesn't mean that the fights themselves are tame. Just like any 2D fighter worth its salt, the game has complex combos, flashy special moves, and plenty of opportunities to juggle a foe.

Along with announcing the game's release, the trailer also lists several activities players can do besides fight. An RPG-style story mode lets players travel the land of Foenum to unlock costumes, solve puzzles, and even eat apples. The Visual Pixel Lobby is Themss Fightin' Herds' way of connecting players for online battles. But it also lets you dress up you favorite character and goof around in various locations in Foenum. There are also special skins that can be unlocked based on BlazBlue CentralFiction, Guilty XRD Rev 2, and Skull Girls 2nd Encore if the player owns those games on Steam.

Them's Fightin's Herds had quite the journey to make it to its release. The development team, Mane 6, started by making a fighting game using the characters from My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic as a fun fan project. Fighting Is Magic, as it was called, started to gain attention not only from My Little Pony fans but from the greater fighting game community as well. This attention worked against Mane 6, however, as they received a Cease and Desist notice from Hasbro, owners of the property. They immediately shut the project down.

Mane 6 wasn't finished, as they took the assets and started a new, original game, Them's Fightin' Herds. Fans rallied to back the project and Mane 6 was even contacted by Lauren Faust, a well-known cartoon producer who created the concept for My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. Faust designed the new characters for Them's Fightin' Herds, leaving the team free to focus on the fighting mechanics and extras like the Visual Pixel Lobby.

The game's early access release includes the Visual Pixel Lobby, Story Mode, online play, and all the other features shown in the trailer, with more to come. MacOS and Linux versions of the game are also set to accompany the Windows version in later 2018.

NEXT: EXTRA FUN SECRETS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT MY LITTLE PONY