Minty Fresh Adventure II Tech Demo-Thing

Minty Fresh Adventure II (Tech Demo)

A while back I was given the opportunity to try out a tech demo for Minty Fresh Adventure II, and for a holiday surprise Mark was nice enough to release what he called an "Xmas Preview Thing" to the general public. It doesn't show off much except for some new backgrounds and one of the ingame enemies, but hopefully it will make the wait for the final product somewhat easier.

Review:Pony Platforming Project

Pony Platforming Project

"One fine day, when Applejack was walking innocently through the hills...suddenly, OWLBEARS! Thousands of them!" So begins the Pony Platforming Project, a simple platformer starring Applejack. It's developer, Mark Sprague, is a member of Mane 6, the dev team behind My Little Pony:Fighting is Magic. He also runs the webcomic Dragon Mango, which you may have heard of or read before.

Does the Pony Platforming Project live up to it's creator's rather impressive résumé? Find out after the break!

The first thing that struck me upon loading this game was the graphics. They're...beautiful.  It's quite clear that Sprague has put a lot of work into this game, and it shows. The animation is incredibly smooth, far more so then I've ever seen in a released fangame. Although as I gaped in amazement at the work Mark Sprague put into this game an owlbear fell out of the sky and hit poor Applejack on the head. This was a rather strange design choice, but after giving the owlbear a good hard kick he flew off the screen and I moved on. It took me a while to get used to the odd controls, but I eventually got used to it, and discovered after my test session that I could adjust it to my liking.

The gameplay forumla is quite simple. It consists mainly of kicking/stomping on owlbears or chickens, and finding the hidden secrets hidden throughout the demo. It was fun at first, but after a while it grew rather repetitive, and I eventually got a feeling of déjà vu from the level design. The game would have benefited greatly if it had some parallax scrolling in the background, although with the creator busy with Mane 6 I don't really expect him to find the time to add it. The music was nice at first, but got fairly annoying after a couple minutes of playing the game, and I eventually muted the sound. I enjoyed finding all the secrets the demo had to offer, and trust me, there are a lot of them for a game this size. A couple of them were broken when I first played, although they have since been fixed...

Momma Owlbear doesn't look too happy with you..

The game also has a boss fight at the end with an "Understandably Upset Parent, Mrs Owlbear". The fight is fairly easy, as long as you are aware that you can buck in midar and perform a dash attack (which was undocumented, sadly), because otherwise, it becomes unbearably difficult. Despite it's simplicity I enjoyed the fight, and if the author continues to update the game I will look forward to more of them in the future.

There are many fangames out there, with varying degrees of quality. While most are mediocre at best, and unbearable at worst, the Pony Platforming Project manages to outshine most of it's (released) peers through it's high-quality animation and a bunch of hidden secrets and easter eggs. However, repetitive gameplay, music and a lack of documentation detract from the experience. Despite these flaws, it's still worth a play or two, although it may take more to find all the secrets the game has to offer.

8/10(image soon)

Oh, and by the way, I'm apparently Equestria Gaming's newest blog author, XTUX345.

Updated: MFA II Pre-Preview

Pre-Preview

 It seems that Mark, after stealthily releasing his last pre-preview on MLPchan back in September, took the feedback he received and whipped up another one for his followers to enjoy. It features an expanded world, more visually impressive bossfights (yay!), and the miraculous ability to summon money from thin air. Good thing the latter won't be present in the final game though; imagine what could happen if you could "bribe" particular bosses to leave you alone. You'd probably end up with some kind of weird joke ending where all the big bads go on an expensive holiday in their private yacht, only to have their fortunes taken away by the Equestrian Revenue Service.

 Kind of a shame that Mark probably probably won't be able to release the game in time for Halloween, but ah well. At least the final game should be well worth the wait, if these previews and his previous projects are anything to go by.

 Sorry to the anon whose screencap I "borrowed" for the post header, but Linux Mint's screenshot utility isn't working and installing other ones doesn't help. Also, booting into Windows 8.1 won't do anything to help in the long run because it breaks my boot setup, and arrrgh-

Screw this, I almost feel like switching to Slackware now, or at least some distro that has a stable screencap utility.

Minty Fresh Adventure II Pre-Preview

Pre-Preview

 On September 29th Mark Sprague decided to release a brief "pre-preview" of Minty Fresh Adventure II on MLPchan, which remained unknown to outsiders until today, when some anon posted it in /mlp/'s Game Dev thread. It's fairly brief, but contains a WIP bossfight, several relatively minor easter eggs and some of the nicest voice acting I've ever seen in a My Little Pony fangame.

I would link the original thread, but I'm not sure if MLPchan would appreciate the influx in newbies. In the meantime, enjoy the preview-thing!



So you actually look below the break? Good, because I found a treasure trove of Minty Fresh Adventure II screencaps on MLPchan. Most of 'em are from back in July, but I thought you'd enjoy them regardless.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I kind of doubt that this one is from Minty Fresh Adventure II, but ah well.

Wat.

 

Congratulations on making it this far down! As a reward, have some tech demos and whatnot.

• http://www.dragon-mango.com/ponygame/traintest.htm
• http://www.dragon-mango.com/ponygame/lavatest.htm
• http://www.dragon-mango.com/ponygame/hydratest.htm
• http://www.dragon-mango.com/ponygame/bosstest.htm
• http://www.dragon-mango.com/ponygame/index-beta.htm

Enjoy your weekend.

Minuette vs Tardiness Gets a Level Editor

Minuette vs Tardiness

 Poor Minuette. As if her traumatic experience in Minuette vs Tardiness wasn't long enough, people wanted a level editor to extend her nightmare for their own personal enjoyment. Can't you guys give the poor gal a break? If you keep this up, she's never going to wake up in time for work.

 The above image is from a poster Mark posted on his deviantART. If you want to see the whole thing, it can be found via this link: http://marcusmaximus.deviantart.com/art/Minuette-vs-Tardiness-367190929

Review: Pony Platforming Project 3 1/2

Pony Platforming Project 3 1/2

 If you remember when Minty Fresh Adventure was released back in April over two years ago (has it really been that long?), Mark Sprague mentioned that he was planning on releasing an expansion of sorts to the game, but it kind of got pushed out of the way in order to focus on finishing the much more ambitious Minty Fresh Adventure II by the end of the year. Of course, we all know how that went, and in order to keep us distracted from asking where his game went Mark has gone and finally tossed PPP 3 1/2 to the masses...two years late.

Ah well, at least it's something. In case you're wondering how the expansion turned out, I've written a review of sorts below the break.

 In the original Minty Fresh Adventure, it was possible for Colgate to stumble across a sock lying on the ground in the Cave of Wisdom and drop down a pit for a miniboss encounter, after which she would rescue a sock-obsessed pony named Minty. This expansion reveals that she was apparently trapped in said cave for several years while searching for missing socks, and after all that she's apparently still foolhardy enough to go back in there to see if she can find the rest of them. One wonders why she doesn't just go buy some more, but that would make for a completely different kind of game that may or may not be appropriate to post here.

 Since this is basically a standalone expansion pack, it's pretty much a given that the gameplay will be very similar to that of Minty Fresh Adventure's, and it's pretty much just that without the time-stopping mechanics and the giant weaponized toothbrush. In its place Minty has the ability to...throw candy at things. It doesn't sound like much, but she can use to heal herself if thrown straight upwards and tame various creatures à la Little Nemo: The Dream Master (with the exception of skeletons and spiders, who are damaged by them as if they were normal projectiles, and the unmountable bugbears). Mounting them can provide Minty with several advantages such as faster movement speed, double-jumping and better damage absorption. While not strictly necessary for a simple run of the game, they are incredibly useful for the most part and are vital for completing certain sidequests.

Not quite as hilariously awesome as beating the game as a toothpaste tube, but still pretty neat.

 Those who expected something completely different will be somewhat disappointed, however. It's pretty much MFA with some different gameplay elements, a completely re-arranged Cave of Wisdom and some fairly decent bossfights. The expansion is fairly short as well if one just attempts to head straight to the end without interacting with any of the other characters or bothering to pick up any of Minty's socks, but then one would be missing out on the humourous dialogue and the possibility of earning a better ending. At least the replay value is fairly high for a game of this length, thanks to the aforementioned sidequests and multiple endings. The cutie mark achievement system also makes a return from some of the previous games, thankfully enough, and I hear there's actually a reward for getting them all...

 I'd put a rating on this along with some more in-depth criticism if I had the time and this were a full game, so I guess this will have to do for now. Perhaps I'll expand upon this once I've returned, but in the meantime enjoy the game/expansion thingy!

Review:Pony Platforming Project 3

Pony Platforming Project 3

Mark Sprague has proved me wrong once again with the third release in the excellent Pony Platforming Project series, and unlike the last two games this one stars Colgate, a time-manipulating unicorn who wants to change her destiny and become a dentist instead. Thankfully Mark has decided to continue this series despite his involvement with Mane 6, and he has stated that he specifically addressed many of my complaints in this new instalment of the Pony Platforming Project. To be honest, it's really nice when developers listen to feedback from critics and address their problems; many are too stuck-up to admit that they did anything wrong and refuse to change anything.

So what do I think of the third Pony Platforming Project? Has Mark Sprague managed to create yet another fantastic fangame, or has my overall praise gotten to his head? Find out after the break!

So first off, the already excellent graphics have been improved even further. The sprite animations are smooth, midair attacks don't look near as clumsily animated, and the game environments now actually feature parallax scrolling (which was a very nice touch, one that I'd always wanted to be added to the series). Colgate's brush looks rather out of place floating by her side, but without it Colgate couldn't possibly melee without using Applejack's even worse kicking animation, and besides that brush comes quite in handy, letting the player perform moves that would have been impossible with Applejack (more on that later). The game's new environmental music is also quite fitting, and while it's not outstanding it does its job and does it well.

The game greatly benefits from Parallax Scrolling, which adds an illusion of depth while in motion.

While the core gameplay has largely stayed the same since the project's original incarnation it has received a couple of fairly minor changes in this release. For one, the player has a magic bar that recharges over time, and drains from usage of special attacks and abilities, such as ranged attacks and Clocking Up. When activated by holding jump and attack together Clock Up freezes time and lets the player move at an increased speed, effectively replacing the run ability in the previous games. However, this ability takes up a lot of energy, and is not really necessary if you're good enough at the game. There is also a working points system that can be used to buy items from Trixie's shop (which is no longer free), and a points multiplier can be gained by defeating enemies in quick succession.

In my review of the second game in the series I mentioned that the environments felt a lot more organic then the original. Sadly the current release of this game actually took a couple steps backward in the very first level, with long, unnaturally flat portions of ground followed by small hills and various platforms. It's a real shame, but thankfully the second level remedies this with a better-designed cave level. The game also features a greater variety in enemies then it's predecessors, and added environmental hazards make the game more interesting. I actually found the poison joke's side effects to be an additional challenge mode, with greater scores gained and more rewarding dialogue found by playing under its effects. Plus, it's ridiculously satisfying to beat the crap out of enemies as a toothpaste tube.

Playing as toothpaste proves you're a real boss at this game.

Unlike the previous games in the series the Pony Platforming Project III is much more story-driven, with a clear goal to the game, multiple endings and hidden secrets. There is also a couple sidequests throughout the game as well, and a couple options that give minor changes to each endings. Upon completing the game the player receives various "cutie marks", achievements that showcase the player's various accomplishments throughout the game, and add extra replay value to the game. This feature was not originally in the game but was patched in soon after, an addition that was well worth it.

Remember how I said that the Pony Platforming Project Holiday Special was better in every way then the original? Well, this game comes quite close to doing the same to its predecessor, but actually regressed a little on level design, which is quite unfortunate. Otherwise, it's an excellent fangame with great graphics, fun gameplay and the only video game to ever let you beat the crap out of giant, armoured lizards as a toothpaste tube. Despite its shortcomings this is probably the premier of released MLP fangames and takes the crown from the Holiday Special, which received the same score this game is about to receive:

Congratulations on creating such an excellent game, Mark Sprague, and may you continue on to create many more such games (if you so desire, although since you're busy with Mane 6 we understand). Hope you all enjoyed the review and I'm sorry about posting it so late. Now if you haven't played the game yet already, go on and do it! Trust me, you will not regret it, and maybe try returning to find more endings and hidden secrets.

Review:Minuette vs Tardiness

Minuette vs Tardiness

 It's been awhile since veteran webcomic artist and fangame developer Mark Sprague has added to his well-received Pony Platforming Project series, and so far the results have always been worth the longish wait between installments. For April Fools day he decided to make a joke addition to the series, but it ended up being released a tad later and far more substantial than originally intended: in fact, I would say that it warrants a review of its own.

You can find the full review after the break, of course. If there was no page break it would take far too long to browse the site, and at least we're not splitting up articles into multiple pages, eh?

 Given that Minuette vs Tardiness was intended to be an April Fools game, the plot is understandably quite strange. It stars the receptionist at Colgate's dental clinic, Minuette, who appears to have an obsession with arriving on time and whose worst nightmare is being late. Enter the Nightmare King, a demonic monster who traps ponies within their nightmares and likes to utterly break them before devouring their souls as a late-night snack. Pretty much he's your typical demon, except for the fact that he resembles a deformed elephant who dresses like a moron and has an epic moustache. Instead of devouring her on the spot like a smart monster would he forces the poor gal to complete a series of levels, each with a time limit.

The game starts off in a fairly straightforward manner, but things quickly become rather hectic. 

 Those who have played the previous games in the series should feel right at home, although this entry changes several things: the most important of which is a timer. As the timer gets closer and closer to 0:00 it grows larger and flashes in a threatening manner, and when a level timer runs out your soul gets devoured by Nightmareface. This along with Minuette's panicky animations have the effect of gradually giving the player the same dread of being tardy as the protagonist herself, and after a while it truly begins to feel like a nightmare. Certain levels also feature switches that rotate the level on its sides, wraparound edges and disappearing platforms to increase difficulty and make things even more hectic. Reaching the end of each level is an immense relief, and the game makes you work hard to get there.

 As with most of Sprague's games, visuals are a fairly strong point. The levels themselves do the job well enough but are nothing special, while the character animations and cutscenes are superb. Minuette in particular is quite well-done: subtle additions such as looking nervously around while standing still and crying while running help establish her character and convey a sense of urgency that would otherwise be lacking. As for the backgrounds...for the most part they are fairly simple and don't get in the way, but later on they can become rather impressive.

Poor gal. You'd be running scared too if somebody invaded your dreams and tried eating your soul.

 Given that the game is mainly centered around speed it is understandable that the controls would reflect this, and sometimes the delay in coming to a complete stop can result in the player falling down one of many bottomless pits. The player is also required to stand still before they can pick up blocks or trigger switches, and while this quirk might take some getting used to I wouldn't really say that it is a flaw as it adds extra challenge.  This is especially useful to know upon encountering the first switch in the game, as running into it may cause Minuette to disappear due to a glitch and leave the player utterly helpless until time runs out. Thankfully this only occurs once; the game is of a decent length and contains many switches. If it were any longer the lack of a save feature would be a problem...ah well, the game was only made in a day so I guess I can't expect that much from it.

 In my review of the first game (which also happened to be my first post on the site and was quite amateurish) I expressed annoyance at the overly repetitive background music, and I am happy to say that Minuette vs Tardiness does not suffer from the same problem. Even if a good portion of the music isn't original it is still quite fitting for the most part, thankfully. The voice acting is also pretty good, but as funny as it may be the first time hearing "I'm arriving early to the afterlife!" five times in a row can get on your nerves. Ah well, more incentive not to die, I guess. And is it just me or does the Nightmare King sound sound vaguely Canadian? Must be his way of pronouncing "eh?"...

The cutscenes look pretty good, although this shouldn't be a surprise given that the creator is a webcomic artist.

 One thing that I really missed from the other three Pony Platforming Project games was the easter eggs. Many hidden secrets and whatnot were scattered across the games, but I was unable to find any in here other than a delicious cup of Tim Hortons coffee at the end (nice break from that abomination you Americans call Starbucks, and it even has delicious donuts to go along with your coffee!). Trixie's shop is also strangely absent from the game: then again, I guess Minuette has more important things to do than buy bottles of milk and magic horseshoes. Running for her life, for example.


 Does Minuette vs Tardiness live up to the first three entries of  the Pony Platforming Project? That is hard to say, given that it is not really the same type of game. It's quite fun, sure, but unfortunately I don't think I can warrant giving it any more than an 8/10. At least we still have Minty Fresh Adventure II to look forward to, eh? I'm really looking forward to that game: from what I've seen it appears to be shaping up to be the best My Little Pony platformer yet. Shame it probably won't include any of this game's time-limited levels...a couple of those could really spice it up.

Next up for review: Donitz (the man behind Story of the Blanks and Twilight vs Walking) brings us another creepypasta. I shan't say that much about it, other than that it involves a certain wall-eyed pegasus and a certain well-dressed faceless abomination. Cheerio!

Review:Pony Platforming Project Holiday Special

Pony Platforming Project Holiday Special

A couple weeks ago I reviewed the Pony Platforming Project, a work in progress 2D platformer created by Mark Sprague. In my review I stated that while it was a good game and showed lots of promise, it had quite a few issues holding it back, and with the developer having recently joined Mane 6 I believed that this excellent game would be abandoned, and stay in it's unfinished state forever. Today, I have been proved wrong, as Mark has released a new, Christmas-themed version of the Pony Platforming Project.

Does it manage to overcome the problems that plagued it's predecessor, or does it crash and burn? Find out after the break.

The Pony Platforming Project Holiday Special is better then it's predecessor in every way. I cannot stress this enough. This game took all of the original's issues, fixed them, and made what made the original good this game improved and polished. While I commented in my review of the previous game that the graphics were good looking, they are nothing compared to the Holiday Special's. The snow-filled environment is spectacular, the background (which is a little bland, in my opinion) actually scrolls, and the falling snow adds a lot to the game's overall appearance.

The levels feel much more natural then before, which is a pleasant change.

Unlike the first game, the in-game music is actually nice to listen to while playing, and I must admit, that boss battle music from the first game never gets old, and I'm glad that it was included in this version. The level design has also improved a lot, and I no longer experienced a feeling of déjà vu from repetitive level design, which was a pleasant change. It may have had something to do with the fact that the levels are now shorter; a fact that made reviewing this game far easier. Sprague seems to have found the perfect level length: not too long, yet at the same time not too short either. The game is also far more stable then it's predecessor, and while it's not completely free from bugs, it's a big improvement from before.

As with the last game, the game ends with a boss fight. While I'm not going to spoil it for you, I will tell you that it is far better then that fight with Momma Owlbear. It has an epic feel, and even though it's far too easy to beat I still say that I enjoy the fight every time I play the game. The animated background for the second half of the fight is very well done, and I seriously think that Mark Sprague could get hired at DHX Media to work on the actual show if he ever applied for a job there.


When I first booted up the game, I was expecting a palette swap of the Pony Platforming Project, with snow instead of grass, same old music and recolours of the monsters. Not so. Instead, what I found was an even better, highly polished game that was better then it's predecessor in every way, and hands-down the greatest released My Little Pony:Friendship is Magic game ever released, period. While it's not perfect and future games may take the crown, it's managed to overshadow anything released up to this point by it's sheer polish.