My Little Mahjong

Play it here!

Hubworld has released My Little Mahjong, a ponified version of Mahjong Solitaire. The game itself is pretty simple, and aside from a few technical bugs, quite well done. There are a few different puzzle layouts to try, and you can solve them all to an instrumental version of the Find a Pet song. There's also a shuffle button in case you get stuck.

Review: Adventure Ponies 2

Adventure Ponies 2

 Somehow this review ended up getting delayed for nearly three weeks, partially due to a nasty headache on the day it was supposed to be written that caused it to be pushed back further and further until now; so as I sat at my desk and waited for everyone else to wake up, it seemed prudent to finally get this out of the way so I can get on to reviewing other stuff (such as the final version of MegaPony). Fair enough?

Following standard procedure, the review can be found after the break.


 For the most part it's fair to assume that when a video game sequel comes out, it will contain at least some improvements over the original. In this case, however, you'd be wrong. Adventure Ponies 2 is basically a buggier re-skinning of the first game with secondary characters instead of the Mane 6, terrible new levels, and really boring bosses. I almost wish I didn't have to stretch this out to fill an entire review, but since that's what you folks expect of me, here it goes...

 Somewhere along the line, somebody in the Hub's game development team fell in love with the colour brown and married it, not knowing that he was entering a polygamous relationship with the vast majority of generic "real is brown" shooters. He then proceeded to proclaim his love for his new wife by creating a game about her, and slapped ponies onto it so everybody would see it. Gone are the colourful backgrounds of Adventure Ponies, so you'd better get used to wading through stage after stage of boring brown badness. The only "upside" to this is that the objects on the stages stand out against the bland backgrounds, but that doesn't really help things.

Spikes and balloons are not a good combination.

 Meanwhile, the game is glitchier than ever, to the point where many people have been either completely unable to start it up or ended up with a screen displaying assets (??). Occasionally I've managed to get ponies frozen on the spikes and unable to get off, resulting in their death aside from one notable incident where I somehow managed to clip through the floor after hitting a spike. There was also an incident where a teleporter refused to work, and one of our most frequent commenters has mentioned that perfecting a bonus room can result in the camera getting stuck. I haven't been able to test that one out to see if it has been fixed or not, but regardless you should still be prepared for almost anything while playing.


 So are there any improvements over the original? Well...yes, there is at least one that I can think of. The controls, while still rather weird, aren't nearly as aggravatingly slippery as they used to be, resulting in fewer cheap deaths overall. Thing is, the rest of the game is so dull that you probably won't even notice or care that much. Since there are much better fangames out there already, I'd advise that you leave this one alone and play MegaPony or something.

...I was going to write a large paragraph on how the decrease in quality from Adventure Ponies 1 to 2 paralleled that of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic over the same period of time, but I won't bother for now.

Adventure Ponies 2

Adventure Ponies 2

 As an extremely pleasant surprise, The Hub has released a sequel to their Adventure Ponies Flash game from 2012. If all goes well I should have a full review for the game up at some point tomorrow (because starting a review at 7 PM would be pushing it a little), but in the meantime I hope you folks enjoy the game!

...Is it just me, or is this the first My Little Pony game ever to feature more male characters than female?

My Little Pony - Friendship is Magic (Gameloft Game) Released!

My Little Pony - Friendship is Magic

Gameloft's anticipated take on MLP:FiM has been released! Unfortunately, it's only available in Australia and New Zealand at time of writing, but its download page (the iTunes NZ site is linked above) has plenty for you to slobber over even if you can't yet get it working on your iPhone or iPad. More after the break!

Update: The app is now available in the US. Find it here!
Update #2: The android version can be found here.
Update #3: Looking for a boatload of friends? Check out EQD's official name share post.

Currently, it appears the game contains elements of both single-player adventure and town-building. Development by Gameloft as well as the inclusion of dialogue from the show's VA's both bode well for its success. Have some copypasta:

"Saddle up for adventure with Twilight Sparkle & friends! After being locked away in the moon for centuries, Nightmare Moon is set free and spreading night across Ponyville! Only Twilight Sparkle and her friends can free Ponyville from her grasp and bring light and friendship back to the land. Help them rebuild the town and reach their dreams in exciting quests!

✰ Your favorite ponies are here: Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack and more!

✰ Make your Ponyville the most magical place in Equestria.

✰ Play fun mini-games with your ponies: Ball Bounce, Apple-Picking and Magic Wings!

✰ Interact with your friends and feel the Magic of Friendship!

✰ Enjoy official TV show voice talents featured in the game!"

Installation instructions for those outside the game's release area (courtesy of Lusht on Reddit):

1. Log out of your iTunes account.

2. Download the app. 

3. When given the option, create a new ID. Don't set up payment, as you'll need to provide valid billing information from Australia or New Zealand.

4. Download the app (it's free).

Unfortunately, I'm without an iDevice, so I'm assigning this one to you guys. Play it and report back!

Gameloft's Welcome to Ponyville Gameplay Footage

Update: the title for the game has been revealed: Welcome to Ponyville. I get the impression that Filly Gamez won't be too happy about this...

Apparently Gameloft has been developing an official My Little Pony mobile game for a while now, and yesterday one of the developers released a video preview that showcased the game. I must admit that overall it does look rather pretty, but it seems that this game is yet another example of how ponies really don't look that great in 3D (PonyKart managed to get around this with some fancy shading, but it would probably drain cellphone batteries to have that). This game should make an interesting review to say the least, although that reviewer won't be me since I do not currently own any working mobile devices.

What do you think of this preview, eh?

Screenshot of an Official MLP Flash Game

Original Post

Apparently this is a screenshot of an official My Little Pony flash game from their Facebook page. A year ago I would have been squeeing over this like my sisters over an autograph One Direction, but to be honest I must say that it looks kind of...dull. Sure it's always nice to have official games, but we already have an overload of cloud dodgers and the lack of a unified art style disturbs me. Of course I'll save most of my criticism and praise (hopefully) for the final product, but I do hope that this will be as good as Adventure Ponies, don't you? Speaking of which it would be interesting if we were able to put Adventure Ponies on the Arcade, although I kind of doubt that Hasbro would approve...

Review:Adventure Ponies

Adventure Ponies

It is not often that the Hub releases official My Little Pony games, and when it does they are usually simple little puzzle games intended for the target audience or underused pony creation utilities. The problem isn't that the games are bad, it's that your average Brony doesn't find them all that interesting. But all this changed a couple weeks back when the Hub announced an 8-bit pony platformer. It was supposed to be exclusively for attendees of the San Diego Comic Con but somepony kindly leaked the code to Equestria Daily (the code is HUBMLP8BIT by the way). Now you probably know what comes next...

It's review time, obviously! Check out our review after the break.

At it's core Adventure Ponies is a rather simplistic platformer. You start out with Twilight Sparkle as your character and unlock the other ponies with their own abilities (well, except for Rarity: she's a Twilight clone). Twilight and Rarity can both teleport when standing on special bases and fire magic projectiles, Applejack can climb ladders and use a powerful buck attack, Pinkie Pie can also use ladders and fire exploding balloons from her party cannon, and Rainbow Dash can fly and use a ramming attack. Meanwhile Fluttershy is ridiculously overpowered as she can both fly and use a hard-hitting stare attack that will have any boss begging for mercy (and make brick walls crumble to the ground).

The game features six levels, although you will find that the levels undergo slight modifications depending on which pony you play as. Scattered around the level are apples that you can collect to increase your score, hearts to replenish health, and extra lives. There is also a timer for each stage that will give you bonus points when you beat the clock, and at the level's end a boss shall be found. Overall it's pretty standard stuff, but the old formula has withstood the test of time and remains fun as ever.

I must say that the 8-bit graphics are quite well done and have a nice, retro feel. It actually feels like a game that one would play on an Nintendo Entertainment System or another older console, a feel that most of our 8-bit fangames lack except for Story of the Blanks. Come to think of it several boss levels use a parallax scrolling effect in the background which looks pretty but probably would have been impossible for a NES to handle. This is not a bad thing (especially when you consider my infamous love for that visual effect), but it might end up offending some ultra-sensitive retro games out there. As for the music...it's just there. Not particularly memorable music I might add, but at least it doesn't get annoying after being played over and over for most stages.

The game sounds pretty good so far, eh? It is, but sadly there are a couple issues that detract from the overall experience. First off, jumping feels somewhat off, making precise landings difficult, and for some strange reason the clouds are slippery! Even if you land on a cloud (which can be fairly difficult in itself) you might slide right off and fall to your death, and since the game has no savepoints you'll have to start the level all over again. Eventually one gets used to the weird controls, but for your first couple playthroughs you'll feel a strong urge to ragequit (thankfully it's not quite as frustrating as Crazy Pony).

In conclusion we must say that Adventure Ponies is a great game. The 8-bit style looks fantastic, the gameplay is fun, it has bosses, it's official, etc etc. If it weren't for the maddening controls and those slippery clouds I would have had no complaints about this game, but since these get in the way of the fun I'm going to have to give this game a 7/10. Sorry Hasbro!

...What? It's not like 7/10 is a low score, right?

OFFICIAL 8-bit Pony Game Coming Soon!

A couple months ago the Hub posted an 8-bit My Little Pony commercial, and we all thought it was amazing. But what happened next nopony expected. The game featured in the commercial is real, and people who attend the Golden Yolk at Comic Con will get early access to the game! There's more detailed info in the press release, which states:

Visitors to the Broken Yolk will also receive a secret code to gain exclusive access on Hubworld.com to the eagerly anticipated "My Little Pony Friendship is Magic" themed, 8-bit "Adventure Pony" game already teased on the network.

 Hopefully they'll release it to the general public after a set period of time, but in case you happen to be attending the San Diego Comic Con be sure to pick up a code so you can play. If you happen to be feeling really generous I'm sure everypony would appreciate some screenshots, right?

8-bit Pony Hub Commercial

Well folks, this commercial recently aired on the Hub. Now, pony commercials air all the time on the Hub, so what would warrant this one a post on Equestria Gaming? Simple, this one features Pinkie Pie playing an 8-bit game based on the adventures of the Mane 6!

Now, somepony make an actual version of this game QUICK!

New MLP Apps and Giveaway

Download it Here!

Ruckus Media, the company behind the Ruckus Reader and Twilight Sparkle, Teacher for a Day have released some new iReader stories for the iPad. These games are pretty special in that they are officially endorsed by Hasbro. You can get the first one, Things that Go Bump in the Night, absolutely free, and the other two, Twilight Sparkle's Special Lesson and Rarity Loves Fashion, in a bundle of two for $5.99.

To commemorate this, Ruckus is giving away ten free copies of their full iLibrary Membership - a  $25 value! To enter, all you have to do is send an email to me at enigma9994@gmail.com with the subject line "Bump in the Night" by Friday, April 26th, before midnight, PST. The winners will be selected at random and notified of their victory. Also, make sure you own an iPad, as other iOS devices are not supported at this moment. See some more screenshots after the break...

The Ruckus Reader App

So there you have it folks!

Mane 6 May Use Skullgirls's Engine

Mane 6's Announcement

Keep Skullgirls Growing

Update: Still have questions? Then visit Mane 6's Official FAQ, where they also have additional character teasers and whatnot.

 As of now Mane 6 is no longer producing My Little Pony fangames, but with Lauren Faust on the team they have a bright future; and if Lab Zero Games's Keep Skullgirls Growing IndieGoGo campaign reaches $750,000 their future will be brighter still. You see, Lab Zero Games has offered Mane 6 their Skullgirls engine for free if we can raise their campaign to $750,000, and this means that the spiritual successor to Fighting is Magic will be in full high-definition, run on consoles and have full Linux support. This would be a huge boost to fighting game enthusiasts everywhere, and even though the game doesn't include ponies I would still highly encourage you to donate to the campaign. I think I might even contribute a bit myself, although unfortunately I can't spare much...

 Will I post much on Mane 6's new game? It's a bit too early to say, but I will follow the development of their game whether it features ponies or not.

Lauren Faust to Help Make Mane 6's Next Game

Mane 6

 Unsurprisingly, Mane 6's negotiations with Hasbro over the C&D of Fighting is Magic didn't go all that well, and as most folks have already heard about Lauren Faust's offering to design new characters for them it should come as no real shock that Mane 6 decided to take up the offer. This means that Fighting is Magic will no longer be a My Little Pony fangame, but take place in its own setting with unique characters and have pretty much the same stuff as Fighting is Magic (with the notable exception of colourful equines).

 Also, a while back the dev team behind Skullgirls, Lab Zero Games, offered their engine to Mane 6, but there has been no official response as of yet. I believe that Mane 6 should accept the offer, as this would give them the opportunity to publish their game to consoles and use high definition sprites instead of being limited to 480p. It would mean that they would have to rewrite most of the characters, yes, but they could potentially end up with a higher-quality product by taking this route...

Sick of my rambling on the Skullgirls engine? Then visit Mane 6's original blog post for some more detailed information on the situation, along with a quote from Lauren Faust (and not a single mention of Skullgirls to boot).