History YMMV / ThemsFightinHerds

* FanartAtFirstSight: The fighters got their fair share of fanart when first revealed, even new characters tend to get a few handfuls of art within a day or so.

* TheChrisCarterEffect: Many players enjoyed story mode, even more so than the fighting part of the gameplay, and were eager to play the new chapters from the other characters' [=POVs=] while also learning more about their backstories, as the previously released Book of Lore was declared non-canon. As time went on, the only notable activity were the releases of Texas and Stronghoof Hoofstrong as playable characters until, with the release of two more main characters, it was announced that story mode was being cancelled, angering many who felt that their investment had been for nothing.

* ObviousBeta: Not the base game, but the final DLC characters, Baihe and Nidra. The developers and quality assurance team were laid off by the studio before the fighters were play-tested, and quickly became notorious for being utterly broken at launch, with the ability to perform infinite, unblockable combos, remain in a nigh invulnerable state for the entire match, and even induce game-breaking glitches (such as permanently freezing the opponent in place or outright crashing the game when performing certain moves).

* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: ''Them's Fightin' Herds'' had a tough road ahead of it when it was first revealed: its origin as a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' FanGame means that people who aren't fans of that show might prefer to laugh at it rather than play it, but the fact that the characters aren't actually ponies, just {{Expies}} of them, also repels the Brony fandom who might be upset at how they're not really the characters they know and love. Additionally, the game's cutesy art style and character designs belie a full-fledged fighting game along the lines of ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' and ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom'', a genre which can be rather unforgiving to beginners. At first glance, ''Them's Fightin' Herds'' would look like both an AudienceAlienatingPremise and an UncertainAudience, but it managed to earn itself a positive reputation once word spread that it is a genuinely well-made, balanced, and fun fighting game, its rich lore and well-written characters were able to differentiate themselves from ''MLP'' in the fandom's eyes, and its great tutorial and casual features such as the Pixel Lobbies helped ease fighting game newbies into the experience.

* TheChrisCarterEffect: Many players enjoyed story mode, even more so than the fighting part of the gameplay, and were eager to play the new chapters from the other characters' POVs while also learning more about their backstories, as the previously released Book of Lore was declared non-canon. As time went on, the only notable activity were the releases of Texas and Stronghoof Hoofstrong as playable characters until, with the release of two more main characters, it was announced that story mode was being cancelled, angering many who felt that their investment had been for nothing.

* FakeDifficulty: All of the platforming sections use the fighting game's mechanics. That means that sometimes these sections can feel a bit clunky as you need to input the exact combinations for short and long jumps and the character's movements don't allow you to move as "pixel-perfect" as traditional platforming. For that reason it's more of a challenge trying to jump and land smoothly with the controls than any other hazards the game tries to throw at you. [[TropesAreTools On the other hand, it really makes you feel like the character is actually doing the work of scaling a tall mountain, and they're being real careful not to fall.]]

* EnjoyTheStorySkipTheGame: Many are more interested in hearing about the lore of Foenum and the backstories of the six fighters than the actual fighting gameplay. This is actually encouraged by the devs themselves and one of main reasons for the creation of the Visual Lobby, in which players can explore the world, watch matches and other stuff even if they are bad at {{Fighting Game}}s.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxDnW1PDucU Velvet's Theme]], as one fan aptly puts it, really captures the beauty and power of a winter storm. In-game, it plays during Arizona's final battle against Velvet.

** [[https://rc88.bandcamp.com/track/huacaya-mountains-paprikas-stage Huacaya Mountains (Paprika's Stage)]] will be playing in your head long after you turn off the game thanks to its catchy violin, accordion, and guitar.

** The battle against Oleander in the temple is split into three phases. The theme used for the first two is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjir-27f3Xc her already amazing character theme]], but the second, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXNKvNPRGhA Dark Cataclysm]], is for the third and final round against her. This tune basically tells you, without a single word, that [[spoiler:Oleander and Fhtng are ''one hundred and ten percent done'' playing games with you, young calf]]. It's also full of [[AutobotsRockOut metal]].
* AndYouThoughtItWouldFail: ''Them's Fightin' Herds'' had a tough road ahead of it when it was first revealed: its origin as a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' FanGame means that people who aren't fans of that show might prefer to laugh at it rather than play it, but the fact that the characters aren't actually ponies, just {{Expies}} of them, also repels the Brony fandom who might be upset at how they're not really the characters they know and love. Additionally, the game's cutesy art style and character designs belie a full-fledged fighting game along the lines of ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear'' and ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom'', a genre which can be rather unforgiving to beginners. At first glance, Them's Fightin' Herds would look like both an AudienceAlienatingPremise and an UncertainAudience, but it managed to earn itself a positive reputation once word spread that it is a genuinely well-made, balanced, and fun fighting game, its rich lore and well-written characters were able to differentiate themselves from ''MLP'' in the fandom's eyes, and its great tutorial and casual features such as the Pixel Lobbies helped ease fighting game newbies into the experience.

* FandomRivalry: After it was revealed that ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' would not be part of the EVO 2020 lineup while ''Them's Fightin Herds'' was, a rivalry between the two communities was stoked. Many fans of the former were mad at the fact that a "brony game" overshadowed the much more popular ''Ultimate'', while the latter's fans defended the organizers' decision, claiming that it's better for a smaller indie game to be in the spotlight rather than a big-budget AAA title.[[note]][[HistoryRepeats A similar situation happened in 2013]], in which ''Fighting is Magic'' was nominated for the EVO charity auction, which ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosMelee'' won, and caused Hasbro to issue a cease-and-desist letter to [=Mane6=] to shut down ''Fighting is Magic'''s production.[[/note]] Ultimately, neither side won, as EVO 2020 was cancelled following the discovery that its co-founder Joey Cuellar [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor was accused of sexual misconduct]], which prompted several game developers, [=Mane6=] included, to pull their games from the event. Them's Fightin Herds ended up on top as next year EVO was bought out by Sony, and with a majority of titles to be played on Sony Consoles, Smash Bros Ultimate was nowhere to be seen and Them's Fightin Herds would be featured as an online side tournament as the sole exception of the Console mandate.

** The entire reason the game exists is because ''[[VideoGame/MyLittlePonyFightingIsMagic Fighting Is Magic]]'' got shown off at EVO 2013, which caught Creator/{{Hasbro}}'s attention in an unavoidable way, resulting in a [[ScrewedByTheLawyers cease & desist]]. Several years later, ''Them's Fightin' Herds'' would end up getting included in EVO 2020. Though it would turn HarsherInHindsight when ''this'' game would be taken out of EVO for [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor different legal problems, this time on EVO's side]]. However, things changed in 2021 after Sony took over EVO, and TFH was featured at EVO 2021 in an online side tournament.

** Paprika and her ridiculous amounts of affection to the other fighters, who so far are all female. Some of her moves have her hug and even ''kiss'' her opponents. The move on Oleander in particular is ''very'' [[https://derpicdn.net/img/view/2018/3/6/1672904.gif close to her mouth.]]
** Cashmere will get really flirty if the playable character, who are mostly female, has a lot of salt. [[note]]Her flirty interactions with Oleander is not an examples as it's deliberate ShipTease.[[/note]]

** "Touch the COW. Do it now," associated with Arizona of course.[[labelnote:Explanation]]Originates from the children's book "Touch and Feel Farm".[[/labelnote]]

* NeverLiveItDown: Despite the identity overhaul, it seems that the game still won't shake off its reputation of "that ''My Little Pony'' fighting game". Some places, such as 4Chan, even still consider it MLP related because of its roots.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSong: When [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl5y6lcgSRw Shanty's teaser trailer]] dropped, many people pointed out that her theme sounds similar to [[VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry Gangplank Galleon]].

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Paprika gets more than a little guff for, among other things, looking and animating ''nothing'' like the rest of the cast, and her behavior coming across as more insufferable than funny to many people.

* FandomEnragingMisconception: None of the Champions are ''ponies'', they are various types of ungulates ([[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and a half-dragon]]), a very common misconception that arises from ''TFH'''s prior history as a Franchise/MyLittlePony fangame and the art style very much borrowing from WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic. Expect many non-fans or dissenters to derisively refer to it as "the pony fighting game", regardless.