Them's Fightin' Herds is a little fighting game with a lot of heart. Born from an ill-fated My Little Pony fan project, the game has changed into a unique property, with support from the Skullgirls team. These days, the game is one of the most full-featured fighting games on the market, with a detailed tutorial, explorable lobbies, crossplay, rollback, and more. It's an incredible range of features in a genre that's hard to penetrate as an indie.
Despite its successes, the game took years to build up to its current state and is still lacking in some areas. Its roster of seven is light compared to other fighting games and its story mode isn't complete yet. However, the team recently added a major planned feature: Level 3 super moves. These ultimate attacks are a staple of fighting games, Capcom's in particular, requiring three charges of stored energy to use instead of the usual one, but offering three times the damage and spectacle. Here's how these new powers, one per character, compare with one another.
7 Arizona's Texas Throwdown
Simple and straightforward, like the character. Arizona triggers this attack with an upward headbutt. It's easy enough to combo into the attack, but it still requires the enemy to be close, and it doesn't work as a follow-up to her lasso.
If the move connects, Arizona grabs the enemy with her lasso in midair and slams them against the ground repeatedly, ending in a whirling slam that buries the opponent in the ground. If the move ends up defeating the opponent, they stay buried through the post-match screen. It's similar to super moves from grappler characters such as Zangief. It's a fitting attack with a bit of cinematic flair, but it's also fairly basic.
6 Paprika's Deadly Affection
Paprika's fighting style is to overwhelm the enemy with affection, and her level 3 super is the culmination of that style. Entering the command activates a pursuit mode, briefly turning the game into survival horror. The screen darkens, and the opponent is forced to flee: any attack button pressed by the Paprika player during this mode sends the alpaca suddenly lunging toward the opponent.
If this unblockable lunge connects, it triggers the super, in which Paprika hugs the enemy so tightly that they lose most of their health. Based on the noises, this might involve broken bones. The attack is similar to Shuma-Gorath's ultimate from Marvel vs. Capcom, or Arakune's from BlazBlue. The sudden genre shift is a cool feature, but the move itself is very basic. It's essentially just a big grab.
5 Tianhuo's Flames Of Huoshan
Activating the super sends Tianhuo leaping diagonally upward, only connecting if the opponent is also airborne. For this reason, it's harder than the others to connect, but it meshes well with Tianhuo's fighting style, which is centered around lengthy air combos and is also the only level 3 usable from the air.
If the leap connects, Tianhuo knocks the enemy far into the air, then charges up and strikes with several fiery midair tackles, ending in an explosive kick. It's right on the edge between stylish and basic. It most likely looks its best as the capstone of a skilled air combo.
4 Shanty's Durian Drop
Shanty is an agile, tricky character, and her ultimate attack reflects this in a few ways. The move itself starts as a rushing grab, which is quick and can't be blocked. If it connects, Shanty starts by standing on the opponent's back (as goats are known to do) but is interrupted when a rival pirate attacks from the background.
The enemy pirate launches an intricate attack, starting with a salvo of cannonballs and ending with an exploding durian fruit from its main gun. Shanty dodges out of the way, leaving her opponent to take the full force of the attack instead. It's a nicely detailed sequence that fits well into Shanty's fighting style, but it seems to drag on just a bit.
3 Pom's Puppy Pummel
This move name could refer to either the enemy or the puppy being pummeled. Unlike the others, this Level 3 is a counter that triggers if the opponent attacks during its activation. The sheepdog puppy that follows Pom, who usually can't be attacked, stands in front of her and jumps up and down, barking. If the enemy is attacking, they hit the dog, who is sent flying in slow motion. The usually timid Pom is enraged and counters with a forward grab.
If the opponent isn't close enough to the counterattack, the super will fail even if they hit the dog. A successful grab, however, has Pom strike the enemy with a flurry of blows too fast to be seen, in a clear reference to Akuma's infamous Raging Demon, including the finishing pose in which Pom faces away from the screen. If the attack defeats the enemy, Pom and her puppy have a tearful reunion on the match outro screen. It's a stylish, cinematic super that's representative of the animal-loving character, but Akuma's super doesn't have as much impact without the original burning kanji effect.
2 Oleander's Dark Cataclysm
Oleander fights alongside an eldritch being sealed in a tome, which she usually calls "Fred." Her ultimate ability causes the creature to briefly release his full strength. The attack requires the opponent to be next to Oleander, which isn't ideal for a zoner like her, but it has the unusual property of hitting low, which could trip up opponents who are focused on evading projectiles.
If the move connects, Oleander's target is engulfed by dark energy and immobilized. Fred emerges from his tome as a massive monster, using Oleander as an energy source. He slams his hands together on the enemy and erupts in a cascade of dark magic. It's one of the more visually impressive Level 3s in the game and is nearly as horrifying for Oleander as it is for her opponent. If the move lands as the last hit in the match, Oleander is left falling through a dark void after the battle.
1 Velvet's Sculpted Perfection
This move activates nearby Velvet, at a medium distance. Velvet is even more focused on keep-away than Oleander, so this isn't the ideal range for her to engage the enemy, but the attack is considered a grab and is therefore unblockable. If it hits, the opponent is encased in a block of solid ice, and Velvet's winter sprites begin to chisel it. It ends as an ice statue of a muscular figure, with the enemy's head as the statue's.
This attack has two variations based on whether it lands as the final blow. If so, the winter sprites hold up score cards indicating a perfect sculpture, and Velvet poses by her artwork as the enemy stays stunned at the statue's head. If the opponent has health remaining, however, one of the sprites scores the statue a 9.9 instead of a 10, and Velvet smashes the statue in frustration. It's a nice touch that adds a lot of character to the move and makes a great victory screen to boot.
Them's Fightin' Herds is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4 and 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Xbox One.