MLP Video Game Treatment · 5:57pm Jun 10th, 2015
Wrote this up last year, if there's any game makers out there, have fun making something of this. Posting it here, maybe it can amuse some folks rather than be wasted in a Notepad file, or someone who can actually make it will find it.
---My Little Pony - Villains Redux---
-Gameplay-
The game is a side-scrolling beat-em-up where each pony can jump, run, do a buck attack when standing in place, and a dashing headbutt when running. Each pony also has diverse stats among Attack, Agility (run speed and jump height) and Magic, which is used to power the pony's unique special attack. Power ups are dropped by enemies and found by destroying stage elements. There's Health and Magic refills, temporary invincibility, temporary power boost, and damage all enemies (a rare one). The player can also find Spike in the stages, who belches out letters tips and hints from Celestia when approached.
-Characters-
The player initially has control of Twilight Sparkle, but unlocks the rest of the Mane Six as they play through the game, and can use any of them for a stage. Twilight's special attack is a magic shot across the screen, Fluttershy has The Stare to temporarily stun enemies, Rainbow Dash can use the Sonic Rainboom to dash forward damaging enemies, Applejack can whip enemies to toss them into other enemies, Rarity can use a revolving shield of gemstones to damage enemies at close range, and Pinkie naturally has the party cannon for a powerful but short-range blast of confetti.
As a bonus for completing the game, the player can play Hard Mode, which allows them to unlock alternate costumes by doing various things on the Hard playthrough. The Mane Six each have their Gala Dresses, their Power Pony costumes, and more specific costumes (specifically, Future Twilight, Flutterbat, Simple Rarity, Shadowbolt Rainbow Dash, "Pinkamena" Pinkie, and Scarecrow Applejack). Costume changes are just aesthetics. Hearth's Warmings Eve costumes are also a possibility.
On a Hard Mode run, the player can also unlock hidden characters. Trixie comes with a fireworks attack to stun and damage enemies around her, and can don her hat and cloak, or her black cloak with the Alicorn Amulet. Sunset Shimmer has a fireball attack that explodes to damage in an AoE, and for her costumes has Rainbow Power and a black cloak. DJ Pon-3's alternate outfits are her without her glasses, and her alternate self's formal wear from the comics. Her special attack is, naturally, the Bass Cannon, where she fires a blast of sound in a line ahead of her to damage enemies. Derpy has her Nightmare Night and Mail Mare outfits, and her special is Thundercloud, where she bucks a stormcloud across the screen zapping enemies that get too close to it. Finally, there's Spike, he has his Nightmare Night and Hum-Drum costumes, and can breathe Dragonfire to shoot out fireballs in a spread pattern.
As a bonus for defeating the final bonus boss (detailed further down), the player unlocks the final playable character, Princess Luna. She has max stats in all three categories, and her special Thunderstorm rains down lightning across the screen.
--Story--
As the game begins, Twilight is summoned by Celestia, who tells her that Luna has vanished and her attempts to find her sister have failed. Celestia asks Twilight to gather her friends to locate her, and she heads back to Ponyville to meet up with Spike. She finds the village in disarray, ponies have glowing green eyes and are running amok. Twilight kicks one and he gets back to normal, and the first stage sees her running through the chaos to make it to her house. She finds the Elements of Harmony missing, and shortly after finds Trixie, who taunts and attacks her. When defeated, Trixie runs off, and Twilight wonders where her friends are and why Trixie is evil again. Rarity arrives and suggests Trixie may know since the ponies began acting up once she cast a spell on them and now that she's left the other ponies have calmed down. The two track Trixie to the Everfree Forest where more berserk ponies are running wild, and as stronger enemies Timberwolves appear. After defeating a giant Timberwolf, they find Trixie at the door of Fluttershy's cottage. She runs off, and Fluttershy joins the party, saying Trixie said she was after the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony. The three agree that whatever Trixie is part of, she must know where the Elements have been taken.
The three head to Sweet Apple Acres where the animals have gone berserk and the apple trees throw their apples through the air to explode. The trio wonder if Discord is behind this, since this sort of chaos is precisely the trickery he'd pull, and Fluttershy admits she hasn't seen him lately. The trio fight their way to Applejack's barn where they fend off an attack by a gang of cockatrices. Applejack thanks them and says she hasn't seen Trixie, so the gang decides they have to locate Pinkie and Rainbow Dash now. They climb the Appaloosan Mountains, where the Diamond Dogs have also been driven mad by whatever curse is going around, and defeat Gilda the Griffon. After the battle they find Pinkie with Trixie, who climbs onto Gilda's back and flies away. The group knows that now they must be after Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie produces the group's hot-air balloon to fly into Cloudsdale. At Cloudsdale the Pegasi are also crazed, and the group fights the Wonderbolts as a miniboss before finding Rainbow Dash in a confrontation with Trixie, Gilda, and Lightning Dust. The group battles Lightning Dust, who flees with Gilda and Trixie to the Rainbow Factory. United as one now, the Mane Six battle their way through the factory, the rainbows now being explosive if disrupted in their flow, and after a rematch with Trixie, empowered in a manner similar to the Alicorn Amulet, she reveals that their next target is the Crystal Empire, before she escapes with the other two. The Mane Six again wonder who is behind all of this, before they presumed Discord, but could King Sombra be released again?
The group flies to the Crystal Empire where the Crystal Ponies are mad, and they find the town being terrorized by a cloaked pony that shadows them during the stage. At the end they discover it's Sunset Shimmer, wearing a duplicate version of Twilight's princess crown to use magic, and though they destroy it she escapes. Now fearful for the other world, the group continues into the castle and are confronted by King Sombra flanked by Trixie, Gilda, Lightning Dust and Sunset Shimmer. The group defeats Sombra, who turns into a dark mist and spirits away with the other four. Cadance and Shining Armor say that the mirror was not their target, it has been safe and no one used it, so they have no idea how Sunset Shimmer is here. Twilight surmises that it ''must'' be Discord, he's the only one powerful enough to manipulate so many ponies and to somehow summon Sunset Shimmer without the mirror. But where could he be now? Cadance, Shining Armor and Twilight combine their magic to power a locating spell, and Discord is revealed to be residing in the Everfree Forest.
The group find the Everfree Forest now full of manticores and crazed ponies that are stronger than ever, and fight their way through the woods to find Discord lounging. He complains they're ruining his vacation, and when the group antagonizes him he invites them to chase him if they want answers for the chaos going on. The group pursues Discord as a scrolling stage, Discord warping the stage from Everfree through the various stages before settling on the chaotic throne area from The Return of Harmony to make his final stand at. Defeated, Discord laughs he had fun, but has no idea what the group is talking about, he's just been enjoying the show. The group accuse Discord of lying, since no one else has the power to do these sorts of things, and Discord shrugs that perhaps the old enemies they've fought "just haven't been themselves lately". Confused, Discord tells them that while he's been content to watch the fun up until now, if they really want answers, they should head back to Canterlot. The group sends Celestia a note telling her the situation, but receives no response. After a second letter gets no response, they worry for the princess and return to Canterlot.
The group finds Canterlot overrun with berserk ponies, some now casting magic. They fight their way through the town and find Princess Luna at the gates of the castle. They ask her what's going on and Luna tells them that a great evil has infiltrated the castle. Luna then suddenly attacks the group, and when defeated runs inside. Worried now that Luna has been behind all this and has turned to darkness again, the group enters the castle and finds an army of guard ponies, not under control but attacking of their own will. The group runs across a wounded Princess Luna at the end of the stage, reverted into her younger form, and she tells the group that Celestia is in danger. Now confused, the final level begins, the level split up by rematches with Trixie, Gilda, Lightning Dust, Sunset Shimmer, and eventually King Sombra, each stronger than before.
In the throne room the group finds Luna overlooking Celestia's weakened body, the Elements of Harmony floating in the air around her, and demand to know what's going on. Luna laughs and a shroud of green fire consumes her, receding to reveal Queen Chrysalis. She explains that she cast a reversed spell on the Elements, sowing havoc across all the ponies in Equestria save for the Mane Six, protected by their attunement to the Elements, and that the spell absorbed the love and goodness from her victims and replaced it with wickedness and hate. The five enemies the Mane Six defeated were distractions to get them to go on a wild goose chase across Equestria looking for Luna, who had simply been abducted and imprisoned in the castle by Chrysalis posing as Celestia. She infiltrated the castle and cast her spell to absorb power and magic from the Elements, as well as draining Princess Luna of her power. With the power she's gained from the Elements and the Princesses, she is unstoppable now, and Chrysalis engages the party. Defeated, Chrysalis summons the five minor villains to her side, revealing them as empowered Changelings, tasked to spread her spell over Equestria, and they turn to energy and empower her. The dark energy Chrysalis has absorbed from Luna transforms her into Nightmare Chrysalis. The Mane Six take back their Elements of Harmony, empowering them for the final battle. With her defeat, Luna is restored, Equestria's people are back to normal, and all is well again.
Finishing the game once unlocks Hard Mode. Upon playing through the game on Hard Mode, the player can enter a hidden stage in Canterlot, Star Swirl's Tower. The tower is a difficult bonus level that leads to a room full of mirror portals. The mirror portals allow the player to battle the game's bosses again, as well as fight optional bosses - Demon Sunset Shimmer, Nightmare Rarity, the Sirens, the Mane-iac, Alternate World Celestia, and Starlight Glimmer. Defeating all six unlocks a seventh portal that sends the player to the caverns beneath Canterlot to fight the game's ultimate challenge, Tirek.
This is what happens when I skip the introduction. I read through all of this, getting really excited that such a game exists, then scrolled back to the top.
3137444
DLC:free?Boss Rush mode against the Power Ponies and new boss Mane-iac, Mirror Celestia and Luna, and the Dazzlingsnever mind, didn't finish reading it all
Welp, I'll be working on this. I already wrote up a sidescroller, it doesnt have a story, I just wanted to test stuff. It probably wouldn't be too difficult to just shove my engine into the code, spruce up the place, and have a sidescroller. Next would be the game mechanics, sprites, and levels. It may take a while, but I'll have it working eventually. (The hardest part of these types of games is to get the equation for jumping working).
Edit: Just finished reading the post... This is going to take A WHILE.
3487948 Yeah, I think big.
This sounds like a really great idea for a game, considering most completed MLP fan games I've played (not counting the Pony Platforming Project) are either average or sometimes just plain bad (like the Innocent Luna game).