Welcome to the Equestrian Blog and in this editorial I wanted to take break from Gen 4 and to talk about the near nonexistence of Generation II. What is basically an anomaly to us Bronies, Generation II for some odd reason seemed like it never existed. After Gen 1.5 with My Little Pony Tales ending in 1992 on the Disney Channel, Hasbro wouldn't release another cartoon for a while. Then in 1997, Hasbro would release Generation II calling it Friendship Gardens and would give the toy line a new design. The toy lineup's design was very different from Gen 1 as their models used a new art style. However, why do I feel this still needs a discussion when mostly no one doesn't care nor remembers if there was a second era? It's surprising how this is the only generation of MLP that has no form of visual media. There is no TV series, no comics, and not one single direct to video episodes or movies. I'm unsure if it may have something to do with MLP Tales from 1992 being a failed show, but Hasbro obviously didn't want to invest. As you would know MLP Tales as a concept was decent in itself, however, its quality has aged badly in nearly the last 30 years. It had the cliché girly tropes, bad dialogue and writing, and presented the male characters as your typical jerks. What is even more surprising is that this gen didn't even have comics to tell this version of Ponyland. Of course, Gen 3 didn't exactly have a TV series of its own either when MLP was off TV since 1992 during the 2000s. However, it had short episodes and movies produce for a direct to video release on VHS and DVD. Yet this has been completely absent during that era. The only media this gen ever had is a game for PC that released in 1998 titled Friendship Gardens. It was the first time MLP was given a game release which is a surprise given that the previous generation never received one despite its popularity. Friendship Gardens was a pet simulation where the objective was for the player to take care of its pony they created. You would give the pony a name and personality then raise her by completing activities that were given to the player. Basically, the game was another form of Tomagachi which if you are unaware of was a popular virtual pet sim during the late 90s. Not many Bronies will speak of this game as most don't even know it exists since our fandom wasn't around in the late 90s. On top of that, many considered MLP a joke throughout this time and even when the brand was a success during the 80s. During the 90s, it was all about 3D and mature rated games which was the gaming craze even on PC. When there are IPs such as Quake, StarCraft and Unreal on PC, no gamer (even if they are Bronies now) was going to involve their time playing a game that was average. Maybe Hasbro was waiting for the first wave of their toy line to become a success to its investors and board of directors. It could be among the many reasons there was never a cartoon for TV or direct to video. The first two toy lines must have bombed in sales as by mid 1998, Hasbro stopped producing anymore after that. From what I learned is that they only dropped Gen 2 in North American but oddly enough continued promoting it in Europe. It truly is odd that Hasbro would go this direction with MLP considering that it's an American made brand. The sales were probably bad if they would discontinue it here as this gen didn't even last two years. The era continued in Europe from 1999 to 2003 earning little success when a new toy line was getting released every year. Despite its moderate success in Europe, Gen 2 still didn't receive any form of media. Its no wonder why Gen 2 felt like it never existed with no media of cartoons or comics aside an average PC game. Let's talk about the toy lines in both the North American and European releases. You won't find any pony from other generations that's found here. Meaning, there is not one version of the Mane Six from Gen 4 like it was in the other eras. Each pony seems exclusive to this lineup aside from Teddy and Flash (she got renamed Roller Skates in Europe). Hasbro seems to use Teddy a lot for either a side character as seen in Tales or as a background human in Equestria Girls. As I have said, Flash would be renamed Roller Skates in Europe and was a female unlike her male Gen 4 counterpart. The design has a similar appearance to previous idea, but their hooves had the hard nail at the bottom show. They would come in their typical pastel colors for their mane and hair fashioned in variety of styles. As mentioned before, the bodies were much slender compared to the low grounded style we would always see. The style does come off a bit odd when the other Generations had a better design. Maybe it's because the current Gen has the ponies more anthropomorphic than as an animal. It's honestly a tie between both Generation 2 and 3 in terms of using a bad art style. The next problem stems from no TV show, movie, or a direct to Video release as stated previously. The reason this is an issue is because there truly is no way to relate to these characters without a story. Of course, Hasbro made it this way because little girls were their true demographic at the time. It was a time when a young girl would use their imagination to make up stories for each pony. I highly doubt the young girls of the late 90s (now as adults) even remembers what story they used so it's a moot point. The only thing we could go by is what information is from the toy package on the back. However, that still isn't enough to give these ponies an identity we could relate to in some form. There's nothing else I could go on about as we pretty much considered everything regarding this era. I guess this was where MLP entered its Darkest Age as in 2003, Generation 3 got released. With a lack luster previous release and a crappy upcoming Gen 3 would only cement the fact that MLP was going be a joke for nearly a decade. I know this one is kind of brief but there was little to present between the reported sales figures and the types of toy lines Hasbro offered. It's no wonder why Gen 2 is hardly mentioned by the Brony community or the little girls from the 90s who are now women today. There was no form of media (Friendship Garden doesn't count) to represent any of the characters they were trying to sell. I can honestly see why Hasbro doesn't want to bring back any pony from that era into the current media. They will gain nothing from the Gen 2 ponies since no define personalities are there. The way I see Hasbro bringing them back is through a retro style release for collection purposes. In fact, it's reported on Equestria Daily yesterday that Hasbro was going to release more retro style Gen 1 ponies from Webhallen.com. In the end, the second Generation will go down as the least successful lineup to ever come from the brand. It doesn't help that 2003 is where MLP would begin entering its darkest era. I just wanted to write about something regarding Gen II that no Brony bothers to talk about. Source equestriadaily.com. (January 17, 2018). More My Little Pony 35th Anniversary Retro Ponies Spotted in on Webhallen Website. Sethisto. https://www.equestriadaily.com/2018/01/more-my-little-pony-35th-anniversary.html
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Retro Gamer has over 25 years of gaming experience and played many classics since the Golden Age. She has been an avid fan since the day the NES graced her life and changed it forever.
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