I've gotta say I'm thoroughly impressed with all the Transformers-related products on the market right now. Hasbro has successfully launched the Hub and has brought us G1 goodies for some time now, TF: Prime aired its first 5 episodes with storytelling that rivals Beast Wars and action that'll make Bay sweat, we just finished up with WFC and are looking toward a sequel, the franchise had two movies that were successful at the box office with a third (and hopefully better) movie on the way, and the intricate toys both from Hasbro and 3rd parties show unparalleled sophistication and ingenuity. I may be early in my assessment, but I think we are potentially entering a Golden Age of our beloved franchise. There's something for everybody across various media. Who would've thought that after the dark ages of the early 90's Transformers would've blown up in the way that is has recently? Here's to continued success. All hail Hasbro!
I would be inclined to agree with you. We have the makings of an excellent cartoon series to judge by the preview, a Movie trilogy that while the quality of the first 2 parts leaves something to be desired they have made tons of money and put alot of product on shelves. Vintage transformers in general have never been easier to locate between many online stores and Ebay. The toy engineering has risen to an awesome level which has given us surprises in many figures ( Scourge's in wing weapon storage for example). if this isn't a golden age its certainly a silver age.
Golden Age indeed. Kudos to Hasbro, haven't disappointed this year, bar the slow release of the rest of Animated. I have a feeling 2011 will bring us even better figures. You know, I bet Hasbro are releasing all the good figures, because they know the world is going to blow up in 2010.
And yet, some people still aren't satisfied because Hasbro still denies them straight rehashes of the Diaclone-era Transformers toys with added knee joints and diecast parts.
I won't ever be happy with deluxe cars AND jets. Legends, Robot Heroes and Fast Action Battlers are crap. Multiple versions of the same characters cramming up the shelves and poor homages like Skullgrin or Bludgeon are annoying. I'm sorry but a goofy looking skull for a TF head is not cool. I realise that the franchise must evolve but to the point of losing it's identity? I miss the old days when a Transformer looked like a Transformer. At least the Unicron Trilogy got that right. The IDW comics are not as good as the Marvel or Dreamwave books. Prime is good so far but I have a feeling the kids could get annoying. Welker's voice is not as good as his G1 incarnation and the fleshy, skull like face makes me feel like I'm watching Bludgeon. TF1 was great depite alien faces and the giant cube. ROTF was like a live action Energon cartoon. Not good. I'm sick of the term Mini-con being thrown onto every small bot. Exodus referred to the tapes that way and now the very Nebulan looking Pinpoint is classed as one. For me the Golden age was 2002-2004. The reissues were a great way to get those old tF's we missed out on as kids. Dreamwave gave us some great books taking the best of the various G1 incarnations and making them great. They also made Armada and Energon cool. Energon gave us the Scout class and some great toys like Ravage and Strongarm. Robotmasters gave us some nice updates of old characters like the Seekers, Lio Convoy and Optimus Primal. The Ps2 game was and still is, the best TF computer game ever. Though I am enjoying the great WFC and ROTF on the X-box. I'm sorry to be so negative but for me the Movie has marked a downturn in the franchise.
LOL @ the amnount of wrong in this post. Unicron Trilogy over C.H.U.G? Never. TF Armada game better than WFC? How? Geez. IMO this is DEF the Golden Age. Bask in it!
We are getting great toys, some homages, others straight remakes, and some all-new guys. We have a brand-new great cartoon to boot. This is truely a great time in Transformers.
Cannot agree more. We've got reimagined G1 toys with Reveal the Shield. An amazing TV show courtesy of Prime. I see great potential in the next two or three years with regards to Transformers. Major kudos to Hasbro.
I'm sorry if the fact I don't agree with the majority of the fandom offends you but I'm entitled to my opinion. Energon over CHUG? Why not? Cool Scouts. Better Rodimus. Scorponok. Omega Supreme. There are some great CHUG toys but they're not the be all and end all of Transformers. And on both ranges, the deluxe jets against the deluxe cars just look wrong. You want to know how the Armada game is better than WFC? Exploration. Huge variety of weapons/gadgets in form of Mini-cons. Beautifully rendered levels. Don't get me wrong, I love WFC especially as it's essentially G1/War Within but the levels tend to be very dark and there is no exploration and no where near the amount of gadgets that the Armada game has.
Wouldn't the Golden age be more defined as the beginning and a peak? Golden age of comics for instance. Also in age, golden years to the older. We already passed the Golden age. Golden Age - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Maybe the silver age?
It doesn't offend me. Not at all. I appreciate the opinions, and like that you backed them up. I'm just being an over zealous fan and teasing ya by saying you were wrong. You have some valid points about the Armada game, but in terms of the jet vs cars in deluxe form, that will never be fixed. Thats mainly why I display my Autobots in Deluxe form, and my seekers are MP form. Looks insane, but makes the Seekers look more menacing. Again all figs being released now and in their best representation. ( I do however have Energon Scorponok, Energon Omega Supreme {frenzy_rumble custom}, and cybertron Metroplex in the mix with my C.H.U.G so I can't hate on what youare saying too much)
WE may not be getting the best of everything in everyones eyes but I would say that we are in a great stage to be TF fans!!
I've said it once and I'll say it again: It is a great time to be a Transformers fan. As far as I'm concerned, the franchise has gone from strength to strength over the years and has emerged as a serious entertainment property. It's more than a toyline and cartoon now. Granted, maybe not all see it that way. But the numbers are the encouraging part, and I have no doubt we'll be seeing Transformers take the top spot as #1 kids toy next year on the back of a strong movie performance driving sales coupled with a high budget and well-written TV series.
I'm still amazed as to how Transformers have grown since the Beast Machines/Animorphs era. Back then I thought the Transformers might be ending, and watching BM, then I didn't care. RID/CR brought me back to full fan status.
Fabexmax, I'm glad we could discuss this amicably without degenerating into an arguement. I still prefer G1 and Titanium Scourge to the Generations version. Just don't like the alt mode, wings and facial hair. I would like to see more Scouts, especially cars and a phasing out of the Battlers and Legends but that's just me. I miss the early days of IDW with non G1 stuff like Beast Wars and Hearts of Steel. While I never liked his portrayal of Prowl, I do wonder what's happened with Simon Furman. Would like to see him or Nick Roche or both given the reins of G1 ongoing.
I have no idea why they still make Legends class. Once Wheelie was done, all that was left was Spike and Daniel in their exo-suits. Hmmm, thats not a bad idea.
Total agreement with this. Transformers five years ago was a nothing show outside of it's own fandom, most of which was based upon rose tinted nostalgia. Now excellent figures are the rule, not the exception ( to the point we are picky about not having ankle swivels... ). Wherever the franchise hits media it's got serious money behind it. I might almost say it's been too much. But that's crazy talk, right? The way I see the toy evolution was that Energon and Cybertron had a lot of misses, but a few very solid hits that set the standard for things to come, and then the movies - for all the flak they take - meant that designers had to totally step up their game, and it's led to what is basically the transformers renaissance. An age of enlightenment and design that allows ten pound toys to do more than overly expensive foreign imports. Magnificent.
"Golden ages" come and go, but one thing is for sure: vehicles transforming into robots is a concept that'll never truly die out. And, as far as I'm concerned, Transformers always has been, and always will be, the undisputed champion of transforming robots. Yeah! Take that, Gobots!
Even though I'm not a fan of the Bayverse movies, What they've done for the franchise as a whole is phenonemal. Not since the BW era have TFs had the spotlight on them to this much of an extent. Everyone has heard of TFs thanks to the Bay movies - & that can only lead to bigger & better things in the years to come. 'Tis not a bad time at all to be a TF-Person . Plus as long as HasTak continue with the Classics-verse era with the occasional reissue thrown in, I'll always keep coming back for more .
