I grew up with G1 (adding G.I. Joe here as well)in the late 80s/early 90s. I read some the Marvel comics. After I became an adolescent I stopped watching these series and never followed any new stories. Looking back as an adult the original cartoons are almost unwatchable (I tried to get my twelve year old nephew to watch and he said "it's the same thing over and over again, the Decepticons or Cobra attack then lose in the dumbest way possible and that the Cobra characters are idiots". Going back to my question are the rest of the Transformer franchise the same basic concept of Decepticons (the supposed bad ass intelligent, tactical, stronger faction) attack and lose over and over?

 

You are definitely missing out on enjoyable TF stories by doing so IMO.

 

There are much better cartoons in the franchise than G1. Beast Wars has a rich storyline with compelling characters which draws from G1 without being a slave to it. There's a definite sense of ongoing story, especially in seasons 2 & 3, with escalating stakes.

Animated is closer to G1 in concept, but has novel takes on the characters. The character designs are odd but the storytelling is first rate.

Prime is decent but rather dry. It really needed a bit more humor - the concept of Transformers is inherently absurd, so it just doesn't work with a dead serious treatment IMO.

 

Personally, I do feel you are missing out.

G1 is a mixed bag for me. The first season is rather bland and boring, the second season fares a bit better, but I always felt the third and fourth seasons were a hell of a lot better.

Beast Wars is perfectly solid, but there are some annoying moments (mostly coming from Silverbolt, who I absolutely hated). Though there are moments where the Predacons are defeated in more humilliating ways than the G1 'cons ever did.

Beast Machines in particular is my favorite of the post-G1 cartoons. I really enjoyed it because of the more higher stakes it had and the more threatening villains. These are villains that you wouldn't mess with.

RiD 2001 is a more kid-friendly show, but it's perfectly fine and has some really fun off-the-wall antics, though once again, like BW, the villains do get some rather humilliating defeats.

However, all the cartoons after that... I always was put off by them because of the amount of flaws they had. The Unicron Trilogy kinda drags and the dubs are just laughable (though Cybertron at least was a bit more competent), TFA was filled with fanservice that I wish they hadn't bothered with designing that many characters when only a minimum amount of them are important to the plot and Prime... jeez... it tried too hard to be edgy and epic, and failed miserably at all that. Same with the Prime Wars trilogy, it was too try-hard that it was just annoying. There are a few characters in these shows that are great, but they really weren't enough to save the shows for being rather disappointing to me. You may like them, but I personally couldn't get into them.

RiD 2015 and Cyberverse are steps in the right direction for me, but still have their flaws.

 

Lol no. Like what you want, care about what you want. You're not obliged to give a single damn about any portion of Transformers you don't care about.

Me? I'm only into G1 and Movie toys. Specifically toys as I generally thing the movie franchise as a whole is pretty bad, with Bumblebee being the only really acceptable film, though still pretty flawed as a Transformers movie.

I couldn't give a single FUCK about everything else. I'm not missing out on shit I don't care about in the first place! If you like a lot of stuff, all the power to you. If you only like one or two things, all the power to you. In the end of the day you are the sole proprietor and decision maker to your level of enthusiasm and like of the franchise.

 

If you watched G1 as a child during the 80s/90s, you probably view it with rose colored glasses and forgive how actually repetitive it is (same can be said with most of the 80s/early90s cartoons). Imo the best cartoon was Exosquad, and that show never did well.

 

Most cartoons have the villains lose over and over again. Its just the nature of storytelling. Especially ones aimed at kids. Even cartoons aimed at teens. Good triumphs over evil. Maybe some shows have ongoing evil plans but whatever plot is for that episode (or episodes if multipart) tends to be wrapped up by the end.

 

I think it really depends on your personal taste. I'm watching through Animated right now, and so far I'd say that deserves a watch. While I have mixed feelings on Prime, there are some fantastic episodes in there. I've personally never been able to really get into Beast Wars or the IDW comics, but many fans say those have some of the best storytelling in the brand. War for Cybertron and Bumblebee (the movie) are two of the greatest pieces of Transformers media ever, at least in my opinion. And heck, I really dug the first season of RID2015.

I don't think there's anything wrong with only enjoying G1, if that's your thing. I consider myself a big Star Trek fan, but my interest in that brand almost exclusively lies in the original series and the original movies. I really like the MCU, but I've never read a Marvel comic. I don't think there's a thing wrong with only enjoying one part or era of a brand. But it never hurts to branch out and see if you enjoy something else.

 

A lot of later series have attempted to portray the Decepticons as a legitimate threat, yes. Transformers: Animated, which many consider to be one of the better cartoons, definitely portrayed the Decepticons in such a manner.

 

Yes you’re missing a lot

Beast wars was amazing but you’d have to be really forgiving for the animation because it doesn’t hold up that well

Beast machines is pretty good if you look past the designs it’s pretty good and the
Maximals barely win

Rid 2001 is really fun

Skip the unicron trilogy it’s not really worth it except maybe armada that was ok at best imo

Animated was amazing s1 wasn’t that great imo ( don’t @ me) but s2 and s3 are amazing

Prime was spectacular and a bit better than animated imo ( don’t @ me) it’s basically how bayformers should’ve been and prime and beast machines are probably the only show where the decepticons/predacons win for more than an episode

Rid 2015 is a really disappointing sequel to prime but if you go with low expectations you’ll probably enjoy it

Skip the prime wars trilogy

Cyberverse is great it’s not as good as prime, animated, beast wars, and beast machines but still pretty good especially s3

For the movies just watch bumblebee
Maybe you can watch the first 3 but those were meh at best

For games ( I’m not sure if you’re a gamer ) but watch the war for cybertron and fall of cybertron gameplays and devastation

For Comics yes everything from infiltration to the end of more than meets the eye is amazing just don’t read lost light or revolution but if you want to read a stand alone book read last of the wreckers it’s the best transformers media ever

 

@Ambrojh, you should definitely give Beast Wars a chance. And if you like it, Beast Machines is a continuation of that story. Also, you should check out Animated and Prime and see if either of those look like something you might enjoy. Plenty of Transformers cartoons out there to enjoy. And most of them are available to watch for free on Tubi.

 

Beast Machines had the heroes losing the day in a lot of episodes in ways that actually affected the characters and in a lot of first season episodes, Megatron came out on top, so saying that Prime was the only show that did that is pretty much wrong. Heck, even some of the Japanese G1 cartoons had the villains winning at the end of the day.

 

The same could be argued for being hardcore into any single aspect of the franchise and not being open to the others, not just G1.

 

You have missed out but the comics tend to be better than the shows.

I found most of Season 2 of G1 to be badly animated and written. Season 3 improved though they made Galvatron a joke.

A lot of fans venerate Animated but it's highly stylised and while they portray most of the Transformers well, the human villains are out of place and like something from the 60s Batman. They also butchered Soundwave.

Robots in Disguise from 2001 is a guilty pleasure if you can get passed it's Pokemon like, anime style.

Transformers Prime, Beast Wars and Beast Machines are probably the best written. Though Rattrap's voice really grates and while Dinobot is well written his voice is strained and corny.

Cyberverse has charm and sizeable cast if you can get passed the early episodes with Bumblebee's radio voice.

The Combiner Wars Trilogy is a guilty pleasure of mine despite most fans hating it.

If you can get passed Menasor's gratingly annoying voice, you might enjoy it. Megatron and Hot Rod are great in it with Megatron being an amusing anti-hero.

Truth be told, we can all offer opinions, mine are usually in the minority but you'll just have to watch them for yourself.

The 07 movie and Bumblebee are both good movies but the others are an embarrassment.

 

The Beast era is definitely worth a watch. I grew up with G1 and still appreciate it, but like you, the cartoon is basically unwatchable aside from a select few episodes. I also enjoyed several arcs of the IDW comics (pre-reboot).

 

I have to disagree with that. I felt in season three, Galvatron was a much better villain than he was in the movie and an improvement over Megatron. He was psychotic and really wasn't as predictable as Megatron, yet he could still be a badass (especially if you watch Webworld, where his madness singlehandledly destroys a planet and then he goes to destroy the planet's memory core at the probable cost of his own life, which already raises him over the level of being Unicron's bitch like he was in the movie). He was also great in the slow burn moments.

 

I'd say you'd be missing out. So many great shows, stories, toys, games etc. There were alot of ups and downs, but I am not the fan whose all like: "THE FIRST INSTALLMENT IS THE ONLY THING I ACKNOWLEDGE, THEREFORE IT IS THE BEST." I like G1, but it's a far cry of what came after it.
G1 is very flawed, the comics, cartoon and the toys. The comic had mood swing problems, as it can be a happy-go-lucky comic, with car washes of doom, to a super dark and gritty comic, with characters dying left and right. The cartoon was my favorite thing to come out of G1, but Season 3 was, meh, and it had problems. Also the toys, while ahead of their time, are outclassed by other toylines.

 

Definitely. G1 is filled with nostalgia, but is ultimately one of the worst series' when it comes to storytelling. If you stopped at G1, you are missing out on a lot. For example, in G1, Autobots and Decepticons were different races, when in subsequent series', they were painted more as political parties, if not entire nations, echoing the rivalry between the United States and the USSR.

You bastard! I loved the Unicron Trilogy! Especially Armada! But on more serious terms, Armada works great as a standalone show, and it helped expand on things such as Optimus doubting his worthiness to carry the Matrix along with his hypocrisy.

 

I haven’t watched beast machines in a very very long time I’ll probably rewatch now

 

There is definitely good transformers media out there. Other people have already mentioned them, but I'll add my own thoughts.

Shows:

Beast Wars - This is the first show made after G1, and is in continuity with it. It has a very similar set up, the Maximals ( descendants of the Autobots ) chase a group of Predicons ( descendants of the Decepticons ), have a space battle and end up stranded on a alien planet. This planet has abnormally high ambient energon levels that will damage Cybertronians with prolonged exposure, so each transformer takes an organic beast mode to shield themselves while exploring. This show is actually pretty similar in tone to the G1 series, with some goofy humor and some more serious stuff mixed in. It is overall much better written than even the best G1 episodes. There are real consequences in this show, it doesn't always end a show at the old status quo. Visually it uses some very early computer rendered graphics. They have deffinately aged, but there is still some real artistry on display here. Sometimes I even think the show holds up visually.

Transformers Animated - This show is not in continuity with any other transformers show. In this show the Autobots have won the great war and have banished the Decepticons from Cybertron. Cybertron has been at peace for so long that the younger generations have never seen a Decepticon. It follows a group of green Autobot recruits that end up stranded on a near future Earth. Optimus Prime is their leader, but is also pretty green here, he's not a great Autobot hero yet. This show has an overall light tone, leaning toward fun stuff, but the serious stuff here is pretty deep for a kid show, delving into the effects of war and the morally grey decisions made during them. It even depicts some Autobots as corrupt, so it's not a black and white story. The Decepticons in this show are more of a threat than in other shows too. Artisticly, this show has a very polarizing look, some love it, some hate it. It's hand drawn and very cartoony. Animated is my personal favorite Transformers show and I highly recommend it.

Transformers Prime - This show is not in continuity with any other transformers show. It starts off with the Autobots in hiding on earth. They have been on earth for a while, and the government in this show is trying to keep them secret. The Decepticons show up though, and the war between them heats up. Unlike previous shows, this one stays very serious throughout, with very little comedy. While I feel this show never quite reaches the quality of Beast Wars or Animated, it's still a well made, above average show. There's some good stuff here, and it's well worth a watch. Visually it uses fairly recent computer rendering, and it looks really good. The environments are a little underwhelming, but the character models and animation are top notch. They even won some Emmys for it.

Comics:

Last Stand of the Wreckers - This is a fairly recent comic from a company called IDW. This is a very dark Transformers story done right. An Autobot prison colony has been taken over by the inmates, and the Autobots send in their special forces team ( The Wreckers ) to figure out what happened and set things right, but of course things aren't quite that simple. There is a lot of good character work in this mini series. You really get to know and care about the characters here, and the intrigue behind everything is really interesting. It also has, by far, the most intimidating villain in Transformers history. This story builds him up beautifully, and you think he can't possible live up to that build up, but he does. When the villain shows up things get very real, very fast. Like I said, this is a very dark comic. Even though the characters are robots, the gore here might still make you uncomfortable. If your okay with that, I highly recommend it.

More than Meets the Eye - This is a fairly recent comic from a company called IDW. It's a soft reboot of their long running series, so while there is a lot of back story, this comic is designed to be a good jumping on point for new readers. It follows a group of Transformers leaving Cybertron after the end of the great war. This group feels that Cybertron is so destroyed that it no longer feels like a home for them. Lacking direction and purpose, and wanting to get away from the site of so much of their pain during the war, they decide to search for the legendary Knights of Cybertron. Thinking that they can lead Cybertron toward something better. This comic can be uproariously funny and have soul crushing drama. In many ways it feels like a more grown up version of Transformers Animated. Everything here is very well written, it even got attention outside the Transformers fandom it's so good. I can't recommend it highly enough.