(JULY-2013) Armada Era - Rate it

[griffin]

The Entire Era/Series as a whole (you can include the Japanese version if you want), how does it rate in the world of Transformers:

- Best Ever
- One of the better ones
- Average
- Not very good
- I refuse to have anything to do with it

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Overall I rate this as average.

there was some good stuff. Super Con Optimus (http://tetstoys.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/supercon-optimus-prime.html) and Tidal Wave, the PS2 transformers game for example and most of the minicons. But there was also a lot of rubbish as well. *cough*Laserbeak*cough* The cartoon was incredibly boring as well.:p

[MayzaPrime]

Laserbeak was never an Autobot... Just like there is only 3 Indiana Jones movies and 1 Starship Troopers movie ;)

[Trent]

Laserbeak was never an Autobot... Just like there is only 3 Indiana Jones movies and 1 Starship Troopers movie ;)

But there is only 1 Starship Troopers movie!;)

Unicron and the PS2 game. The 2 most memorable things from this line. I didn't even own a PS2. I borrowed my brothers and bought the game. And it was awesome. The level where you fight Tidal Wave remains one of my favourites.
And Tidal Wave was a pretty good toy too. 4 alt modes in one was a very clever design given the limitations the design team had to work with.

[Jetfire in the sky]

Tidal Wave, Unicron and Jetfire of course :)
Cartoon was OK, coming off RID it did its own thing and set up for two more series which half way through Energon I noticed it was basically the same bollocks.

[griffin]

I think it was one of the better ones.

The cartoon let it down a bit, but mostly because it was padded... as the story itself was fairly decent (a hunt first, then the battle against Unicron at the end).
The Comic did a better job at telling a story, but had to do it in 18 "episodes" so had to pack a lot in at the end, and ended up going nuts with the multi-universe concept and characters.

This series had one of the best (Transformers) computer games I had ever played, which gives it bonus points for the rating above. I would spend hours playing it, and then replaying it.

As for the toys - they hit Australia with a delayed, but big launch. Apparently we had a 5 month delay due to American stores wanting more stock than the factory could produce. This was probably the one series that had me most excited about it starting, as there was a lot of hype from the series by this stage, and it was new & it was vehicles.
Since I was at BotCon in 2002, I was lucky to be one of the first Australians with Armada toys (Hasbro gave out free toys to people at the Dinner), and even saw the first episode at that event. The excitement of that night, gave it such a great first impression.... and then a year later, we had Unicron. After all these years, we finally got a Unicron toy that was able to look like Unicron, and make an acceptable planet mode as well.

At the very least, at the end of it all, Armada gave us the legacy of Minicons/Microns, and Minicon ports... which are still being produced over a decade later. No other series created a gimmick that has been utilised continuously like that.

[GoktimusPrime]

Another legacy of Armada was the universal standardisation of the 5mm weapon post/fist hole size. The majority of Transformers made since Armada have interchangeable weapons and they are also reverse-compatible with any pre-Armada Transformers made with the 5mm post, like the original G1 Optimus Prime! :) I really love the cross-compatibility of toys w/ 5mm post weapons!

Captimus Prime wielding the TFP Star Sabre and 1984 G1 Optimus Prime's rifle!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/misc%20photo%20skits/captimus01_zpse9449c89.jpg

Ultimate Optimus Prime decked out with 5mm post weapons!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y227/goktimusprime/Transformers/comparisons/Ultimate%20Optimus%20Prime/ultimateop35.jpg

[Ae-Evolution]

The first Transformers series I ever saw. Can't say it was the best ones, but I loved it at the time, still enjoy it now. My first figures were from the series, Powerlinx Jetfire and Overload (Then Optimus ~9 years later).

[BigTransformerTrev]

Wasn't massively keen on the cartoon but damn did they have some fantastic toys :D! And look at the average size of them compared to what classifies as a deluxe now :( The mini-cons also added a lot of play value to those bigger figures as well. One of the better ones in my opinion (they gave us Unicron for Primus sake!!!)

[KalEl]

I was and am a big fan of armada, was the start of the unicron trilogy and some awesome toys!

[GoktimusPrime]

The first Transformers series I ever saw. Can't say it was the best ones, but I loved it at the time, still enjoy it now. My first figures were from the series, Powerlinx Jetfire and Overload (Then Optimus ~9 years later).
:eek: Damn you be young! :eek:

<feeling.old> :p

---------------------------------

On another note... despite this franchise being called "Armada" there's a distinct absence of any actual armada. The Mini-Cons fled Cybertron in a single refugee ship... hardly an armada. And the Autobots and Decepticons travelled to Earth via warp/space bridge.

[crankcase76]

I voted a better one, as stated there were a lot of good qualities and not so good ones about Armarda. But it did help continue into the Energon series and like Griffin stated about the minicons being used still to this day. Even TFP is using them.:)

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

On another note... despite this franchise being called "Armada" there's a distinct absence of any actual armada. The Mini-Cons fled Cybertron in a single refugee ship... hardly an armada. And the Autobots and Decepticons travelled to Earth via warp/space bridge.
Really? I say they are using the origins of the word armada


Origin:
mid 16th century: from Spanish, from armata, feminine past participle of Latin armare 'to arm'
Thankyou Dictionary (http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/armada?q=armada);)

[griffin]

You know... after all this time, I have never seen (officially or unofficially) anyone explain that this was why that series was called Armada. It makes sense now, after all these years scoffing at that name not making any sense in any of the stories (cartoon, comic, game, etc).
If it really was called Armada because of its Spanish meaning, it would have been nice to have someone from Hasbro make (obvious) mention of it (on the packaging, or have it noted in the comic or cartoon).

[GoktimusPrime]

While the word armāre means to "arm", contextually "armāta" refers to an armed force, which in naval terms would be an armed fleet. AFAIK the second declension of this would would be "armus", which in the nominative plural would be "armī", which is where English gets the word army from. So just as you wouldn't have an "army" of one soldier, so too you can't have an "armada" of just one ship... especially when it's carrying asylum seeking Mini-Cons and not equipped for cosmic naval warfare like say an actual space-worthy fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers. ;)

In any case, the word "Armada" (not armāta) means "a fleet of warships." After all, the word "science" in English means "the systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation," but it comes from the Latin word "scientia" which means to 'know' or 'understand,' thus any form of knowing or understanding is "scientia," but not necessarily "science." (it's national science week this week btw :D)

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

<lecture snip>
Touche good sir;)

However I am not going to give Hasbro that much credit for knowledge of linguistics, They might have googled it, gone ooh, that has a nice origin, let's use Armada coz kids might know it (of course until it's confirmed, it's all just speculation) so um, yeah.

nothing like a strong finish to one's argument.:p

Still it would be nice to have some sort of reasoning as to why they went for Armada. As Griff pointed out. Energon was obvious, Cybertron made sense (despite the fact they spent the least amount of time on it, it was there goal...)

Maybe Armada is a reference to Tidalwave, although at the most he was a fleet.

[Sinnertwin]

Armada, Energon and Cybertron all have three syllables and are part of a trilogy. If you look at their first letters, A, E & C correspond to the 1st, 5th and 3rd letters of the English alphabet. 1+5+3= 9. 9 divided by 3 = 3. The Power of Three. There's your meaning :p :p :D

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Armada, Energon and Cybertron all have three syllables and are part of a trilogy. If you look at their first letters, A, E & C correspond to the 1st, 5th and 3rd letters of the English alphabet. 1+5+3= 9. 9 divided by 3 = 3. The Power of Three. There's your meaning :p :p :D

The power of three? Power, Wisdom and courage? OMG it's linked to the Legend of Zelda!

That is AWESOME!

[jamesdave]

I liked Armada very much back in the day and I will rate it the best.

[MayzaPrime]

I liked Armada very much back in the day and I will rate it the best.

Is this the winner of thread necromancy for 2017...

Last post 2013...

[bowspearer]

Still it would be nice to have some sort of reasoning as to why they went for Armada.

Actually the name Armada does make sense in a manner of speaking. If you think about it, the central concept behind Armada, in fact it would be fair to roughly translate the Japanese name for Armada as "Legend of the Minicons.

Now granted, if you're approaching it from the concept of amassing a huge and powerful army (relatively speaking), then "Legion" would probably have been the more ideal choice (ie whoever possesses all the Minicons has a legion of them). However as the Minicons do transform into vehicles, you could loosely get away with using "Armada" instead.

[shockNwave]

The Armada series is good for those who appreciate nostalgic G1 value but a step back for those impressed by the innovation of the Beast Wars engineering.

[dirge]

I found the cartoon irritating and ended up offloading most of the bigger toys as the alt modes just lacked that realism I like.

The Unicron toy & Minicons I have kept - they are the best aspects for me.

(Also, I have the Micron Densetsu Hot Shot, and I kept that, just because of how I got it).

[shockNwave]

I found the cartoon irritating and ended up offloading most of the bigger toys as the alt modes just lacked that realism I like.

The Unicron toy & Minicons I have kept - they are the best aspects for me.

(Also, I have the Micron Densetsu Hot Shot, and I kept that, just because of how I got it).

If you don't mind me asking. How did you get Hot Shot?

[dirge]

If you don't mind me asking. How did you get Hot Shot?

A friend in Japan helped me out. While I don’t love the toy, I do like how Takara did a better job in this instance. So those two factors together mean I kept Hot Shot.

[BigTransformerTrev]

Wasn't massively keen on the cartoon but damn did they have some fantastic toys :D! And look at the average size of them compared to what classifies as a deluxe now :( The mini-cons also added a lot of play value to those bigger figures as well. One of the better ones in my opinion (they gave us Unicron for Primus sake!!!)

Ironically when I made that post 5 years ago I think I was still a Basic member and as such couldn't post pics :p


So here finally is my Armada collection :)


http://i63.tinypic.com/1625tsg.jpg


The only other 'Armada' figure I've picked up since the above very old pic is Snarl, since his alt-mode was the most G1 reminiscent before the new POTP version got released :)


http://i64.tinypic.com/2dhsc46.jpg

[Trent]

^Nice.

I miss my Armada collection.

[TaZZerath]

That collection is amazing.

I completely missed the Armada era toys but always did admire their gimmicks and of course the introduction of the first mass-produced Unicron toy, the largest Transformer toy for years.

[Tha_Phantom]

I grew up with these toys, most of them seemed good at the time, but ultimately I've grown out of this series. I haven't felt a need to revisit many of the figures from that line now as an adult collector.
Considering this line came after the Beast era and Car Robot/RID it feels like a step back to me. Those series made articulation a standard but Armada favoured gimmicks instead.
The minicons were probably the highlight for me both then and now (not because they unlocked gimmicks, but because most were decent small-scale Transformers). I have many memories of setting up Armada Prime's trailer base and having minicon battles on it.

[GoktimusPrime]

IMO this is the difference between a good and bad toyline. A good toyline is something that you don't grow out of - you can come back to it over and over again and continue to enjoy it. Same with books, movies, cartoons etc. Beast Wars and Car Robot/RiD are toys that we can still look back at with fondness. BW figures are harder to improve because the original toys were just that good. When I compare my MP BW Convoy and Cheetus with my original Optimus Primal and Cheetor, I find that - relatively price - they're just as good as each other. MP Dinobot and BW Megatron may be vastly superior to their original counterparts, but they're also the most expensive Transformers to date, having breached the Fortress Maximus RRP. So again, the originals are still just as good relative to price point. Yeah, the original Dinobot doesn't do as many fancy things as the MP, but it's a Deluxe. A Deluxe that still beats the tar out of any Cyberverse Warrior Class figure, that's for sure!

[reillyd]

I really miss the cool mini-cons. When rid announced they would have minicons I was so excited - but no minicon ports. I couldn't get enough minicons. I'll have to be content with micromasters in Siege

[Autocon]

Minicons = seperate robot alien race
Micromasters = mini cybertronians

Thats correct level up from novice?

[BigTransformerTrev]

Minicons = seperate robot alien race
Micromasters = mini cybertronians

Thats correct level up from novice?

I think in every TF universe (bar IDW) Mini-Cons are Cybertronians, not a seperate alien race.

Perhaps they are just a different species of Cybertronian. Whereas Micromasters are the same species as regular bots, just a lot smaller

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I think in every TF universe (bar IDW) Mini-Cons are Cybertronians, not a seperate alien race.

Perhaps they are just a different species of Cybertronian. Whereas Micromasters are the same species as regular bots, just a lot smaller

When Armada came out, Minicons were another race(and faction) of Cybertronians. Which is why they have their own faction symbol. I can't speak for IDW though, having not read any

[GoktimusPrime]

* Micromasters were explained as Cybertronians who had downsized to become more energy efficient. In Beast Wars the Maximals and Predacons continued to be Micromaster-sized and BW Megatron once referred to the Autobots as "archaic Energon guzzlers."

* In the Armada cartoon continuity the Mini-Cons were indeed a separate foreign species introduced to Cybertron by their creator Unicron.

* In the Armada comics Cybertron was a caste society and the Mini-Cons were a lowly underclass that nobody paid much attention to. The Decepticons captured these Mini-Cons and surgically modified them to power link and boost their host's power.

* In the IDW comics the original Mini-Cons were descendant from the colonists who followed Micronus Prime aboard the Titan Prion. The Black Block Consortia effectively committed genocide against these Mini-Cons, exterminating almost all of them. The only known survivor, Nickel, fled and joined the Decepticon Justice Division.

* The IDW comics also introduced a non-Cybertronian species known as Stentarians; a race of transforming and combining robots. They have been waging a long drawn civil war between the heroic Terradores and evil Ammonites. Hasbro released one set of Ammonites which they marketed as the Mini-Con Assault Team. Shockwave managed to gain control of the Ammonites and commanded all seventy billion of them to descend upon Cybertron (so much so that they blotted out the stars in the sky), keeping the Cybertronians occupied as Shockwave ascended to godhood in order to collapse time-space into a singularity. As you do.

* In the Aligned Continuity the Mini-Cons shared a similar origin with IDW (re: Micronus Prime). The Aligned Mini-Cons are very diverse ranging from the Arms Microns to Deployers to mass-produced drones like Fixit.

* Generation 1 (CHUG retcon; USA): Mini-Cons were created by the Last Autobot to cleanse Cybertron of Mutants and Demons. Which is actually incredibly horrific when you remember that the Mutants and Demons were the indigenous species of Cybertron before Primus came along and reshaped it as Cybertron and populated it with Transformers! :eek: Yeah. The Autobots and their Mini-Cons committed genocide against Cybertron's indigenous race! :eek: I get that the Demons and Mutants are incredibly hostile and savage (practically Morlocks)... but still. How was Optimus Prime cool with this?? :eek:

* Generation 1 (CHUG retcon; Japan): Mini-Cons are a sub-faction of Micromasters who have become able to power up their hosts by connecting with them as weapons etc.

[Omega Supreme]

I enjoyed both the Toyline and even the cartoon. If it wasn't for Armada pretty sure I would not have gotten back into Transformers. Everything aside if it wasn't for Armada we wouldn't have a Unicron figure.

[BigTransformerTrev]

I think in every TF universe (bar IDW) Mini-Cons are Cybertronians, not a seperate alien race.

Perhaps they are just a different species of Cybertronian. Whereas Micromasters are the same species as regular bots, just a lot smaller


* Micromasters were explained as Cybertronians who had downsized to become more energy efficient. In Beast Wars the Maximals and Predacons continued to be Micromaster-sized and BW Megatron once referred to the Autobots as "archaic Energon guzzlers."

* In the Armada cartoon continuity the Mini-Cons were indeed a separate foreign species introduced to Cybertron by their creator Unicron.

Well there ya go, I stand corrected on the Armada cartoon front. I will admit to having all the DVD's but haven't really watched them enough to remember all the details like the above.

I guess if you take it for granted that Primus and Unicron are the same species as each other (transforming metal planet gods) then the Mini-Cons are the same as other Transformers, just not natives of Cybertron and a different species. They were just introduced to Cybertron by Unicron in the same way rabbits were introduced to Australia by early colonists - not native but certainly not a completely alien lifeform.

Oh and that has always bugged me a bit - the fact that BW characters were suppposed to be Micromaster sized, and were indeed portrayed as such like when BW Megatron flew over a deactivated Soundwave, but in comics like IDW were portrayed as equivalent size and some of them disguised themselves as big creatures such as a T-Rex yet with no discernable size change between modes.