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Transformers Cybertron & Galaxy Force Hasbro & Takara, 2005-Present

Following the defeat of the Unicron-sized Galvatron at the end of Transformers Energon, Hasbro and Takara decided to start on a new planet-hopping concept which involved robots in disguise from a number of worlds, but it seems the "disguise" part, once again, is more or less moot. Premiering in Japan in late 2004 and the USA around the middle of 2005, this line incorporated elements from nearly every page of the "modern" era of Transformers starting with Beast Wars. A number of animal-based figures were created, as well as a number of vehicles that look a lot like Vehicons, some Armada remolds, and a ton of fanservice calling in references from nearly every generation of American and Japanese Transformers.

Instead of having gimmicks activated by Mini-Cons, Energon weapons, or clever little switches, this time around you can worry about losing a special Planet Key, which also happens to be the focus of the show-- the Autobots and Decepticons are collecting these for various reasons, and the toys use these keys to unlock their special attacks. For example, it might activate a flip-out pair of guns, or a head-butting attack-- these are on the same level as the features activated by a Mini-Con, minus the tiny nifty bonus toy.

While Hasbro and Takara usually have a few differences in their lines, it seems like once again we're going to see some unique sizes on each series. The USA Starscream is enormous, rivaling Unicron in terms of sheer size, while in Japan, he's a much smaller sized figure. The USA release also has different features, but the two look about the same otherwise.

As far as marketing goes, Hasbro has really amped up the toys as characters rather than as mere toys, making sure to include biographical information online, on the packaging, and as special unlockable content on its web site. Not many lines since Bionicle have really attempted to up the ante on using the Internet as a marketing vehicle, but all of these, combined with wacky accents on the cartoon, are making these characters some of the most memorable sounding in years.

Japanese toys began appearing at the end of 2004, with American ones showing up in July 2005, making this a fairly sizable gap between the Japanese and American launches. As of today, the American line will be overall larger and last much longer than the Japanese one, as plans call for it to continue through the end of 2006.

There are dozens of excellent sources for additional information on these robots in disguise on our link page. To find out current and upcoming product, please consult our checklist.

Pages last updated October 22 2005.

Transformers

 Generations
 Drift
 Thrust
 WFC Optimus Prime

 Classics
 Jetfire
 Megatron
 Mirage
 Starscream
 Toy Checklist

 Titanium
 Toy Checklist

 Alternators
 Shockblast

 Armada
 Nemesis Prime
 Toy Checklist

 Cybertron
 Toy Checklist

 Energon
 Battle Ravage
 Demolishor
 Energon Saber
 Energon Starscream
 Galvatron
 Roadblock
 Skyblast
 Snow Cat
 Starscream
 Strongarm
 Unicron
 Valentines
 Toy Checklist

 Generation One
 Goldbug
 Orion Pax & Dion

 Masterpiece Edition
 Convoy

 Robot Masters
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 Beast Convoy
 Beast Megatron
 Bound Rogue
 Burning Beast Convoy + DVD
 Doubleface
 G1 Convoy
 G1 Convoy + DVD
 Gigant Bomb
 Psycho Orb
 R-Blade
 Rijie
 Road Rocket
 Smoke Sniper
 Starscream
 Wingstun
 Wrecker Hook
 Black Beast Convoy
 Black Starscream
 Toy Checklist

 Spychangers
 Optimus Prime

 Star Wars
 Darth Vader

 Universe
 Toy Checklist

 Also See:
 TransFormers PVCs
 G.I. Joe
 Other Toys

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