The year 2002 marked a new era in the Transformers series. Hasbro, the American Company owning the copyrights to the Transformers series, and Takara Company Ltd., of Japan co-produced the Transformers Armada. This particular series started off in a new plot, not having any connection with the older versions of the Transformers.

Being the classic factions of the Transformers, the Autobots and Decepticons started out the show battling each other. Another smaller group called the Mini-cons was trapped between these two rivals and wanted to get away. Autobots, being the heroes of the series helped the Mini-cons but it wouldn’t be complete without having the Decepticons getting in the way.

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This particular series got a lot of criticism from various audiences, fans or not, because of its simple story line and one dimensional characters. But later on the story, the appearance of Unicron, the ultimate villain spiced up the story and earned the liking of many followers. More than 50 episodes had been created on this series and it run for about 2 years both in the US and in Japan.

Along with the TV series, comics and Transformers Armada toys also hit the market. As usual, both had been widely accepted not only in the US and Japan but also in other parts of the globe. A video game was even released by the company Atari, in 2004 dedicated to this series and the succeeding series Transformers Energon. The worldwide acceptance once again triggered the high sales on the toys and collectibles of this series.

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Just like the other series of the Transformers, G1 characters flooded the series including the most popular Transformers, Optimus Prime and Megatron. The Autobots team also includes Hot Rod, Red Alert, Smokescreen, Scavenger, Blurr, Jetfire, Sideswipe, and Overload. The rival team of Decepticons included Starscream, Demolishor, Cyclonus, Thrust, Wheeljack, Tidalwave. The Mini-cons on the other hand had the Air Military Team (Gunbarrel, Thunder Wing and Terra Drive), Street Action Team (High Wire, Grindor and Sureshock), Air Defense Team (Sonar, Runway and Jetstorm), Race Team (Mirage, Dirt Boss and Downshift) and many other teams of three that forms a bigger character when combined with each other.

With about 2 years of existence, the Transformers Armada paved the way to many Transformer Armada Toys that had been marketed. Although a lot of the characters has just been reproduced, various editions in the Armada series differ on the older Generation 1 versions of the action figures. Mini-cons especially become popular on this period forming bigger sophisticated robots out of 3 different smaller figures.

The Transformers Armada had been successful installment of the Transformers series and paved the way to more, if not better, series which are the Energon and Cybertron. This proves how successful the Transformers and how they have become more than just toys or TV series but more like  a way of life for a lot of people all over the world. And with the continued success of the Transformers even at present, they are more likely to be a trend for many more years to come.

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With the success of the Transformers in the 80’s throughout the 90’s, the company Hasbro with their cooperation with Takara Company Limited of Japan released the Transformers Energon. Formed in 2003, this particular series combines Autobots with partners and give the Decepticons the power to use higher energies. Stars as well as Energon weapons could also be placed to Transformers to increase their powers.

The release of the Transformers Energon produced a TV series in Japan which is entirely computer generated. More than 50 episodes had been created on this story line. The lead characters are mostly the members of Generation 1 Transformers although there had been some difference character wise.

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This TV series became a hit in the Japanese scene so new versions of Transformers Energon Toys had also been released. Even with the old character playing, there had been various changes that happened mostly in the appearance of the G1 Transformers and their characters as well. Megatron, for example, now appears with a grey color scheme instead of the original purple figure.

The Energon Transformers is a commemoration of the 20th year since the launching of the Transformers series. The story opens having the Autobots and the Decepticons fighting over Energon in Earth. This series continued until 2004 and became a big hit to the Japanese audience. This had been an exciting series and numerous twists and turns happened during the entire duration of the series.

The Transformers Energon series has probably the most homage dedicated to G1 Transformers. There has been a lot of similarities between the current action figures to the old figures that had been released. To show the power of teaming up, a lot of the big action figures in the Energon series don’t carry weapons. This shows the value of the Omnicons and Terrorcons. The small characters on the other hand are often equipped with weapons.

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Aside from the Transformers Energon toys that were sold in the market, comics have also been launched to feature the Energon. This has been a continuation of the earlier series, Transformers Armada. The ultimate villain, Unicron, was brought back to life in this series after it was thought to be dead on the previous series.

Unlike the usual Optimus Prime, Energon’s structuring somehow resembles the action figures, Voltron or Power Ranger Zord. Many Transformers collector argue the design of this particular Optimus Prime as there had been several issues with the toys. The design was not as appealing and even earned a nickname of “Fatimus Prime”.

Even the minor glitches on the toy design, the whole Transformers Energon series had been fairly successful. Until now, there are still a lot of Energon action figures that are sold in the market. Collectors wouldn’t have a hard time looking for Transformer toys for these series as they are widely marketed in the Internet. And as proven so many times with the previous series, any Transformers series seems to be widely accepted by audiences worldwide.

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Since the release of the Transformers in the early 1980’s, many characters have been created. Patterned in the old Microman and Diaclones of Japan, early editions of the transformers also known as the Generation 1 Transformers have, until now, been the most popular variety. This is consisted of all the Transformers characters made between the years 1984 to the temporary cease of production in the 1990.

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The G1 Transformers includes the infamous Autobots and Decepticons. The first ever leaders of both groups, Optimus Prime and Megatron has been made and re-made so many times to fit the current toy trends. Many other leaders of Autobots and Decepticons followed after these leaders but for the 25-year existence of this series, Optimus Prime and Megatron contunies to re-surface.

The popularity of the Transformers really started out with the G1 characters. Various medium available had been used to promote them like TV shows and even a movie. Many new characters had been added to the pool as the years progressed. New teams were formed to spice up the story, lik Headmasters, Targetmasters, Micromasters, Powermasters and Pretenders. Many teams had been made and phased-out over the years as well.

To date, collecting G1 Transformers have been very rewarding for many people. The higher valued items are those old models of popular G1 Transformers which is of course, Optimus Prime and Megatron. It is very difficult to find the 1st editions of these toys and although many new ones are still marketed these days, the vintage models of the Generation 1 Transformers seem to be valued more.

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Aside from the G1 action figures produced, there are also the Transformers comics that had been precious collectible items for many fanatics. The comics versions where produced under Marvel Comics during the year of the G1 Transformers. Around 80 issues were produced from 1984 to 1991 with various story lines.

The TV series dedicated to G1 characters also spiced up the late 80’s. There had been a lot of episodes with so many twist and turn that really hooked the kids and the kids at heart. Because many characters had been formed in this period, there had been more than enough to spice up the viewers each week.

At present, some of the Transformers G1 characters can still be bought in the market. Unlike the older versions, newer toys have better paint job and have more up to date features like lasers, sounds and others. With the release of the blockbuster movie, Transformers in 2007, newer generation of kids took interest on the G1 action figures specifically the leaders, Megatron and Optimus Prime.

The G1 Transformers still continues to be big all over the world. Although a lot of newer characters had been produced since the start of the series, the firsts’ continues to be the best. Many people value the generation 1 of the Transformers as it is a part of the very foundation of the action figures. And as the new movie is being highly anticipated to be released this year, we could only see how the Transformers Fever would be.

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For more than 25 years, the Transformers toys have never ceased to amuse everyone from little boys to avid toy collectors. But how exactly did these toys get started?

The Transformers toys debuted on Japanese soil as Microman and Diaclones, made by Takara Company Limited. They were officially named the Transformers when the company Hasbro bought the distribution rights to the Japanese toys for the US market. Soon after, Hasbro took over completely, buying the sole ownership and copyrights of the entire Transformer series. Takara, however, retained their rights to market the products in Japan.

Hasbro hired two comic book writers, Jim Shooter and Dennis O'Neil, to develop a story behind the characters and the Transformers began what was supposed to be a small miniseries in the Marvel comic universe, but wound up being an 80 issue series.

The first Transformers were known as AUTOBOTS, called such because they can be a vehicle or a robot, and hit the market in 1984. Soon after, the AUTOBOTS’ rival, the DECEPTICONS, a more complicated transformer, hit the stores. The highly popular Optimus Prime and Megatron, leaders of the AUTOBOTS and the DECEPTICONS respectively, also debuted in the first year of the Transformers. As more and more kids got hooked on Transformers, an animated TV show was created, focusing soley on the very popular action figures. Just a year after the release of Transformer toys into the US market, they had become one of the leading toys in the market.

By 1986, the use of the Microman and Diaclone molds had been completely phased out. Hasbro started using their own designs for the many characters in the line of action figures. This was also the year the first Transformers movie hit the screen. Over the next few years, several new sets of characters, including new leaders of the AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS were released. However, the Optimus Prime and Megatron characters remained the hallmarks of the series.

In 1990, the last year of the first generation Transformers (known as G1 Transformers), a brand new series named Action Masters were brought to life and production of the original Transformers toys was halted.

Two years later, Transformers toys made a comeback! New characters were released and a lot of older ones re-surfaced with new body colors and features. This was also when the toy line started to speak, with the electronic phrases and sounds. Optimus Prime was released many times with many enhancements, including talking, laser lights, and rocket launchers for weapons.

In the late 90’s the Transformers were more popular than ever. One big breakthrough was the release and mass production of the first female Transformers character, Blackarachnia. The Transformers Beast Wars series also became a hit during this period and the release of Fuzors and Transmetals closed out the decade.

In early 2000, the Transformers toys enjoyed continued popularity in the market. Several new story lines were released, focusing largely on the traditional Transformers characters, the AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS. The Transformers Armada also made their debut adding some spice to the old character line.

The popularity and almost cult-like following the Transformers franchise had gained through the years led to the production of another movie, released in 2007. Using live action and special effects instead of animation, the movie became one of the biggest blockbusters of the year. The action figures once again enjoyed a resurgence propelled by the popularity of the movie all across the world.

Young or old, it’s evident that the Transformers continue to amuse the kid in all of us. And, judging by the fact that new Transformer toys hit the market each year, that trend won’t be ending any time soon.