Studio Series 86 Appreciation Thread

Donocropolis

Donocropolis

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lastmaximal said:
Same, a bit.

I've always wanted something along the lines of Cybertron, with a something-for-everyone angle that has a little of everything and homages everywhere. And to an extent the Legacy trilogy (as well as Selects) is bringing that, with mixed results. But it all falls kind of flat without the kind of fiction/media fun Cybertron had (the show, the fan club comic, etc). Give me that, with a dash of the fun the Speedia race manga and early Titans Return fiction bits had, and I'd be enjoying this a lot more. It'd certainly be a lot less of a cynical "who do I need from this wave" exercise.
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That is very true. I would love to get SOME kind of accompanying fiction. I would even take 3-4 sentence blurbs on packaging that give a quick glimpse into who this character is and what they are doing. If done well, you would be able to piece together the rough shape of the story by reading enough boxes.
 
Undead Scottsman

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Wasn't the problem basically that Hasbro has utterly cheaped out on packaging, so they make one generic package that can be used in lots and lots of markets, but that means they have to translate everything, so the more text they add, the more they have to pay for translation and, again, they've utterly cheaped out on packaging.
 
MrBlud

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They could do online/app stuff. I can’t imagine having people knock out a Tech Spec or two would be prohibitively expensive even just running it through an online translator for other regions.
 
Dake

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MrBlud said:
They could do online/app stuff. I can’t imagine having people knock out a Tech Spec or two would be prohibitively expensive even just running it through an online translator for other regions.
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IIrc, many countries legally require any printed words to be translated in print as well. So it's either NO words, or words in all the languages.
 
LordGigaIce

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lastmaximal said:
Same, a bit.

I've always wanted something along the lines of Cybertron, with a something-for-everyone angle that has a little of everything and homages everywhere. And to an extent the Legacy trilogy (as well as Selects) is bringing that, with mixed results. But it all falls kind of flat without the kind of fiction/media fun Cybertron had (the show, the fan club comic, etc). Give me that, with a dash of the fun the Speedia race manga and early Titans Return fiction bits had, and I'd be enjoying this a lot more. It'd certainly be a lot less of a cynical "who do I need from this wave" exercise.
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I get the issue with a lack of fiction to a degree but at the same time... Kingdom was a test run for what I wanted them to do, and Legacy fulfilled the promise- a toyline that mixes Earth-based vehicles, scifi concepts, and beastformers into one line. It's Cybertron if Cybertron leaned a bit more into the homage side of things and that checks all the boxes I like.

So I rather have the toyline even if it means no fiction then not have the toyline because there's no fiction.

Donocropolis said:
That is very true. I would love to get SOME kind of accompanying fiction. I would even take 3-4 sentence blurbs on packaging that give a quick glimpse into who this character is and what they are doing. If done well, you would be able to piece together the rough shape of the story by reading enough boxes.
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Universe 2.0 had a really cool backstory told exclusively through package bios. The Decepticons were scattered and Galvatron appeared out of nowhere to lead them. It was sort of a re-imagining of the s3 G1 Decepticon status quo with the mysteriousness around Galvy turned up to eleven.

But given comments made by the brand team.... maybe the lack of bios on Legacy is a good thing?
Take Minerva. Someone (Mark, I think) said that Minerva "lost the ability to be a headmaster" when she went through the multiversal portal.
Thing is... Minerva wasn't a traditional G1 Japanese headmaster. She was a human in an exosuit that became the head of the robot. So... is Minerva now just a robot? Is her corpse supposed to be decaying in that head like the Emperor of Mankind?

Thing is that Mark's(?) statement is just unnecessary. The lifeless transtector Minerva piloted became a sentient robot at the end of Masterforce so if you weren't going to make Minerva a Titanmaster you could just say "oh that's the Minerva transtector after it gained a spark."

So given that example... maybe it's best that the brand team isn't getting too invested in the fiction 😅
 
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MrBlud

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Dake said:
IIrc, many countries legally require any printed words to be translated in print as well. So it's either NO words, or words in all the languages.
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I don’t mean on the packaging itself. Just written on the app or an online site or something.

kinda like the old Cyberkey codes.
 
G.B.Blackrock

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MrBlud said:
They could do online/app stuff. I can’t imagine having people knock out a Tech Spec or two would be prohibitively expensive even just running it through an online translator for other regions.
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Indeed, they HAVE done online/app stuff for Tech Specs quite a bit (if not universally, admittedly). I find that a dim reflection of what Tech Specs should be (YMMV, of course), but I don't see what I would prefer coming back anytime soon.
 
lastmaximal

lastmaximal

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LordGigaIce said:
I get the issue with a lack of fiction to a degree but at the same time... Kingdom was a test run for what I wanted them to do, and Legacy fulfilled the promise- a toyline that mixes Earth-based vehicles, scifi concepts, and beastformers into one line. It's Cybertron if Cybertron leaned a bit more into the homage side of things and that checks all the boxes I like.

So I rather have the toyline even if it means no fiction then not have the toyline because there's no fiction.
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...I get that that seems like a slam dunk of a decision, but it's not as if I ever even entertained the "no fiction, no toyline" option in bringing this up.

I'm happy to have the toyline, especially as it's supplemented by capsules and Selects, and as it's grown to be a better mix. The UT, and Cybertron in particular, was such a wonderful time. I just want more than the "multiverse, so hot right now" excuse plot.
 
LBD "Nytetrayn"

LBD "Nytetrayn"

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I wouldn't mind something out of, I dunno, Skybound that's basically a cross between the early G1 Marvel comics and the Legends manga, maybe leaning towards the latter. Thin plot, here comes X, Y, and Z to do something! And now A, B, and C are here to stop them! But suddenly, D, E, and F! Whose side are they on? Can they be trusted?

Or something like that.

The Armada mini-comics were good like that, too.
 
The Predaking

The Predaking

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lastmaximal said:
I mean, if it had been of similar quality and tone, it probably wouldn't have hit the spot anyway. It certainly didn't feel like a loss at the time it was revealed that Netflix passed on it, after what preceded it.
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Maybe this will be a sign to Hasbro to step up their game for their cartoon series. I mean, the last one I enjoyed was Prime.
 
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