If you want to watch the tv shows the ones I'd recommend are Transformers Animated, Transformers Armada and Transformers Prime. Those three are my favorite and are pretty awesome shows. You don't have to watch any of them in a specific order.

Good choice on games too. WFC and FoC are two of the best Transformers games ever made. If you want a little more of the WFC universe's story you can wait a bit to get Rise of the Dark Spark for a really cheap price because that game has a mix of the Bayformer verse and the Cybertron verse in it. It tells a couple stories on how the Insecticons got in control of Shockwave and other little bits. The ending and all that was pretty weak though. Just something a little extra to the Cybertron verse if you want to ignore the Bayformers stuff. Assuming you don't like the Bayformers.

Major thanks dude!

I'll be sure to pick up Rise of the Dark Spark later on down the road. I also just ordered the 1986 film, but I'll have to track down the shows you recommended first.

Regarding the Bay films: The first one was fine, second was god awful and third was just average (just my opinion.) Haven't seen the fourth yet. Despite this, it doesn't really bother me about the film universe's presence in RotDS.

About the comics: I've been told that the best place to start is the IDW comics. Any other recommendations?

Playstation 2 Transformers game was pretty amazing.

I remember playing a demo of that years ago. Had a lot of fun.

It's based on the Armada series, but just called "Transformers". Great "collect-a-thon" and was probably the first actually GOOD Transformers game.

If there be a Transformers thread, there be a Shingo in it! lol

if you want a good read, then IDW transformers is the way to go.


The marvel run is up on the net, the Dreamwave is forgettable, but the IDW one is actually getting VERY HIGH acclaims in terms of writing... actually beating out current DC batman stuff in some places.


VERY VERY GOOD TF stuff there. There are two concurring series: more than meets the eye (better), Robots in Disguise.

I'd avoid Dark Spark like the plague. Bad tie-in product. Apart from the games you're playing, I agree the PS2 Armada game was good.

As far as TV shows go, if you want something nice and contained, I'd recommend Beast Wars first and foremost. The CG is 90's dated but not too bad, the cast is top-notch, and while it references past G1 series, no comprehensive knowledge is really required apart from "There was a war between Autobots and Decepticons, and the Autobots won".

Animated would be my second choice. Very well-written all around and highly entertaining. Prime would be my third.

The 1986 movie is a good recommendation. I mean, yeah, it's essentially an hour and a half long toy commercial, but it has a lot of heart and if you only ever watch one part of the G1 cartoon, that's it. Won't dignify the Bay movies with much discussion. First one wasn't bad, but that's it.


For comics, I'd echo Chrome's sentiment that IDW's current runs are good stuff. More Than Meets The Eye is the absolute best TF fiction has ever been, period - start with the "Last Stand Of The Wreckers" mini before you hop on.

The old Marvel G1 stuff has its high and low points and can get complicated since you can look at it as having two continuities - US only or US and UK. If you're interested, it gets really good starting with Simon Furman's run on USA issue 56.

Isolated good stories from the UK G1series are "Target: 2006" and "Space Pirates". The UK series requires some knowledge of the 1986 TF animated movie - there's a lot of branching timeline stuff going on, but it can be rewarding once you sort it out.

Welcome aboard! :D

^ Thanks very much guys!

About the Dark Spark game: Too late, lol. Yeah, it was pretty bad. I was about to lose it on the 'protect Cliffjumper' segment.

There really isn't much to say except that Beast Wars was probably the best Transformers show with Animated and Prime close 2nd and third.