Ravestrike's Space

Ravestrike's Space


Well, here's a new section made as a place for me to write. What about? About whatever :) If I have something on my mind, pertaining to Transformers or not, I'll post it here. Once I have the Guestbook up, we could get some good discussions and dialogue going. Find out what's on my mind here!

Well, first thing I should do is write up a quick "About Me" since I don't have that anywhere else on the site. Here's a little profile, just thrown out for your amusement :)

Real Name: Chris
Place of Birth: Honolulu, Hawaii

Currently Resides in: Northern California

Occupation: Video game design and development. Professional dreamer? Yesss...!

Hobbies and Interests: Videogames, Sentai, Transformers, Anime, Electronics... I spend ungodly amounts of money toy collecting - mainly Transformers (although not as much anymore), Megaranger/Power Rangers, Mystic Knights, My Little Pony, Rock Lords, Robolinks, Macross... I collect arcade games and console games/hardware. I enjoy creating/inventing useful things. I like Japanese cuture... Hawaiiana, Video Game History, Science Fiction... Game design is one of my passions. Extreme sports, game music... 80's cartoons/music/culture. N.R.!!!

Favorite Transformers (Characters): Skywarp, Bluestreak, Soundwave, Starscream, Megatron, Astrotrain, Blitzwing.

Favorite Transformers (Toys): Bluestreak (blue!), Hot Rod, Black Microman Megatron/P38, Slugslinger, Pointblank, Apeface, Snapdragon, Raiden, Autolauncher, Soundblaster.




Favorite Game System: PC Engine LT

Favorite Video Games: Moto Roader MC, Marvel VS Capcom, Top Skater, Beatmania, Persona, Persona 2, Dance Dance Revolution, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, Dracula X, Gradius Gaiden, Bust A Move Rhythm and Dance Action, Killer Instinct 1, Salamander 2, Life Force, Space Harrier, Phantasy Star, 1943, Speed Rumbler, Crazy Taxi...

Favorite TV Shows: Denji Sentai Megaranger (my all time favorite!), Transformers, Beast Wars, Monster Rancher, Dragonball Z.

Anime I like: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Genesis Climber Mospeada, KareKano, Dragon Half, Card Captor Sakura, Revolutionary Girl Utena, To Heart.
That's all for now!

RaveStrike speaks on Beast Machines box art:

I just had to get this off my chest... What really bothers me about the Beast Machines toy packaging is the lack of character specific artwork on the front of the package. Instead, for every character, Maximal or Vehicon, we get this huge image we've all seen before of Beast Machine Cheetor's oh-so beautiful mugshot.

Since when did Cheetor deserve to be the posterboy for all of Transformers? Transformers was never about a specific one character or faction, it promoted individuality. People and fans could choose their favorites based on the traits of each individual character, and the character art on the front of the package was without a doubt one of those determining factors.

Througout the history of the toy line, (but G1 especially) the character art on the front of the package portrayed each Transformer in a "glamorous" state that inspired imagination, and helped to create a world for the characters to exist in. Things like this allowed Transformers to become more than just another toy with a photo slapped on the box. In the artwork, characters were seen in poses illustrating action, power, authority, and personality. The character in art could pose in ways that the toy couldn't, and in that way, even if the toy itself was butt-ugly, a fan with a little imagination could still envision the potential coolness of that character by interpreting the artwork along with the toy design. We got our money's worth.

As a child, I thought a lot of characters were just plain cool because of the boxart, rather than the actual toy... Topspin/Twintwist, Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, and Megatron come to mind, since my inital opinions of those characters were formed before the cartoon was aired (if they became show characters at all). Had they been packaged the same way the Beast Machines are packaged today, I wouldn't have had thought any of them were quite as cool. I might not have had the same little adventures going on in my head that led me to become a Transformers fan in the first place.

The lack of character specific art to me is a definite sign of cheapened quality, but to an extreme level. They (Hasbro) obviously have artists and designers on hand, and could easily just have used a retouched conceptual illustration. When I hold a Beast Machines package in my hands, I feel as though it were an imitation or knock off... Perhaps worse, as I've see a lot of off-brand toys that had incredibly impressive art, like Titanic-Bot and Bus-Bot.

Right now I have a shelf full of G1 and BW boxes worth a small fortune on display in my bedroom. Why? Not because there's a black jet, or a blue Datsun, or a Walther P38 in, or formerly in the box. It's because of the ultra cool art that makes the toy a *character*. Will any Beast Machines join these boxes on my display shelf? With the current batch, probably not. Without real art, the packaging all looks the same if the toy is not inside. Packaging like that will be most likely be thrown away, rather than treasured by the masses.

I was already missing the "battle scene" art that appeared on the backs of the G1 boxes. Losing that, I could live with. But now it seems that the product line could be losing more and more of its soul as time goes on. I do hope that the next wave of toys will correct this problem.