I've got a shitty c5 pre-rub soundwave with a battlebeasts rubsign on. I can't honestly say it's improved his playability a great deal. It did amuse me though.
The point of the displeasure for the lack of the faction sticker, and the main play feature of the toy. I never meant that the sticker was the main feature of the toy, but it was the main component of the play mechanic.
I guess I just found the "play mechanic" to be pretty insubstantial, rather than the real raison d'etre for the figures themselves. I never actually based any of my childhood play around the symbols. Why play rock/scissors/paper when you could be playing with cool action figures instead? (especially when you already knew which beasts were which from memory anyway)
Apparently those of us who have voiced our displeasure here are not the only ones who found the importance of the play mechanic, as that is exactly how they were telling us to play with them. So it shouldn't be unheard of that I find much importance in it. What can I say, habits are hard to break!
I guess even at that time, the stickers felt like a superficial gimmick… an embellishment for something that was already plenty cool on its own. I was always the type to take a straight up "action figure" any day, over figures with electronic features, action gimmicks or prescribed "rules" that went with them.
Arguably, I suppose this is what Transformers always was from the beginning ("transformation" being the gimmick), but even then, my enthusiasm waned as they became brickier and more focused on Headmasters, Pretenders, spark wheels, pull-back motors, etc…
I see the point you are trying to make, but now I see we obviously played with these in different ways. And yes when I was a child, if a rubsign was lost from a Battle Beast I would no longer play with it. In fact I recall trading those ones away with my friends. I would usually be able to trade 2 without rubsigns for one with.
Wow, really?? I wish I had been in your neighborhood back then. I would have traded all my rubsign Beasts away at a 2-for-1 exchange rate!
In every scenario I played with them I always grouped them by their element affiliation (or source of power).
Again, it sure sucks to be the Wood Clan when the Fire Clan comes knockin', eh? Talk about playing with a stacked deck!
But in the end I think they're important and you do not, and that's ok by me. I also love the original Headmaster toys and for all I know you could think they are ridiculous.
Headmasters weren't inherently ridiculous, though the surrounding fiction (Marvel and US cartoon) bothered me. But they WERE the beginning of the end from my point of view… though that might also just have been my perspective changing as I got older around then.
Pretenders still sucked though. Can we agree on that?
I will admit that I was probably a little harsh in my first judgement with them, and I suppose these Battle Beasts are better than no Battle Beasts at all. I would like some sort of element affiliation though, and I completely agree on the need for some sort of fiction.
Right. And while I certainly don't utterly discount the potential for these because of the lack of rubsigns, I agree that it would be nice if they had incorporated the old Wood/Fire/Water trinity into the concept somewhere… even if it wasn't in a rubsign per se.
Like maybe the core body could have a really simply spinner in it that would allow you to set the "sign" for your beast before you put his armour on… and that way you really could play rock/scissors/paper with them, rather than KNOWING from memory which beasts were which.
Here's hoping that this preview figure is just Minimates testing the waters, and that they will get more innovative if they decide to fully relaunch the line.
The point of the displeasure for the lack of the faction sticker, and the main play feature of the toy. I never meant that the sticker was the main feature of the toy, but it was the main component of the play mechanic.
Apparently those of us who have voiced our displeasure here are not the only ones who found the importance of the play mechanic, as that is exactly how they were telling us to play with them. So it shouldn't be unheard of that I find much importance in it. What can I say, habits are hard to break!
I see the point you are trying to make, but now I see we obviously played with these in different ways. And yes when I was a child, if a rubsign was lost from a Battle Beast I would no longer play with it. In fact I recall trading those ones away with my friends. I would usually be able to trade 2 without rubsigns for one with. I would always play with the whole "water > fire > wood > water" thing, but sometimes I would team up my fire guys with my Decepticons and Cobras, wood would align with my MOTU good guys, and water hung out with Joes and Autobots. In every scenario I played with them I always grouped them by their element affiliation (or source of power).
But in the end I think they're important and you do not, and that's ok by me. I also love the original Headmaster toys and for all I know you could think they are ridiculous. I will admit that I was probably a little harsh in my first judgement with them, and I suppose these Battle Beasts are better than no Battle Beasts at all. I would like some sort of element affiliation though, and I completely agree on the need for some sort of fiction.
You know, I just had a thought. Making these dressed up minimates, they actually kind of missed out on a neat way to homage the rub-signs.
They could have put the elemental emblems onto the actual minimate chest and then put a hole/frame in the chest of the BB armor that goes over it. It puts a little bit of novelty in making it a Minimate figure, and homages the emblems…Well it was a thought.
That's… actually a really great idea. Damn, man…
And since Minimates are modular, you could always change the symbols for your beasts by swapping the chests.
You know, I just had a thought. Making these dressed up minimates, they actually kind of missed out on a neat way to homage the rub-signs.
They could have put the elemental emblems onto the actual minimate chest and then put a hole/frame in the chest of the BB armor that goes over it. It puts a little bit of novelty in making it a Minimate figure, and homages the emblems…Well it was a thought.
Gee… and here I thought it was awesome, snarling little cyborg animal sculpts with a huge variety of unique molds and species. Hmmm… I'm not sure if I'm the one who's missing the point. The stickers were already something that was forgettable about Transformers… though I will say that at least they were integrated into the designs and concept of Battle Beasts better. But I just don't understand the "play value" of those stickers.
These Battle Beast Minimates so far appear to no longer be aligned with wood, water, or fire given the lack of rubsign or faction symbol. And to some people I would assume this is a big deal as that was one of the main aspects of the original toy. It might not have been important to you as a child, but given the response here it was important to a majority of the fans.
Again, when you've got an awesome little zoomorphic action figure with a melee weapon, I just can't possibly consider a flimsy sticker to be the "main aspect".
Also, for the sake of argument, Battle Beasts were NEVER really "aligned" with Wood, Water or Fire… it was only an individual's source of secret power. Otherwise, I'd imagine that the Wood Tribe would regularly give the Fire Tribe a pretty wide berth, huh? Pretty hard to have "battles" when your whole team is already prescribed the loser by some little sticker on your chest, rather than the big axe in your hand.
In fact, Battle Beasts was really lacking in terms of an official fiction. They had names (IF you happened to have the exclusive poster… which was the only place any of them were named. I know I didn't know their names back then!), but no other associations, storylines or origins. Beastformers had their thing in Japan, I guess… and even had predetermined "teams"… but no kids outside of Japan knew about that back then.
I do sort of remember that old indie press black & white Battle Beasts comic book. Anybody else have one of those?
Additionally all of my Battle Beasts DO have rubsigns, and when buying vintage BB's I never buy one without it.
That's the adult collector in you speaking. Did all your Beasts keep their rub signs through your childhood? My main concern was that my Beasts had both of their arms still attached! A weapon would be even more awesome. Rub stickers? Not really an issue.
ams
Same here… got a complete collection, with all rub signs & weapons intact… and man, it took a long time to find!
Yeah, the weapons were neat, and are really the toughest part to find now as a collector. Maybe half the Battle Beast weapons were actually cool… the rest were kind of… um, whatever. But I sure wish I still had the original weapons for the half that were cool! For now they're mostly stuck wielding Lego swords and other placeholders.
I keep seeing a line in the toy aisle that reminds me of Battle Beasts… It's like, Gormin or Garvin or something or another. I've picked them up a few times, but not motivated to buy.
Gormiti. No idea where that name comes from… sounds more like a corrupt Italian politician or something.
They are a bit Beast-like, but they don't really grab me either. They kind of seem like the last gasp of the Pokemon phenomenon to me…
These are pretty lame. I actually like Battle Beasts but the fact that these have no rub signs pretty much kills if for me. It would have been cool if they at least molded a square indent into the figures chest so at the very least you could buy some rubsigns from Reprolabels. They look well sculpted and painted, but without the core concept of the line, I see little point in collecting them.
I fancied me some of those bakugan ball things, but i'd feel silly collecting (yet another) game i'd never get to play against anybody but my long-suffering girlfriend.
Additionally all of my Battle Beasts DO have rubsigns, and when buying vintage BB's I never buy one without it.
Same here… got a complete collection, with all rub signs & weapons intact… and man, it took a long time to find!
I'm with you, though. Taking away the key play feature/characteristic somewhat defeats the purpose of revisiting the line. But I'm admittedly already prejudiced, as I think Minimates are garbage; there's hardly a single Iron Man toy I don't own, but I'm not even remotely tempted by the IM Minimates.
I keep seeing a line in the toy aisle that reminds me of Battle Beasts… It's like, Gormin or Garvin or something or another. I've picked them up a few times, but not motivated to buy.
I'm really surprised how many people are making a fuss about the rub signs.
But how many of us even still had all the rubsigns attached to our Beasts? They always fell off. Just how many hours of "play" did you guys really get rubbing those stupid signs (which in any kind of daylight, you could clearly see anyway)? Was it more or less excitement than you got rubbing the change signs on Transformers from 1985 onward, to see if they were Autobots or Decepticons.
I'm going to go on record right now as someone who never cared for those damn rub signs… not when I was 9, and not now. I'm not sure yet if I like this Minimates Battle Beast series, but it won't be made or broken on whether they have a rub sign or not.
zmog
You've missed the point then.
Transformers have lost their rubsigns, but you still know their affiliation as an Autobot or Decepticon as they have faction symbols. These Battle Beast Minimates so far appear to no longer be aligned with wood, water, or fire given the lack of rubsign or faction symbol. And to some people I would assume this is a big deal as that was one of the main aspects of the original toy. It might not have been important to you as a child, but given the response here it was important to a majority of the fans.
Additionally all of my Battle Beasts DO have rubsigns, and when buying vintage BB's I never buy one without it.
I had a less than HILARIOUS gag involving king Cnut and the tides of fanboy rage, but i have a headache and can't be doing with it.
In lieu of my rapier wit, suffice to say that even if battle beasts were released *exactly* as they originally were the Battle Beast fans (who really seem to be coming out of the woodwork – who knew this all-consuming passion for little rubbery animals burned inside so many TF collectors? if only they had rubsigns )would bitterly complain that their mint vintage collections had been devalued by the reissue.
It's a no-win situation so the best thing to do is get on with enjoying bits and bobs you like and let others rage at new things being different/similar/identical to old things.
I'm really surprised how many people are making a fuss about the rub signs.
But how many of us even still had all the rubsigns attached to our Beasts? They always fell off. Just how many hours of "play" did you guys really get rubbing those stupid signs (which in any kind of daylight, you could clearly see anyway)? Was it more or less excitement than you got rubbing the change signs on Transformers from 1985 onward, to see if they were Autobots or Decepticons.
I'm going to go on record right now as someone who never cared for those damn rub signs… not when I was 9, and not now. I'm not sure yet if I like this Minimates Battle Beast series, but it won't be made or broken on whether they have a rub sign or not.
These are "Battle Beast minimates" not Battle Beasts.
Battle Beasts had rubsigns, Battle Beasts had that whole wood/fire/water thing going on…this does not.
I was really hoping to be interested in this when they showed it last year at SDCC, but now that we can see the actual product up close I can guarantee I will be passing on this. I would rather use that money to complete my vintage collection.
chugway
I've got a shitty c5 pre-rub soundwave with a battlebeasts rubsign on. I can't honestly say it's improved his playability a great deal. It did amuse me though.
SMOG
Heh, yeah… Reprolabels already produces Wood/Fire/Water rubsigns, don't they?
zmog
Mister Gone
Homestly the whole rubsign or not-to-rubsign debate will be rendered moot… by Reprolabels.com
SMOG
I guess I just found the "play mechanic" to be pretty insubstantial, rather than the real raison d'etre for the figures themselves. I never actually based any of my childhood play around the symbols. Why play rock/scissors/paper when you could be playing with cool action figures instead? (especially when you already knew which beasts were which from memory anyway)
I guess even at that time, the stickers felt like a superficial gimmick… an embellishment for something that was already plenty cool on its own. I was always the type to take a straight up "action figure" any day, over figures with electronic features, action gimmicks or prescribed "rules" that went with them.
Arguably, I suppose this is what Transformers always was from the beginning ("transformation" being the gimmick), but even then, my enthusiasm waned as they became brickier and more focused on Headmasters, Pretenders, spark wheels, pull-back motors, etc…
Wow, really?? I wish I had been in your neighborhood back then. I would have traded all my rubsign Beasts away at a 2-for-1 exchange rate!
Again, it sure sucks to be the Wood Clan when the Fire Clan comes knockin', eh? Talk about playing with a stacked deck!
Headmasters weren't inherently ridiculous, though the surrounding fiction (Marvel and US cartoon) bothered me. But they WERE the beginning of the end from my point of view… though that might also just have been my perspective changing as I got older around then.
Pretenders still sucked though. Can we agree on that?
Right. And while I certainly don't utterly discount the potential for these because of the lack of rubsigns, I agree that it would be nice if they had incorporated the old Wood/Fire/Water trinity into the concept somewhere… even if it wasn't in a rubsign per se.
Like maybe the core body could have a really simply spinner in it that would allow you to set the "sign" for your beast before you put his armour on… and that way you really could play rock/scissors/paper with them, rather than KNOWING from memory which beasts were which.
Here's hoping that this preview figure is just Minimates testing the waters, and that they will get more innovative if they decide to fully relaunch the line.
zmog
Deefuzz
The point of the displeasure for the lack of the faction sticker, and the main play feature of the toy. I never meant that the sticker was the main feature of the toy, but it was the main component of the play mechanic.
A refresher on how the toy was marketed: YouTube – Battle Beasts Commercial
Apparently those of us who have voiced our displeasure here are not the only ones who found the importance of the play mechanic, as that is exactly how they were telling us to play with them. So it shouldn't be unheard of that I find much importance in it. What can I say, habits are hard to break!
I see the point you are trying to make, but now I see we obviously played with these in different ways. And yes when I was a child, if a rubsign was lost from a Battle Beast I would no longer play with it. In fact I recall trading those ones away with my friends. I would usually be able to trade 2 without rubsigns for one with. I would always play with the whole "water > fire > wood > water" thing, but sometimes I would team up my fire guys with my Decepticons and Cobras, wood would align with my MOTU good guys, and water hung out with Joes and Autobots. In every scenario I played with them I always grouped them by their element affiliation (or source of power).
But in the end I think they're important and you do not, and that's ok by me. I also love the original Headmaster toys and for all I know you could think they are ridiculous. I will admit that I was probably a little harsh in my first judgement with them, and I suppose these Battle Beasts are better than no Battle Beasts at all. I would like some sort of element affiliation though, and I completely agree on the need for some sort of fiction.
SMOG
That's… actually a really great idea. Damn, man…
And since Minimates are modular, you could always change the symbols for your beasts by swapping the chests.
Alas…
zmog
Paxtin
You know, I just had a thought. Making these dressed up minimates, they actually kind of missed out on a neat way to homage the rub-signs.
They could have put the elemental emblems onto the actual minimate chest and then put a hole/frame in the chest of the BB armor that goes over it. It puts a little bit of novelty in making it a Minimate figure, and homages the emblems…Well it was a thought.
SMOG
The stickers... were the point???
Gee… and here I thought it was awesome, snarling little cyborg animal sculpts with a huge variety of unique molds and species. Hmmm… I'm not sure if I'm the one who's missing the point. The stickers were already something that was forgettable about Transformers… though I will say that at least they were integrated into the designs and concept of Battle Beasts better. But I just don't understand the "play value" of those stickers.
Again, when you've got an awesome little zoomorphic action figure with a melee weapon, I just can't possibly consider a flimsy sticker to be the "main aspect".
Also, for the sake of argument, Battle Beasts were NEVER really "aligned" with Wood, Water or Fire… it was only an individual's source of secret power. Otherwise, I'd imagine that the Wood Tribe would regularly give the Fire Tribe a pretty wide berth, huh? Pretty hard to have "battles" when your whole team is already prescribed the loser by some little sticker on your chest, rather than the big axe in your hand.
In fact, Battle Beasts was really lacking in terms of an official fiction. They had names (IF you happened to have the exclusive poster… which was the only place any of them were named. I know I didn't know their names back then!), but no other associations, storylines or origins. Beastformers had their thing in Japan, I guess… and even had predetermined "teams"… but no kids outside of Japan knew about that back then.
I do sort of remember that old indie press black & white Battle Beasts comic book. Anybody else have one of those?
That's the adult collector in you speaking. Did all your Beasts keep their rub signs through your childhood? My main concern was that my Beasts had both of their arms still attached! A weapon would be even more awesome. Rub stickers? Not really an issue.
Yeah, the weapons were neat, and are really the toughest part to find now as a collector. Maybe half the Battle Beast weapons were actually cool… the rest were kind of… um, whatever. But I sure wish I still had the original weapons for the half that were cool! For now they're mostly stuck wielding Lego swords and other placeholders.
Gormiti. No idea where that name comes from… sounds more like a corrupt Italian politician or something.
They are a bit Beast-like, but they don't really grab me either. They kind of seem like the last gasp of the Pokemon phenomenon to me…
zmog
Repugnus
I agree whole-heartedly with those who have mentioned that, without the rub signs, it just doesn't feel like Battle Beasts.
Hopefully some of the figures will have enough of a flat surface on their chests to use these.
C.W. McConvoy
FYI, stickerfixer.com has replacement Battle Beasts rub-symbols for sale, including Autobot & Decepticon ones.
Batman
Everytime I hear Pixel Dan's voice I cringe.
These are pretty lame. I actually like Battle Beasts but the fact that these have no rub signs pretty much kills if for me. It would have been cool if they at least molded a square indent into the figures chest so at the very least you could buy some rubsigns from Reprolabels. They look well sculpted and painted, but without the core concept of the line, I see little point in collecting them.
chugway
I fancied me some of those bakugan ball things, but i'd feel silly collecting (yet another) game i'd never get to play against anybody but my long-suffering girlfriend.
ams
Same here… got a complete collection, with all rub signs & weapons intact… and man, it took a long time to find!
I'm with you, though. Taking away the key play feature/characteristic somewhat defeats the purpose of revisiting the line. But I'm admittedly already prejudiced, as I think Minimates are garbage; there's hardly a single Iron Man toy I don't own, but I'm not even remotely tempted by the IM Minimates.
I keep seeing a line in the toy aisle that reminds me of Battle Beasts… It's like, Gormin or Garvin or something or another. I've picked them up a few times, but not motivated to buy.
Cloudraker
I love Battle Beast And Laser Beasts I have alot of them. However these hold no appeal to me whatsoever.
Deefuzz
You've missed the point then.
Transformers have lost their rubsigns, but you still know their affiliation as an Autobot or Decepticon as they have faction symbols. These Battle Beast Minimates so far appear to no longer be aligned with wood, water, or fire given the lack of rubsign or faction symbol. And to some people I would assume this is a big deal as that was one of the main aspects of the original toy. It might not have been important to you as a child, but given the response here it was important to a majority of the fans.
Additionally all of my Battle Beasts DO have rubsigns, and when buying vintage BB's I never buy one without it.
chugway
I had a less than HILARIOUS gag involving king Cnut and the tides of fanboy rage, but i have a headache and can't be doing with it.
In lieu of my rapier wit, suffice to say that even if battle beasts were released *exactly* as they originally were the Battle Beast fans (who really seem to be coming out of the woodwork – who knew this all-consuming passion for little rubbery animals burned inside so many TF collectors? if only they had rubsigns )would bitterly complain that their mint vintage collections had been devalued by the reissue.
It's a no-win situation so the best thing to do is get on with enjoying bits and bobs you like and let others rage at new things being different/similar/identical to old things.
SMOG
I'm really surprised how many people are making a fuss about the rub signs.
But how many of us even still had all the rubsigns attached to our Beasts? They always fell off. Just how many hours of "play" did you guys really get rubbing those stupid signs (which in any kind of daylight, you could clearly see anyway)? Was it more or less excitement than you got rubbing the change signs on Transformers from 1985 onward, to see if they were Autobots or Decepticons.
I'm going to go on record right now as someone who never cared for those damn rub signs… not when I was 9, and not now. I'm not sure yet if I like this Minimates Battle Beast series, but it won't be made or broken on whether they have a rub sign or not.
zmog
Deefuzz
I'm a huge Battle Beast fan.
This however is garbage.
These are "Battle Beast minimates" not Battle Beasts.
Battle Beasts had rubsigns, Battle Beasts had that whole wood/fire/water thing going on…this does not.
I was really hoping to be interested in this when they showed it last year at SDCC, but now that we can see the actual product up close I can guarantee I will be passing on this. I would rather use that money to complete my vintage collection.