The History of the Gobots - Finishing 2nd to Transformers Isn't So Bad

[@insomniavfx]

“You can change them into any shape you want..” said that one kid who would come over to your house and break your toys

[@Wis_Dom]

LMAO!! Good one.

[@CommodoreFan64]

Yep, then your parents blame you for the toys they just bought you getting broke when it was mikey who broke them!!! SCREW YOU MIKEY!!!! You ripped my He-man in half, and broke my cobra copter!!!

[@chancepaladin]

spit my cereal out, lmfao

[@wiibrockster]

@@CommodoreFan64 Just be glad your little brother didn't put slime on your Beast Man...

[@ElohimJim]

@@wiibrockster thats a killable offence in my eyes

[@WrestlingWithGaming]

That reporter asking the little boy, "What's particularly desirable about such a toy?" sounded like something Data from season two of The Next Generation would say.

[@Transfixed]

Excuse me, young human. Why does this object evoke an emotional response?

[@myluckyzippo7169]

Um, Data does not us contractions.

[@freakshowfilmfestival3591]

Well they were sending cyborgs back to 1984. Specifically to kill Sarah Conner, but she might not of had a chance to ask that question yet.

[@k-dawgbroadcasting5444]

That was cringe out of campy Willy Wonka interviewing. Right before it, like TG, would turn psychedelic ;O

[@theevilascotcompany9255]

"I've gone from covering the White House to covering the Go-Bots, but I refuse to change me rhetorical tone, damnit!"

[@jmartindale24]

I had a bunch of Go Bots. They were really cool!

[@OfficialTransformers]

I love doing Stop Motion animation with my Go Bots & Transformers🎬📸🎞️🤖‼️

[@Ouja]

When I was a kid, my sister's boyfriend worked quality control at a factory that made Go-Bots. Every time he came to see her, he brought me rejects. A smudge here, a ding there, wrong shade. Didn't care. Had a complete set of the things, and less than 10 transformers.

[@plagues-haze-3987]

Japan makes real stuff like sony China makes knock offs soo more likely china made go bots lol

[@yuenhai]

@@plagues-haze-3987 You realize that iPhones are made in China

[@plagues-haze-3987]

@@yuenhai lmaooooo apple is from here stupid and if im wrong its Japan not China lmaooooooo

[@nazmakhan178]

That boyfriend and your sister are they married now ?

[@plagues-haze-3987]

@@nazmakhan178 na i took care of her jonny sport coat lol

[@visionaryventures12]

I give that news reporter credit for talking about the toys, knowing enough that they came from another planet, and talking to the kids instead of down to them.

[@steevrawjers]

true

[@migovas1483]

she was a professional, not an instagram model...

[@joeycoolproductions3173]

That’s my mom

[@rickeyboyer4726]

I've always respected the stuffing out of professional journalists and on the stories, big or small, that they report! They're a true credit to their profession!

[@jdredd8152]

As a 46 year old, I wouldn't mind getting my hands on some classic Go-Bots. I still believe the 80's had the best toys.

[@maevethefox5912]

I had a pile of these growing up, now I'm wondering if they might still be in a box at my parent's garage, my mom is closing on 80 but still has everything from my childhood.

[@jdredd8152]

@@maevethefox5912 That's awesome. I wish her good health and prosperity. Hopefully you can find some great stuff in those old boxes the next time you go visit.

[@trekkiejunk]

Well, depending on what type of toys you're talking about, your comment could be almost indisputable. If we are talking about "boy toys," i.e.., action figures, vehicles, robots, etc, then the 80's were the ONLY decade that these things really existed on a large scale, and were actually played with by children. The 70's only had a few offerings like this. And by the 90's, kids playing with action figures dropped off considerably. While action figures since the 80's look much better, they are mostly bought by collectors, and rarely seem to be thought of as toys anymore.

[@harrybachmann9815]

Growing up as a kid in the 80's I had dozens of Transformers. However, on those weeks where I was a little short on allowance money, a Go Bot here or there was a fine addition to my play universe.

[@MrKevinEaddy]

Me too

[@MrKevinEaddy]

@@arnoldb4526 it was the 80s man, Middle Class was Booming and a 3 bedroom home cost 14K

[@defpally2954]

Yeah, Transformers were in general better, but Leader 1 was a better design than pretty much any Transformer. I hated the way Starscream (and the other two clones) required extra parts to complete their transformation (add fists, remove and re-attach the missles as guns, wings had to be reconfigured by taking them off). At least Optimus Prime had a place to store his hands in the cab though. Ratchet and Ironhide robot form was just tossed for the cartoon since it was so bad. The best designed Transformer of the time wasn't even a Transformer. Skyfire was basically just a ship from Macross, but damn it was awesome. Mostly metal, built solid and looked great in both forms.

[@cecilwebb1927]

Their transformations were so easy that really hurt them.

[@defpally2954]

@@cecilwebb1927 yeah, it did hurt them for most of them. Had they all been as good as Leader 1 they would have done better. For example, I had Puzzler, a GoBot combiner made of 6 cars that also made individual robots. I like that you didn't have to add any parts to make either individual robots or Puzzler himself. He held together pretty well, too. That was what they should have been doing. I also had Devastator, which every single robot had an extra part that had to be used to make Devastator. Forearms and his entire head were completely separate parts! And Devastator himself was incredibly fragile and almost impossible to be played with other than to just display.

[@Helvetica_Scenario]

I remember Gobots being extremely crappy, compared to Transformers, because almost all of the "transformations" depended on basically taking the vehicle and standing it upright and popping arms and legs out. Transformers actually "transformed", with designs that were much more complex and detailed. The vehicles rarely resembled the robot forms.

[@arashimiyazawa8165]

And they all had the ability to shoot laser blasts from their bare hands rather than have any accessories like laser guns.

[@zackadamscomedy]

Man, I thought I was crazy for years for having remembered them growing up as "Machine Men". Thanks for the confirmation that us Aussies had Go-Bots under a different name.

[@trevormoffat4054]

The commercials were very catchy - ‘’Migh-ty Machine Men, Migh-ty Ro-o-bots!,.. Migh-ty Machine Men, Migh-ty Ve-hic-les!”

[@kaijufan313]

In japan, they're original name was Machine Robo.

[@alexojideagu]

In Europe they were Robo Machine and later Gobots were sold too

[@largol33t1]

I think when a toy company is trying to compete with Transformers, maybe it would have been better to stick with one brand name... Just something I've been warned about in Marketing class in college.

[@davidriley8316]

They were called Machine Men in Australia. I always loved Leader One.

[@williamdegeest]

Cy-Kill Best name for an action figure... ever.

[@Kitsunekun2]

One word "Spinister"

[@williamdegeest]

@Shield Liger That is part of the reason it is the best, MULTIPLE LEVELS! :D

[@aggressiveattitudeera887]

Always wanted that guy.......

[@CardboardSliver]

Bludgeon.

[@theartisanrogue]

Cy-Kill is right up there with Slaughter Steelgrave for me, which is my favorite.

[@westmcgee9320]

Interesting takes. I respected the honesty, for lack of a better word, of the GoBots transformations. The Transformers kind of cheated be used their wheels often disappeared in the cartoons in ways that weren’t consistent in the toys. GoBots we’re pretty consistent. Kid-me respected that.

[@Bayan1905]

This brings back memories, in 1985 when I was 9 years old I got Zod for Christmas. We were pretty poor, we only got one or two presents each, and to get Zod meant a lot. I was a Transformers and Go-bots fan and that was a big thing then for me.

[@mrjones29]

cool stuff

[@undrhil]

I wanted Leader One but my parents could never find that toy.

[@kaioh187]

I like Transformers and GoBots as well.

[@shel0016]

Same ... Which they handled the evolution of the show better. Could have been as big as transformers

[@drillerdev4624]

My parents couldn't understand why I loved the Rock Lords so much, but they were probably the best articulated transformable robots at the time, and that added a LOT of play value to me.

[@rhuttrho88]

Rocks aren't vehicles! I didn't like rock lords. Or the Go Bots! Thankfully I got Transformers. 😀

[@sethsassy]

When in rock form they were indestructible almost

[@favoritemustard3542]

@@sethsassy, love the "almost" Firecracker say what? Some o' my Joes ended up hugging Jumpin' Jacks to the face.

[@joseph1150]

I had the core line up of the Rock Lords, got them when a toy store went out of business. They were cool to the other kids because nobody else had them.

[@Nemo2342]

I wanted that gold rock so badly as a kid, but only ever had some of the less flashy ones.

[@BainesMkII]

A lot of things hurt Gobots. Looking back, I cannot help but think that one of those things was that Gobot's artwork was too honest. Transformers box art was willing to take a bit more liberties with the realities of the toy design, while the cartoon series were willing to go even farther. Consider Megatron. His original toy robot form was terrible; it was what you'd imagine a terrible knock-off to look like. The box art made him look decent, and the cartoon cleaned up the design even more. Now consider any Gobot. The toys were comparable to the cheaper line Transformers, and sometimes better. But Gobot box art was just a simplified drawing of the toy, and the cartoon was as well. (It didn't help that Hanna-Barbara created the cartoon, as their low-budget approach to animation only guaranteed that the characters looked like lifeless, stiff toys.)

[@BainesMkII]

@Jip Jackson Sorry for the confusion. I wasn't calling the entire Transformers line "cheaper". Transformers had multiple price/complexity lines, with a premium toy like Optimus Prime costing around 5x as much as a "budget" toy like Bumblebee. I remember Go-Bots being priced similar to the cheapest Transformers, the mini-cars. When you limit the comparison to just that, the Go-Bots can look at least a little better in some areas.

[@Quintesson05]

Back in the '80s, Box/Package Art was everything. Brilliant package art made you want to buy something that on its own may not be that impressive. Such was the case with toy robots, video games, or other consumer products. Compared to Leader-1 and Crasher, Sunstreaker and Thundercracker​​ had much more impressive box art. Awesome package art made some toys that were pretty much 'fancy bricks' seem like the most impressive piece of our collections. (I'm looking at you, Swindle, Terrorcons, and Wendy's Go-Bots!)

[@llyrghmnghyll]

@Maximillian Wylde The transformers had 3 other things that made them wildly better. 1) stats, this gave purchasers an easy way to imagine that their favorite was unique, 2) the transformation sound - this, is arguably one of the most important sound effects in all of cartoons, and 3) a vastly catchier and more favorable theme song.

[@robertbeckman2054]

I totally agree with you there on how the Transformers cartoon's robots looked WAAYYYY better than the robots you had in your hand. I remember as an 11-year-old noticing when they transformed in the cartoon that certain parts of the plane or vehicle would shrink, thinking "hey, that's cheating!". However, it still brings back memories of holding a new transformer box (Gen 1) in my hands. My first one was Hound. My favorite was Sound Wave.

[@zabnorg]

@@llyrghmnghyll I managed to perfect that sound early in my childhood. I can still do a pretty convincing rendition...

[@LegendoftheGalacticHero]

I had a toy I liked a lot as a kid but didn’t know name and this video helped me figure out it was gobots. Thanks !

[@archangel5627]

What also made Gobots more fun to me was that they had playsets and some really cool diverse toys that added a ton more fun in combination to the standard individual Gobot-bots. I also really liked how most of them included die-cast parts instead of just being completely made of plastic. Overall I just have fonder memories playing and collecting Gobots. To each their own.

[@drunkengamer1977]

My head cannon as a child was that the first planet you see Unicorn eating in the Transformers movie was the Go Bots. I had a few go bots but they weren't a patch on Transformers, vaguely remember the cartoon and the red scooter thing from the 80s

[@billpagan3070]

In my eyes Gobots hold the same level of fun and respect as Transformers! One was not better than the other. They both touched my heart and both will remain as absolute fun when I was a kid!👍

[@alanguages]

I liked them both, but they should be compared to each other. When I thought of Robots of the 80's. Transformers, Gobots, Starriors and Robotix come to my mind in that particular order.

[@autobotstarscream765]

Good thing you feel that way, because they're part of the Transformers family now. :1

[@robertbeckman2054]

I remember both being in the stores. I'm sorry, but I can't say much good about Go Bots. Transformers had the better name, better "transforming" sound effect, and about 3 times the transforming parts. Plus, each transformer had at least one die-cast metal part.

[@bigdaddyroy5382]

@@autobotstarscream765 only partially. Hasbro can't make the toys and paramount who owns transformers movie rights can't make a movie. It's all mixed up. Kinda like how marvel/Disney can't make it standalone hulk movie

[@curtisbme]

Where I grew up we liked them ok but they were viewed as the trailer-trash version of Transformers. Far more basic in their transformation and cheaply made.

[@lethalwolf7455]

I remember Gobots as a reason to wake up before school(seems it always aired in the AM) and Transformers, Gi Joe, and Voltron as a reason to hurry home after school.

[@JamMack-ke3jw]

Lol mines too Thundercats and Silver hawks were in that lineup too for me

[@davidlogeman1197]

I had a massive collection of Gobots. I even had the Gobot cap gun and Command Center. I had all the Wendy's gobots as well as the gobot monsters. I have very fond memories of gobots growing up.

[@shel0016]

❤ the gobotssss!. Was a pretty good show but transformers was definitely better done

[@dmjac77]

I remember I had Thruster, Cy-Kill, Turbo, Leader 1, Cop-Tur, Dive-Dive, Crasher, Creepy, Royal T, and Vamp. I had some other ones too but can't recall their names.

[@dbeane43]

In many ways I think the Gobots cartoon was ahead of its time. I've gone back and re-watched the show and was surprised. They had multiple prominent female characters who were heroes and villains - rare for the time. I think Crasher was every bit as great of a villain as Starscream. The cartoon itself tackled some remarkable topics for a kids show like immigration, slavery, classism, mental health, and even the cold war. I still like transformers more but I think Gobots deserves more love then it gets.

[@pious83]

Gender made sense in Go-Bots, as they were organic beings first. It has never made sense in Transformers.

[@dbeane43]

@@pious83 I wasn't really comparing that with Transformers specifically. But either way, I disagree. Each transformer in that cartoon clearly had masculine traits as part of their personalities. We as viewers identified them as male. There's no ambiguity to that. Optimus Prime has been seen as a pseudo father figure for years. From the get go gender was baked into those characters because that's how the writers wrote them. Moreover, there were female transformers. You just only saw them once in the original cartoon (until Arcee showed up). As a kid I didn't question whether gendered transformers made sense and I don't really question it now. It's a creative biproduct of trying to create characters kids can relate to so they'll want to buy the toys. We as viewers inferred human characteristics that the writers directly implied. So from that perspective alone I think it makes sense. My sister liked Gobots because of Crasher and she became a transformers fan after she saw the episode with Elita One.

[@pious83]

@@dbeane43 Within the context of the cartoon, take away their voices and there is no gender to G1, other than the Fem-Bots. Also you shouldn't really presume how every viewer defined the Transformers. Some of us simply saw them for what they were/are: giant shapeshifting alien robots. You don't need 'Human wo/man' stamped on their foreheads, to _get_ Transformers.

[@dbeane43]

@@pious83 I respect your opinion and I don't see it as invalid. The initial comment I made was in reference to the idea that currently, folks claim there wasn't enough female characters in old cartoons/movies. Gobots is an example of that being untrue. That was my point. I should have stated it better. As far as this debate goes, on a purely conceptual level, yes, it makes no sense for alien robots to have gender in the first place. I also concede that you don't need to know the gender of each transformer to get the concept. But this wasn't exactly a hard edged sci-fi story. We're not talking about Blade Runner here. In terms of how this concept was presented to its intended audience, gender was clearly there. This isn't in refute. Otherwise, why did these "genderless" robots refer to one another as he and him? And again, they had male voices. You can't remove that from the equation. These things heavily imply they were dudes. And this isn't an argument about gender pronouns. That's totally not where I'm going with this. What I'm saying is the writers clearly implied they were dudes and consequently many of us inferred they were dudes. If you personally didn't infer that, it's cool, but many kids did. So if we could infer dude robots, that implies the possible existence of dudette robots. So at that point, it makes sense even though it doesn't make sense. If you disagree, that's cool. Truthfully, if alien robots did have gender it would be nothing like what we have as humans anyway. But who wants to get into all that?

[@pious83]

@@dbeane43 When you look back at the 80's to 90's cartoons though, there wasn't really an issue of gender balance, in the way it is forced and unnaturally highlighted today. The three female Thundercats, for example, often featured more prominently than most of the male cast. The same with the D&D cartoon, Visionaries, Captain Planet and many others. Female characters were always there. As opposed to how completely unnecessary gender was, in a landscape of artificially created, sentient alien machines. The human secondary characters were there as representative of that. That was their entire purpose. Pronouns were used for convenience and expediency, not to send some profound statement of implication. Because the crux of your argument is _exactly_ about pronouns and language. Take the Quintessons, for example. Voiced by male actors almost exclusively, but are they male too? They were writing for kids to buy the newest toy, not trying to be clever. By the same token, kids don't "infer" anything. They liked the Red Truck, the Grey Gun or the Yellow Bug. Adults trying to read Scooby Doo level psychology into a vehicle for selling toys, while utilising the very best and most prolific voice actors of the day, regardless of gender. Those are the adults that infer. They would also be misguided.

[@crimsonhawk78]

As a kid growing up in the 80’s, I can say that the cartoon hurt the Go-bots. It felt outdated when comparing it to Transformers. I have recently started collecting Go-bots and can say that the figures were/are under appreciated.

[@RocStarr913]

Hanna-Barbera made pretty generic cartoon series by this time especially.

[@crimsonhawk78]

@@RocStarr913 very true

[@DougDMarco]

Finally! one of the most underrated opening themes as well.

[@FlanylShirtman]

I seem to recall in 2004 or 2005 a Transformers show on Cartoon Network that incorporated the GoBots. I think the GoBots acted as little power ups or weapons to the Transformers. I didn't pay close attention to the episode, but I do remember at the end Optimus Prime meeting up with Leader One. Leader One landed on Optimus' shoulder like a little bird, and Optimus said it was good to see his old friend again. The interaction now makes me think of when I picked up my dog at the boarding house after a week long vacation I took last year.

[@WaksWorld05]

Armada?

[@FlanylShirtman]

@@WaksWorld05 Could be. Been a year, and I still don't remember. Don't care enough to look it up. Something I am remembering now, pretty sure it was after they changed Toonami to Meguzi, and ruined the whole block.

[@WaksWorld05]

@@FlanylShirtman there were tiny robots named Mini-Cons and one of them was named Leader One, a grey robot with a yellow visor.

[@Lastjustice]

I had Go bots and transformers. I played with both together because I used what I had. Gobots generally were better for actual play sessions since they were easier to transform between modes. Transformers usually took more effort to change forms, you found you kept them in robot mode more often than not. Due to their cheaper price point, I ended up with more gobots than Transformers as well as a variety of knock offs.

[@dubuyajay9964]

Wish you was a writer. You'd treat both lines with respect.

[@QuartzIsAnOxide]

I think part of the reason robots sell so well in Japan is their big Kaiju/Mecha/Super Sentai culture. Throw enough stuff at people and not only will they find _some_ toy that reminds them of a popular show, but they'll also develop a general liking towards the _genre itself._

[@BlackArroToons]

12:19 Challenge of the Gobots series is entertaining and a nicely animated series. Thanks for the history of Gobots here.

[@btetschner]

Very interesting, I remember watching that tv series. With the right promotion, these could be popular again. Excellent video, thank you for making it.

[@Doctordevey]

I had a Rock Lord, I forgot about that... maybe that’s why I became a geologist.

[@aggressiveattitudeera887]

I had the ones voiced by Roddy McDowell and Michael Nouri in the movie.

[@joshyfox1]

You have now BECOME the rock lord!

[@dubuyajay9964]

Would your Transformer/Go-Bot be named Rock Hound? 😁😂🤣

[@3Rayfire]

You know, there are far worse outcomes from the toys we play with than subconscious inspiration to become a scientist. I salute you sir.

[@TomLuTon]

"retailing for between $3 and $4" Which was a major factor when you're a six year old kid on a 50 cent a week allowance

[@lsgreger2645]

I remember when I first heard the GoBots commercial chant, "Mighty Robots, Mighty Vehicles! GoBots!" My 10 year old mind didn't have a chance. I wanted them!

[@JoseBronxRican]

That commercial jingle was memorable. One of the few things I remember about this show was wondering why they didn't go with that jingle as the theme song. They had something WACK there in its place.

[@JamMack-ke3jw]

Yep it truly is I still remember that Wendy's kids meal commercial where I got a few there

[@Nightcoffee365]

Watching this kid at 5:29 idly tinker with a G1 Starscream makes my heart melt in the most wonderful way! Gobots get cooler as they get smaller. Transformers get cooler as they get larger.

[@ReaverPrime]

Crasher; the original bad girl.

[@3Storms]

That was a dude. For real. He was the kind of dude that voted for Obama five times, can't seem to shit right, and gets triggered when someone gets his pronouns wrong.

[@Kryojenix]

I was given a Crasher, but it was white and labelled as Machine Men: "Racing Car Man". My 2nd "Transformer" after buying a generic changing robot vehicle (that I later pretended was Grapple, since it was some kind of ladder truck). My 2nd Machine Man was "Police Car Man" - because the only thing better than a car, is a police car (when you're 7). After that, I got serious and got Ramjet, then Optimus Prime, then Megatron, then some others etc etc

[@johnnymason2460]

I saw all 65 episodes of the Gobots and also saw the movie "Battle of the Rock Lords". Gobots deserves a fresh reboot. With CGI technology, Gobots can be fascinating now. New Gobots can be created for even more fun.

[@alienrefugee51]

I still remember the feeling when I first saw both lines in Woolworth's as a kid. What a time to be young. So many great toy lines to choose from.

[@ricosauve5]

Amazing how in Japan just give the kids transforming robots and they know what to do. In the states we need some sort of media to tell us what are the names and back story before we play with them lol

[@ColtonFultonUK]

"You can make him into anything you want!" -kid who can't figure out how to transform his GoBot.

[@scotthallgv]

Yeah, i think they kid was talking about LEGO maybe cuz you cant really make "the shapes" into anything you want with TFs lol

[@keithsmith8331]

I think we can all agree Johnny need a to be smacked. You can't transform a transformer in to a gobot. Stupid kid.

[@stunsisacul]

Got him!!!

[@joshua2814]

LOL. It's true as long as the only thing you want is a motorcycle or a robot and nothing in between.

[@CitizenKang]

@@joshua2814 Or a mutated half motorcycle / half robot thing :)

[@icehead101]

These things were my early childhood obsession. My first word was "GoBot." I watched Transformers too, sure, but I loved the GoBots cartoon with a fiery passion and was hell bent on collecting as many of them as I could. I would sit on Santa's lap and when he asked me what I wanted for Christmas, my one-word answer was "GoBots." It was such a bummer to me when my parents told me that GoBots weren't being made anymore and my collection would grow no further.

[@wonderwaffle93]

I gotta say Dan, like a majority of people is trash on Go-Bots before coming across your channel years ago and the video on them and you really got me into them and enjoying the hell out of them. Not long ago I got my Super size Cy-Kill, vintage and in good condition minus the chrome on the arms and I gotta say he’s freaking amazing. I’m already looking into getting me the MP style Bike Robo with the interchangeable faces to toss into my collection. Thanks for opening my eyes on something past me considered a lame TF Knock off.

[@D2D2D2D]

I love those 1980's tv adverts so much, the voiceovers are so emotive. Gobots were awesome, I had the jet, and maybe a red pickup?

[@tigerbread78]

"You can change them to any shape you want" *child* *failing* *to* *understand* *the* *concept* *of* *Gobots* *and* *Transformers*

[@solidus0079]

Well you kind of can if you don't mind a mess of limbs sticking out in random directions

[@joshyfox1]

As long as the Shapes you want are a Robot or a Vehicle.

[@JLvatron]

Unfortunately that's how Michael Bay & Steven Spielberg understood Transformers.

[@solidus0079]

JLvatron in their defense, Hasbro themselves kind of peed in the pool with all the unrelated name reuse over the years. The idea of Ironhide being a red minivan went out the window years ago thanks to that. Before the modern G1 resurgence, it was hard to make the argument that a character has an iconic look when a quick search shows all sorts of random things, including a pickup truck with a big bull head picture on the hood.

[@JLvatron]

@@solidus0079 That doesn't mean a Toy in your hand can turn into ANYthing.

[@bjscorpio4041]

At least the Gobots are pure 80s nostalgia without being flogged to death like Transformers.

[@CoinOpTV]

excellent dudes

[@spacedinosaur8733]

So...Go-Bots are the American version of Cybermen. Fantastic! I had Leader-1, got the Space Shuttle (or cheap knock-off) for my birthday even though I wanted AstroTrain.

[@jezz2k]

No, that would be the Borg, which had the same goal as the Cybermen.

[@rorylumley4727]

The gobots transformers crossover just seems so natural. I could see it being a subline with the guardians teaming up with autobots and renegades teaming up with decpticons.

[@raymondburnett6468]

And the autobots "returning" Wheelie. A "long lost" Gobot ;)

[@mrmsc919]

In Transformers the movie (animated) I was waiting for Unicorn to eat Gobotron, lol.

[@mrmsc919]

@@raymondburnett6468 Know what- you're right.

[@ClydeWarden]

This is the BEST TED TALK ever! Thank you so much.....I'm SOOOO moved!!!!

[@archangel5627]

I don’t care what anyone says, The Gobot Toys were whole lot of fun and I thought they were great! I actually really liked The Gobots growing up. My parents bought me both The Gobots and The Transformers And Growing up I just liked transforming toys. Now granted, The Gobots weren’t as complex in their transformations but I thought they were still just as fun. As an adult I collect more Gobots than I do Transformers.

[@BigrookieMER]

Yea, when I was a kid and my parents and I went to New York, there was this store selling the Gobots for cheap, it was my first time seeing these Hotwheel size toys that can transform and I was hooked, I think I bought three with my meager allowance, money well worth spent, also never seen the cartoon about them either or cared.

[@jimdigitalvideo]

I was kid back then when the Gobots toys came out. They were called Machine Men here in Australia. The toys came out before the Transformers toys and cartoon. Then the Gobots cartoon came out (also called Machine Men in Australia.) I liked the cartoon mainly because it reminded me of the Transformers. The only problem with the Gobots cartoon is they were written for little kids instead of teenagers.

[@Scorch1028]

I have always liked GoBots and Transformers equally. I like the simplicity of GoBots for the same reason I like the simplicity of Apple products and Glock handguns. I wish that Challenge of the GoBots could be streamed for free, considering that Transformers G1 episodes are currently streaming for free.

[@DragoonMS]

The Power Suit combiner set. Nuff said. Each of the limbs could accommodate particular Go-Bots figures, but outside of what each could fit, you could literally have whatever team you wanted. And the toyline did something that I don't think ever appeared in the show: a sexy black & silver repaint of the entire set (with yellow in place of blue) for the Renegades!! (I wasn't able to complete either set; for whatever reason, Kay Bee Toys seemed to be on overflow with the four Power Suit limbs for both sets, but they *NEVER* had the shuttle torso for either!) Yeah, the toys were pretty cool. My favorite was some ol' bootleg of Crasher that was red instead of black.

[@jjjsalang]

You could imagine Crasher's red color as part of her desert daytime camouflage mode.

[@putitawo74]

My first encounter with either Go Bots or Transformers was finding a lone Leader 1 toy in a store. I loved jets and flight, so I had to get it (rather, talk my parents into getting it; I was about five at the time). What kept me loyal to Go Bots when all of my friends started getting into Transformers was that the leader of the good guys was an F-15. With Transformers, only the bad guys got the cool jets; their good guys were all just boring cars and trucks.

[@burntmarshwigglestudio597]

The GoBots were awesome. I don't care what anybody says. And I ADORE Rock Lords. My brother still collects them and I love hunting them down in the wild to surprise him with one he doesn't have from time to time. I did not have cable TV as a kid - and in the valley were I lived it was really hard to get some stations - including the one that showed Transformers. I was stuck with GoBots. Of course this made me the odd man out at school cuz I had no idea who Optimus Prime was - but I knew Cy Kill and Leader One! I know I loved them because my brother and I had a Fisher Price tape recorder and recorded ourselves pretending to be the GoBots. Our 7 and 5 yr old voices are still on that tape, and we've transfered it to digital so his kids can listen to us play one day while they play with all my brothers Rock Lords. Thanks for covering these guys!

[@allysonracadio9715]

The Gobots were so much more portable than Transformers so they got to travel with me as a kid. Loco and Dive-Dive got to see Madonna with me! (Yes, my aunt took me to a Madonna concert when I was 9!)

[@botboyvs3646]

Tom Scioli's Gobots comic is freaking awesome.

[@pious83]

Indeed. I love how the ending gave a little nod to the fact that Go-Bots came first.

[@autobotstarscream765]

@@pious83 Not only that, Transformers eventually started implementing ideas about cyborgs and techno-organic merging of flesh and machine.

[@Mister80Retro]

Great video! Gobots not being transformers is def why it didn't do as well. Kids like me that didn't care about comparisons and what is "cooler" or more expensive, highly enjoyed the toys and cartoon and still do to this day! And I love finding the random Gobots items... over the years picked up a Gobots lunchbox, markers, wallet, coffee mug, pencil case, sparkle gun, and binoculars! =) Will always be a fan of the "lowly" Gobots.

[@solidus0079]

I’d love for them to roll GoBots into Generations somehow. Don’t need a big deal or a story or anything, just throw Leader-1, Cy-kill and such in the line just for fun. Hasbro made some good approximations of other non-Takara figures like Thrilling 30 Jetfire was a kinda-Valkyrie and they also released a new Whirl and Roadbuster. We did “kinda” get a new Crasher when they repainted Classics Mirage as ‘Fracture’ in one of the Bay movie spinoff lines. Why not just go a step further. I’d eat it up.

[@CSLucasEpic]

Well, the Go-Bots comic they released was excellent, and it actually tied in with the Transformers multiverse by implying that the Go-Bots universe is the "Universe 0" where all the Transformers multiverses originate from. Also, it implies that Starscream is a reincarnation of both Leader-1 and Cy-kill merged into a single entity.

[@solidus0079]

@Shield Liger I know there was that Ehobby repaint set if that's what you mean. It was just a name reuse and they didn't resemble the characters. It's like saying G1 Ironhide was in Energon.

[@solidus0079]

@@CSLucasEpic That's kind of annoying. Starscream is Starscream, his glory is his own (for better or worse)

[@solidus0079]

Shield Liger like I said, they managed to make modern figures that look like G1 Jetfire, Roadbuster, and Whirl. Forgot to mention shockwave and Omega. None of those were Takara designs. Thrilling 30 Jetfire is notable as the Macross Valkyrie is Bandai like Machine Robo is. They were afraid more than they should have been.

[@dazzawadsworth8643]

Over here in the UK the line was called Robo Machines. There actually a comic strip in the anthology comic Eagle, which was actually pretty good. It ended on a cliff hanger with a lot of the good guys killed and forced to retreat from Earth after the creation of giant Kaiju style characters by the bad guy, The comic strip never returned and left us with Earth at the mercy of Cy-Kill.

[@LowellLucasJr.]

I still love me some Cy-kill! I am disappointed Hasbro hasn't really used much of the acquired property much like they did nothing with MASK.

[@biguy617]

I enjoyed the Gobots series. It was a fun watch.

[@coachjon03]

I had several Gobots when I was a kid. Still have a few including a wind up lizard/race car...?? My parents were both raised in the great depression.. so price always dictated the toys I got for Christmas lol. I ended up with several transformers in the end though.....after my friends' had broken and lost parts for them they'd give em to me. The Gobots seemed to hold up better because of less complexity imho. I also like that so many of the Gobots were about the exact scale of matchbox cars.

[@sstrykert]

Scales was the name of your black/orange/red Renegade drag racer eptile bot monster.

[@TheLavadiver]

My very first transforming toy when I was a little kid was a Go-Bot LOCO train figure. After 35+ years I still have that original toy long after almost everything else was broken, lost, or sold/given away. Still has the stickers even, lol.

[@joseph1150]

I remember both of them being a big part of the playground (along with Voltron, GIJOE and He-man), but the cartoon for Transformers ended up being way more popular than GoBots. I had some of all of those, and some of the random Japanese robots that didn't have US released shows to support them (Big Lots specials lol).

[@howardkemplejr13]

The Gobot Bug Bite was introduced in the Netflix Transformers War For Cybertron.

[@greenlanternhg5141]

I loved them, they were my “go-to” when I would go out and needs to take a toy with me, something I could carry and not loose it or it’s accessories 🤔 Great video Mr Larson, Producer Greg 👍🏽✌🏽🎄

[@Kitwatchesvids]

Godaikin!!! I had two of them! Awesome toys..

[@Mecha82]

It's sad really how much hate Go-bots get for not being Transformers when those were some actually good toys that just wereen't cheaper but also studier and had actual transformations without need to cheat with partsforming. I never had Go-bots toys but from what i have seen I would had loved to have some of them.

[@75aces97]

Yes, they were smaller and had simpler transformations, but that, along with the die cast construction on many of them, made them more durable on the playground and backyards. They had fewer extra pieces to lose, and were easier to tote several around on car trips and whatnot.

[@Sigurther]

Loved the die-cast stuff, but the transformations and figures always felt very lazy to me, even as a kid. Go-Bots was transformers for babies, Transformers was serious big-kids stuff. XD

[@liljenborg2517]

While they were sturdier and generally better made (they could survive harder play), that also meant the figures were less articulated and poseable (which meant they were less "playable" with). They had neither elbow or knee joints and their heads were often merely a molded contour on the underside of the vehicle and couldn't turn at the neck. Even Star Wars figures could turn at the neck. They were supposed to be involved in some sort of big, cosmic war, but they didn't have any weapons. While that meant fewer pieced to lose or break, it meant they didn't have guns. You knew Megatron's gun was more powerful than anyone else's because that scope on his arm was, by far, the biggest gun any transformer had. The smaller, hot-wheel sized vehicles of the Go-bots also had a lot less detail than the larger transformers. And part of what made transforming robots fun, especially to the kids over 8, was the complexity of the transformation (remember this was also the era of the Rubic's Cube).

[@75aces97]

@@liljenborg2517 The Gobot cartoon established that they all had built in blasters, so you could use some imagination. They're toys, so you suspended some disbelief if you got on board with any of the mythologies in the first place. If lack of articulation bothered you, almost none of these had knee or movable leg joints. Optimus Prime had decent articulation, but I can't remember a single Autobot car that had movable legs. Hound, Sideswipe/Red Alert had short stumpy arms that didn't reach above head level. Ironhide/Ratchet had half assed robot modes with no heads. The Decepticon seeker planes all had fixed legs and again stumpy arms. And as for lazy, the transformers line repainted 10 body molds to make 25 toys by my count.

[@Belgand]

As a kid my parents bought m Go-Bots rather than Transformers specifically because they were more durable. I never really followed Transformers as much as a result and always felt just a tiny bit like I was on the lesser side of things. As I got older I definitely realized that I had missed out. Go-Bots were great, but it was like growing up with a Master System.

[@chrisw6164]

“You’re a Go-Bot” was a popular insult on the playground.

[@AZTLANSOLDIER13]

Right before "I got McDonald's and you got welfare burger"

[@Takeshi357]

As an adult, I can definitely see the appeal of Go-Bots. The scale made them mostly compatible with existing playsets like Hot Wheels garages the kids might've already had at home, and the simple transformations meant they didn't have to spend too much of their playtime just transforming the things from one mode to another.

[@mrmsc919]

Ummm if you were 4 or 5. Transformers had a wider array of options; some simple transformations, pull backs and more complex variety - (Triple changers and SixShot) You could transform your favorite characters in 3 seconds or less.

[@Takeshi357]

@@mrmsc919 Maybe, but those weren't the main focus of the line, were they? Minibots were more like a cheap way to expand your main cast of characters, who would've included the larger, more complicated toys. Besides, they turned into cars with obviously cartoonish proportions, unlike the vehicles in the Go-Bots line.

[@TabletopJason]

My favorite Gobots memory is that it aired on local syndication before we got off the bus in the afternoon. My dad set the VCR to record it, but picked the wrong robot show. The other syndication channel aired some cartoon called "Robotech" and he got that instead. My broth and I were furious for about 5 minutes and then were hooked on Robotech for the next 30+ years. And I've still never seen a single episode of Gobots.

[@SmithMrCorona]

That reporter! "WHY DO YOU LIKE THEM? WHY?"

[@stevenlindsey2056]

I remember machine men being sold beside go bots.We used to debate whether they were the same thing or a copycat. Then Transformers came out no one cared anymore.

[@jamielee8991]

I just found my original “Tank” Go-Bot. It’s still in great shape.

[@Adam-oh3vu]

Nice

[@jamesviktorovich]

As far as Go Bots went, I only had Cy-Kill as a kid. He was one of my favorite toys.

[@PurifyWithLight]

I feel like that 80's news lady was coming on to me

[@EURIPODES]

I was digging it

[@steevrawjers]

@@EURIPODES lol classic

[@Gideon0297]

😂🤣😂🤣🤣🤣😂🤣

[@technounionrepresentative4274]

Yes honestly it felt like her and the cam op were on a bizzare date what with her bobbing eyes

[@MapleJames76]

Good morning Dan, thanks for this. I played with SO MANY Gobots as a kid and loved em. As with any toy, imagination was a huge part of play, and the playsets we had made it all the better. Happy New Year Dan!!!

[@mikelamacchia6297]

Gobots from what I remember always seem to last longer than Transformers in terms of durability and they rarely broke. I liked the vehicles like Turbo and Cykill the best

[@AP-hv9ll]

Take the gen1 auto bot cars for example. That pivot where you push on the windshield to raise the head got super fragile, and then whoops no windshield. If I could redo childhood, I’d save my parents money by skipping transformers

[@joseph1150]

@@AP-hv9ll I would want more of the Insecticons, I had Kickback and wanted the other 2. I had Jazz, and I would have traded him for another bug.

[@petergerdes1094]

Wait a show where they depict the result of increasing tech as getting to be installed into a transforming giant robot is supposed to be a warning? Sign me up!

[@chrisdaugherty8265]

I still remember going to Wendys and getting those Go-bots! Ah, good times:)

[@AZTLANSOLDIER13]

I liked gobots. They have a soft spot in my heart. I should collect them again

[@charliem9831]

I loved Go-Bots as a kid, for a time more than Transformers. I enjoyed the quick transformation of the Go-Bots the way it was in the show. As opposite to the Transformers which could take one of them a minute or two (except for Ultra Magnus which took a little longer). I actually traded away my Power Masters Optimus Prime for like 10 Go-Bots. I honestly don’t remember the tv show at all which might be why Transformers became the more memorable one for me.

[@charliem9831]

@@DarthVader1977 either works really. Can’t believe you nitpicking on this a year after it was said.

[@stevenlindsey2056]

My little brother loved Rocklocrds. He owned most of them.

[@CollinBuckman]

8:36 > René Auberjonois Was not expecting his name to come up, now I'm kinda sad.

[@beta_cygni1950]

"You humanoids...."

[@musicfreak1138]

Heck yeah! I loved Scooter as a kid!

[@Kermoedi77]

I had a lot of Go Bots figures when I was growing up. Way more than I originally knew because all I cared about in my childhood was that they were transforming robots. I bought that IDW Miniseries and it’s a fun, trippy read. I love the retro look of the art. The newer Machine Robo toys are really nice and I would love to see something done with them. I’m so glad you made this new video. Great job!

[@gutrench9489]

The news reporter has the warmth of a bear trap.

[@Christophersanchez1326]

39 years old now 1984 I was just a 3 year old baby when these came out. So. Gobots go now 😁

[@Allerdyne]

People always give Go-bots a hard time, but I have really fond memories of them. I discovered them before Transformers, from a TV commercial I saw which blew my mind. I was like "It's a ROBOT that turns into a VEHICLE? I MUST HAVE THEM." In retrospect, there were some good things and bad things about them. I seem to remember some of them actually consisting of die-cast metal, but at the same time, some were really simplistic. Like, you wouldn't even fold in their arms. Just bend them in half and be like "Hey, it's a tank... sort of."

[@Kyru82]

I'm just sitting here waiting for a Rock Lords revival.

[@RandJohnson]

I'm 49 years old and it only just hit me that the bad guy's name was a pun on the word cycle. That's at least 42 years of me being stupid.

[@acrovader]

Always had a soft spot for Gobots.

[@jckdnls9292]

U and 16 others. Lol

[@AlexTM44]

Well, make it 17 than Lol

[@rickeyboyer4726]

@@AlexTM44 Make it 18 and watch the numbers climb!

[@rickeyboyer4726]

@@jckdnls9292 Make it 18 and watch the numbers climb!

[@utetopia1620]

I did, too. I had Leader 1 and Cy-kill, but also had some Transformers. But even to this day (I'm 43), i clearly remember the Machine Men song, and remember watching the cartoons more than i recall watching the Transformers cartoons.

[@chrischriskidnicky6088]

Thanks for using the TV38 commercial, that’s the station I used to watch the show on! I just got Bike Robo for Christmas and it is AMAZING!! I like TFs but back in the day I had way more gobots since I was only 4 in ‘84

[@thedoctorofstyleirondeadpaul]

I liked Gobots

[@BizarroJoe]

I come from the fuuuuuture. The Go-Bots are a confirmed species in the MCUuuUuuuuu....

[@DaimosZ]

tbh if Tonka waited a year they could have imported and adapted the Machine Robo anime and basically one up Transformers while the franchise's cartoon reeled from killing off Optimus Prime and the ratings decline Season 3 faced as a result. Machine Robo Revenge of the Kronos >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Hanna Barbera Go-Bots also worth noting a handful of Godaikin toys that didn't sell well were imported to Europe and Australia by Bandai for their Go-Bots line (since Bandai was the ones who released the series there) and since Go-Bots is technically now considered to be an AU Transformers universe by Hasbro's current Transformers lore, so are mecha like Godmars, Dancougar and Bismark/Ramrod since Bandai had those in the Euro/Oceania Go-Bots line

[@adolhein]

It's sad the US never experienced the awesomeness that is Rom Stol MATTE!!!!

[@spacelinx]

Oddly enough the death of Optimus Prime however shocking it was, wasn’t what made Transformers S3 so bad for me. I thought the season was a bit scarier, more gruesome and lacking in the same kind of “happy feeling” the first two seasons had. Mind you I was in the second grade when S3 came out. IMO I think that’s what did the series in.

[@ZZtheDark]

Not to mention,the Battlehackers line is EASILY one of the most FORGOTTEN of the Machine Robo toyline and they have some of the best engineered toys ever. Who wouldn't wanna see the likes of Mach Blaster,Drill Crusher or even Garzack who was meant to be played for TV like Kamen Rider Black's toys and Captain Power toys? R.Jettan is one guy I wanna have the toy since I got Power Riser and Jet Riser.

[@ZZtheDark]

And who's to say Katsushi Murakami's portfolio including the famous Voltron isn't a part of Machine Robo? That could've explained everything about his demigod existence as well as the legend of the Hyribead.

[@pious83]

@@spacelinx Personally I thought everything about Season 3 onwards was a big step up from Season One and Two (aside from the animation, of course). The show was aimless prior to The Movie. It wasn't really until Season 3, that Transformers had an overarching narrative to what was going on. The switch to Sci-Fi also made sense given they were always Giant _Alien_ Robots. The character designs of the Post-Movie characters were a lot more visually interesting too. I was only 3y/o at the time of The Movie. That was my jumping on point to Transformers, which I adored and remain very fond of everything from the Movie and beyond. I've tried many times to re-watch Season one & two... I just can't get past the pilot.

[@benjaminshiels1824]

The possible success of the GO BOT's was plagued with the word's, "GO BOT's"!

[@Lanier2369]

I don't care what people say. A good chunk of the gobot toys were awesome, especially most of the super gobots. Sure there were some duds like any line, and the cartoon, well, the cartoon deserved the bad rep it got. But most of the toys were cool.////edited to make a little more sense I hope. Lol

[@quantumgigavsigmaraven1745]

Yeah they were at points just as hot a transformers

[@darkwoods1954]

The cartoon wasn't bad either. There were a few really good episodes.

[@kirbyfanprime]

I've fiddled with some of the toys and they have engineering that Hasbro wouldn't get to for years. Things like non-standard transformations and metal ball joints, of all things. I definitely see the appeal now, as a lifelong TF fan looking back.

[@fearanarchy]

Defendor (camo tank) was a prised toy in my younger years. I also,had Tank-Bust, but the hinge form the 1 wing got waaaaay loose.

[@scotthallgv]

The bootleg stuff coming out of China or Japan or wherever nowdays has some awesome looking toys based on the old go-bots. I forget who makes them or what theyre called, im sure you could find out via google if you cared to, but they are some sweet ass figures for sure. A big upgrade update from the originals.

[@kheaousdestra]

Add Go-bots to my "if I ever somehow became a multi-billionaire" purchase list aha. Honestly though, using Go-Bots[maybe under a different name?] as a more Mature comic/animated line focusing on the "we were humanoid and are kow not" aspects could probably hit pretty well with certain demographics nowadays if done well. It's never gonna happen, though, so head canon land it is 🤣🤣🤣

[@Varis78]

While Transformers were certainly always my favorite, I have just always been a sucker for transforming robots in general. So Go-Bots were cool by me. Heck, I was even happy with those cheap-plastic, off-brand figures you'd find in drug stores and the like. I was not a picky kid about that stuff at all.

[@mrmsc919]

My GoBots were the hostages in a Transformers battle scenario. Ahhh... the memories.

[@CLX5913]

I thought I saw somewhere that one gobot character had a cameo in a Transformers comic. Also, there was a deleted scene from the bumblebee movie where Bee was referred to as a gobot.