MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Transformers: War for Cybertron (games)

2010-01-31T05:24:05Z

125.237.203.27: /* Characters */

[[Image:Transformerswarforcybertron.jpg|center|500px|]]

'''''Transformers: War for Cybertron''''' is a video game developed by [[High Moon Studios]] and published by [[Activision Blizzard|Activision]], set before the Transformers take their war to [[Earth]]. [[Hasbro]] intends it to act as a foundation for ''[[Transformers brand| Transformers]]'' franchise storylines for years to come, and so they've been giving a lot of input and stressing character development.<ref name="tfw2005">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/video-games-17/tfw2005-war-for-cybertron-interview-with-aaron-archer-and-matt-tieger-168910/ War for Cybertron interview with Aaron Archer and Matt Tieger @ TFW2005.com]</ref> Unlike previous ''Transformers'' video games which feature distinctly separate campaigns for the Autobots and the Decepticons (traditionally depicting the playable faction utterly defeating the other), ''War for Cybertron'' will feature a single, linear storyline; the Decepticon campaign occurs chronologically before the Autobot campaign, but [[Fandom|fans]] can play through them in whichever order they prefer.<ref>[http://www.seibertron.com/news/index.php?f_keyword=war+for+cybertron Seibertron Q&A with Activision]</ref>

The game itself will be an over-the-shoulder third-person shooter in which the player can choose his character from a small roster of either Autobots or Decepticons. The game will be released on [[July 22]], [[2010]], for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and personal computers.
{{quote|One shall stand.|Optimus}}
:{{quote|One shall fall.|Megatron}}

==Synopsis==

[[Image:WarforCybertron-OptimusPrime.jpg|right|thumb|400px|Prime auditions for Unreal Tournament. There were no survivors.]]

The game is set during the waning days of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] is searching for a dangerous power source known as [[Dark Energon]] to fuel his conquest of the planet. [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] has come to prominence after joining the fight following an attack on [[Iacon]], but he is not yet leader of the Autobots. [[Starscream]] joins the Decepticons as second-in-command, but does not consider either Optimus or Megatron to have the planet's best interests at heart. (We will apparently learn ''why'' Starscream is such a whopping traitor and why Megatron [[:Image:Infiltration6_takeyourpunishment.jpg|doesn't just]] [[:Image:Swordscream.JPG|kill him]]).

==Characters==
At the start of each level, the player can choose from one of three characters. The characters available will shift from level to level. Known playable characters include:

'''Autobots'''
*[[Optimus_Prime_(G1)#War_for_Cybertron_video_game|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]]) ([http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2009/12/11/transformers-war-for-cybertron-character-profile-optimus-prime.aspx ''WfC'' character profile])
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]]
'''Decepticons'''
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] ([http://gameinformer.com/games/transformers_war_for_cybertron/b/xbox360/archive/2009/12/18/transformers-war-for-cybertron-character-profile-megatron.aspx ''WfC'' character profile])
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] ([http://gameinformer.com/games/transformers_war_for_cybertron/b/xbox360/archive/2009/12/23/transformers-war-for-cybertron-character-profile-starscream.aspx ''WfC'' character profile])
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]]
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]]
*[[Brawl]] (rumored)

The Decepticon campaign includes a boss battle with [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] and the Autobot campaign includes defending [[Iacon]]. [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] appears in the IGN trailer, but he's, uh, probably not playable. Players should expect references to Cybertron locations taken from all previous Transformer stories, "things which may have only been referenced once, in one comic way back when, could be used and expanded upon."<ref name="tfw2005"/>

...They're totally reading the Wiki, aren't they? Hello, designers!

<center><gallery>
Image:WfC-IGN-Bumblebee.jpg|Bumblebee fires his weapon.
Image:WfC-IGN-RatchetBumblebeePrime.jpg|Ratchet, Bumblebee, and Prime in battle.
Image:WfC-IGN-OmegaSupreme.jpg|Omega Supreme attacks a platoon of Decepticons.
Image:WfC-IGN-StarscreamMegatron.jpg|Starscream and Megatron get ready for the ground assault.
Image:WfC-IGN-StarscreamMegatronSoundwave.jpg|More Decepticons!
Image:WfC-IGN-Soundwave.jpg|Soundwave sneaks around.
Image:WfC-IGN-Trypticon.jpg|Oh Primus.

</gallery></center>

==Features==
* Campaigns will be co-op both online and off for the first time in a Transformers game.
* All playable characters have two special abilities, such as absorbing health from enemies or marking targets.
* The game will run on the Unreal engine.
* High Moon is prepared to "support the game after release," meaning either patches or downloadable content.
* Online Multiplayer is being developed for the game.
* All environments, including cover, can be destroyed.

==Production==

As an early marketing campaign, the game's website included the feature "Operation Transmission Recovery": using transmission and coordinate dials, you could pick up "transmissions" from Cybertron (or "video clips" to you and me).

The art and design team did intense research (i.e. watched the original cartoon, looked at comics, and watched "typical sci-fi cool stuff" like ''Blade Runner'') to work out the aesthetic of Cybertron; lead artist [[Ivan Power]] remarked that the original cartoon was the main inspiration, and that Cybertron wasn't shown there so they had to rewatch the same few clips "over and over". While many of the city designs are elaborate and shiny, Decepticon [[Kaon]] was deliberately designed to be sharp-edged, rusting, and slapped together to show the Decepticons weren't interested in building a functioning society. <ref>[http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2009/12/21/transformers-art-video.aspx Game Informer: Behind the Art of War for Cybertron]</ref>

==Operation Transmission Recovery==

As an early marketing campaign, the game's website included the feature "Operation Transmission Recovery": using transmission and coordinate dials, you could pick up "transmissions" from Cybertron (or "video clips/images" to you and me).

There are two dials, blue (outer) and yellow (inner). Using your mouse, you can drag the dial to set coordinates. The blue dial is set by aligning it to marks on the outer circle. When aligned, it becomes a blue ring. After that, the yellow dial is set so that signal strength is full, as indicated by a meter on the right. Once a transmission is unlocked its symbol lights up and the "Total Recovered" amount increases a little bit. When you reach 100%, it tells you how many hours remain until next batch.

As of January 12, 2010, the following transmissions (Batch 9), almost all of which are part of second trailer (link below), were available:

{| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=5
| '''S. No.'''
| '''Blue'''
| '''Yellow'''
| '''Type'''
| '''Description'''
|-
| 1
| 351
| 327
| Video
| Game Trailer (unlocked by default).
|-
| 2
| 018
| 088
| Video
| Starscream flying.
|-
| 3
| 018
| 088
| Image
| Starscream standing.
|-
| 4
| 029
| 209
| Video
| Battle scene: Camera behind Autobots, Optimus is prominent.
|-
| 5
| 040
| 328
| Image
| Holographic map of Cybertron and its two moons.
|-
| 6
| 051
| 110
| Image
| Cybertron .
|-
| 7
| 073
| 190
| Image
| Optimus vs Megatron.
|-
| 8
| 085
| 298
| Video
| Decepticon insignia (on Starscream).
|-
| 9
| 096
| 347
| Video
| A bomb explosion on Cybertron's surface (possibly the same one which made a huge hole in it).
|-
| 10
| 107
| 035
| Image
| Megatron crushes cranial unit of a poor Autobot, Starscream is visible behind him, just before the ground assault.
|-
| 11
| 120
| 040
| Image
| Cybertron as seen from a moon.
|-
| 12
| 140
| 201
| Image
| Starscream flying towards Cybertron .
|-
| 13
| 162
| 359
| Image
| A red robot (Ironhide?).
|-
| 14
| 173
| 003
| Image
| A hall (Council of Autobot Elders?).
|-
| 15
| 192
| 147
| Video
| Injured Autobot, trying to get up .
|-
| 16
| 203
| 094
| Video
| Battle scene: Trypticon joins the battle as a burning asteroid (Entry mode) behind Decepticons and Autobots run towards it.
|-
| 17
| 214
| 004
| Image
| A city seen from a tunnel .
|-
| 18
| 225
| 199
| Image
| A city tower falling and hitting another tower.
|-
| 19
| 265
| 011
| Image
| Optimus Prime.
|-
| 20
| 284
| 021
| Image
| Megatron firing his gun (at YOU).
|-
| 21
| 295
| 249
| Video
| Optimus uses his axe on a Decepticon.
|-
| 22
| 306
| 041
| Image
| Cybertron as seen from another moon.
|-
| 23
| 317
| 081
| Video
| City skyline, camera moving down, some music in the background (start of the second trailer).
|-
| 24
| 328
| 221
| Video
| Battle scene: A missile hits a battlestation and an Autobot falls down from it.
|}

==Toy tie-ins==
[[Hasbro]] has confirmed that several toys will be made to tie into the promotion of the video game. These include figures of Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Bumblebee. As of yet it is uncomfirmed what toyline these figures will be released in.

<gallery>
Image:WFC Optimus Prime toy.jpg
Image:WFC Megatron toy.jpg
Image:Htcc-31.jpg
</gallery>

==Notes==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.transformersgame.com/ Official site]
*[http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-debut-transformers-war/59860 Exclusive trailer via 'Game Trailers TV']
*[http://ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/54929/transformers-war-for-cybertron/videos/transformerscyber_trl_revealtrailer_10710.html;jsessionid=8yroitu115mw Second, fuller trailer from IGN]
*[http://gameinformer.com/mag/cybertron.aspx Behind the scenes bios and information from ''Game Informer'' magazine.]
*[http://www.allspark.com/content/view/6450/20/ Press release]

[[Category: Video games]]

Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)

2010-01-31T04:40:18Z

125.237.203.27: /* Characters */

{{Nav-bw}}

Though [[Trukk not munky|reviled]] by many Transfans when it first hit the airwaves in 1996, the wholly-[[CGI]] '''''Beast Wars''''' is now considered by many to be among the finest examples of Transformers storytelling.

:''Canadian name:'' '''Beasties'''
:''Japanese name (season 1):'' '''Super Lifeform Transformers Beast Wars''' (超生命体トランスフォーマー　ビーストウォーズ, Chō Seimeitai Transformers Beast Wars)
:''Japanese name (season 2-3):'' '''Super Lifeform Transformers Beast Wars Metals''' (超生命体トランスフォーマー　ビーストウォーズ　メタルス, Chō Seimeitai Transformers Beast Wars Metals)
:''French name:'' '''Animutants'''
:''French name (Canada):'' '''Robots-Bêtes'''
:''Italian name:'' '''Biocombat'''
:''Latin-American name:'' '''Guerra de Bestias'''
:''Polish name:'' '''Kosmiczne Wojny''' ("Cosmic Wars")

==Overview==
The series opens at an unspecified time and place, where two warring factions of robots have crashed on a strange planet populated by animals like those on [[Earth]]. The planet abounds in mystery, with vast deposits of raw [[Energon (fuel)|Energon]] and evidence of [[Vok|alien]] activity. The Energon forces the newly arrived Transformers to take on protective beast forms to shield themselves from the ambient Energon radiation. And so begin the Beast Wars...

[[Image:Beastwarsmaxgroup.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Rattrap and Airazor conspire to ruin school picture day.]]
Though at first the show seemed to be in an entirely separate continuity, by the end of the first season's 26 episodes, viewers had been treated to a number of classical Transformers references, such as [[Unicron]] and even the reappearance of [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], last seen as a ghost in the third season of [[The Transformers (cartoon)|the original cartoon]]. These ties to the original story increased as the second season progressed and the planet was revealed as prehistoric Earth, the characters having been thrown back in time. The third season was entirely structured around the [[Maximal]]s defending their dormant [[Autobot]] ancestors aboard the ancient crashed [[Ark (G1)|Ark]].

The show won over many viewers through fun, intriguing stories and generally high production values. Strong characterization, top-notch scripting and voice acting, and complex, overarching plot threads are among the reasons cited for the show's enduring popularity. Some of the show's mysteries and machinations remain topics for fan debate over a decade after it aired.

The show's CGI, though somewhat primitive by today's standards, was revolutionary by television standards of the time (and puts [[Energon (cartoon)|some later shows]] to [[Cybertron (cartoon)|shame]]). Mainframe's animators took pains to ensure their characters gestured and emoted in great detail, and the "camera" work often took creative advantage of the format's flexibility.

The show was immediately followed by a sequel series, ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]''.
{{-}}

==Episodes==
{{main|List of Beast Wars episodes}}

''Beast Wars'' has had 52 episodes over 3 seasons.

===Season 1: 1996–1997===
{{columnlist|4|
# [[Beast Wars (Part 1)]]
# [[Beast Wars (Part 2)]]
# [[The Web]]
# [[Equal Measures]]
# [[Chain of Command]]
# [[Power Surge]]
# [[Fallen Comrades]]
# [[Double Jeopardy]]
# [[A Better Mousetrap]]
# [[Gorilla Warfare]]
# [[The Probe]]
# [[Victory (episode)|Victory]]
# [[Dark Designs (episode)|Dark Designs]]
# [[Double Dinobot]]
# [[The Spark]]
# [[The Trigger, Part 1]]
# [[The Trigger, Part 2]]
# [[Spider's Game]]
# [[Call of the Wild]]
# [[Dark Voyage]]
# [[Possession]]
# [[The Low Road]]
# [[Law of the Jungle]]
# [[Before the Storm]]
# [[Other Voices, Part 1]]
# [[Other Voices, Part 2]]}}

===Season 2: 1997–1998===
{{columnlist|4|
# [[Aftermath]]
# [[Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1)]]
# [[Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)]]
# [[Tangled Web]]
# [[Maximal, No More]]
# [[Other Visits (Part 1)]]
# [[Other Visits (Part 2)]]
# [[Bad Spark]]
# [[Code of Hero]]
# [[Transmutate (episode)|Transmutate]]
# [[The Agenda (Part 1)]]
# [[The Agenda (Part 2)]]
# [[The Agenda (Part III)]]}}

===Season 3: 1998–1999===
{{columnlist|4|
# [[Optimal Situation]]
# [[Deep Metal]]
# [[Changing of the Guard]]
# [[Cutting Edge]]
# [[Feral Scream Part 1]]
# [[Feral Scream Part 2]]
# [[Proving Grounds]]
# [[Go with the Flow]]
# [[Crossing the Rubicon]]
# [[Master Blaster]]
# [[Other Victories]]
# [[Nemesis Part 1]]
# [[Nemesis Part 2]]}}

==Characters==
Because developing new CGI character models was, at the time, an expensive and time-consuming process, the number of on-screen characters in ''Beast Wars'' was relatively small compared to most other ''Transformers'' shows. It is thus practical to list all the Transformers who appeared in the cartoon. They are listed in order of appearance. (The [[stasis lock]]ed [[Autobot]]s and [[Decepticon]]s aboard the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] are not on this list.) Note that many characters besides these are also full-fledged ''Beast Wars'' characters, having appeared in other media.
[[Image:BW Maximals.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Time for Rattrap to lead.]]
[[Image:BW Predacons.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Waspinator is loved by fans.]]

{{-}}

{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Primal]] ([[Garry Chalk]])
*[[Rattrap]] ([[Scott McNeil]])
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] ([[Richard Newman]])
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] ([[Ian James Corlett]])
*[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]]* ([[Scott McNeil]])
*[[Tigatron]] ([[Blu Mankuma]])
*[[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] ([[Pauline Newstone]])
*[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] ([[Scott McNeil]])
*[[Depth Charge (BW)|Depth Charge]] ([[David Sobolov]])
*[[Tigerhawk]] ([[Blu Mankuma]])
|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] ([[David Kaye]])
*[[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] ([[Don Brown]])
*[[Tarantulas]] ([[Alec Willows]])
*[[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] ([[Doug Parker]])
*[[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] ([[Scott McNeil]])
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]]† ([[Venus Terzo]])
*[[Clone One]] ([[Scott McNeil]])
*[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] ([[Jim Byrnes]])
*[[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] ([[Colin Murdoch]])
*[[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] ([[Campbell Lane]])
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] ([[Lee Tockar]])
*[[Dinobot II]] ([[Scott McNeil]])
'''[[Tripredacus Council]]'''
*[[Ram Horn]] ([[Lee Tockar]])
*[[Sea Clamp]] ([[Ian James Corlett]])
*[[Cicadacon]] ([[Scott McNeil]])
|c4=
*[[Snowstalker]]
*[[Transmutate (character)|Transmutate]] ([[Susan Blu]])
*Assorted [[Vok]] ([[Blu Mankuma]] and [[Richard Newman]])
'''[[Decepticon]]s'''
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] ([[Doug Parker]])
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] ([[Garry Chalk]])
'''[[Protohuman]]s'''
*[[Leader Neanderthal]] ([[Garry Chalk]])
*[[Chak]]
*[[Una]] ([[Susan Blu]])
'''Predacon Drones'''
*[[Cyberbee]]
*[[Cyber raptor]]s
*[[Rubber Ducky]]
|nonumbering=true
}}
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Allied with the Maximals, nominally a Predacon.

† Became a Maximal towards the end of the series.

==International releases==
===Japan===
In Japan the show was split into 2 separate 26 episode series, ''Beast Wars'' which aired in 1997 (consisting of Canadian season 1) and ''Beast Wars Metals'' which aired in 1999 (consisting of Canadian seasons 2 and 3). The ''Beast Wars Metals'' series featured two additional clip shows:

*Episode 14: "[[Where Is the Banana?]]"
*Episode 26: "[[Remix: I Lost the Banana!]]"

Japan crafted two separate theatrical releases, the first being "[[Beast Wars Special Super Lifeform Transformers]]" (premiering the episode "[[Bad Spark]]" as well as two other segments) and a triple feature of short animated films based on [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] toylines (premiering the episode "[[Cutting Edge]]"). Since these episodes were released theatrically, they are not included in the show's proper 26 episode list, with their places being taken by the pair of aforementioned clip shows.

Additionally, for whatever reason, the Japanese dub of ''Beast Wars'' and ''Beast Wars Metals'' notoriously chose to turn the series into a goofy comedy show with lots of fourth-wall humor and a relentless string of over-the-top and in-your-face jokes, even at the most ''inappropriate'' of moments.

Some examples include:

* The beginning of every episode would start with one of the characters asking a ridiculous question and receiving equally ridiculous answers (Optimus Primal asking "Where is my banana", for instance) before segueing into the [[War War! Stop It|opening rap theme]] by [[Banana Ice]]. (On that music note, "[[For the Dream|FOR THE DREAM]]" is the closing song, while "[[Hello! Toughness]]" was the ending song for the special "[[Clash! Beast Warriors]]".)
* Rattrap would constantly break the fourth wall by "smelling" what the audience was eating and make gluttonous comments.
* Many characters received completely new personalities that were polar opposites to their Western interpretation (Depth Charge enjoyed singing folk songs while Megatron became a flamboyant madman that shrieked like a little girl at the sight of danger). Other characters had their ''genders'' altered (poor, poor Airazor).
* Clipshows would feature the characters interacting in silly situations such as gameshows and contests (in one instance, Megatron acted as judge in a celebrity impersonation contest).
While many long-time ''Transformers'' fans in Japan reviled this dub (including [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]]) it remained a hit with its target audience: young children. At any rate, this version of ''Beast Wars'' was popular enough to spawn two equally goofy-natured spin-offs, ''[[Beast Wars II (cartoon)|Beast Wars II]]'' and ''[[Beast Wars Neo (cartoon)|Beast Wars Neo]]'', and two Japanese-exclusive theatrical releases.

However, [[Pioneer|Pioneer's]] Japanese DVD sets of the series come with optional English language dialogue with Japanese subtitles, allowing fans in Japan to view the more serious version of the show if desired.

===United Kingdom===

[[Image:UK Beast Wars Vol3 VHS.jpg|left|150px|thumb|]]
When originally aired on GMTV in the United Kingdom, ''Beast Wars'' was only screened on school holidays, usually in double bills on Bank Holidays, and one episode per morning on half-term weeks, meaning that only a few episodes were shown a year, with wide gulfs in between (most prominently, ''three months'' passed between the airings of "Other Visits" parts [[Other Visits (Part 1)|1]] and [[Other Visits (Part 2)|2]]). In a sign of things to come, "[[Beast Wars (Part 1)]]" was shown some 25 minutes earlier than billed due to re-scheduled news reports, meaning many fans missed the entire opening episode. Things went from bad to worse when "[[Equal Measures]]" was skipped, and only continued when, after "[[Victory (episode)|Victory]]", the series skipped directly to "[[Other Voices, Part 1]]". The entirety of the second season followed the conclusion of the first, but the channel never aired the third season; although it was subsequently released on VHS, the cliffhanger-resolving "[[Optimal Situation]]" was only available as a free gift with purchase at [[Toys"R"Us]].

[[Image:UK Beast Wars Beginning Vol1 VHS.jpg|right|150px|thumb|]]
Additionally, these GMTV airings were modified in various ways. The first and most foremost alteration was the removal of the word "Transformers" from the series' title, which was only reinstated with "[[Other Voices, Part 1]]". With regard to the actual content, the earliest episodes generally had nothing more extreme than the removal of uses of the word "[[Slag (slang)|slag]]" (as it is effectively a synonym for "slut" in English slang), but with the beginning of the second season, edits were steadily made to episodes for no readily apparent reasons. Additionally, any scenes featuring flashing images were routinely put through a filter that slowed such scenes down to comical levels. This culminated in a butchered version of "[[The Agenda (Part 1)|The Agenda]]", which snipped out many short scenes throughout all three episodes for no reason, from inconsequential moments like Tarantulas cackling and driving out of his lab in Part 1, to key scenes such as Silverbolt and Optimus Primal's "office talk" in Part 2, and in what was the last straw for many fans, the complete second half of [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'s speech (''the part explaining [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]'s entire motivation''), also from Part 2.

[[Image:UK Beast Wars Vol2 DVD.jpg|left|150px|thumb|]]
During the time they had the rights to the series, GMTV also showed the entirety of seasons one and two on the then cable-only channel ITV 2.

Almost the entire run of the show ended up on VHS from 2000 to 2001, oddly missing "[[Aftermath]]" and "Optimal Situation". This time, cuts were gone! Characters could rightfully swear! '''Season 3 was finally released!''' Season 3 got the first release, in Volumes 1 through 4, with box art of characters being used on the covers. Then, Season 2 got collected as well, as... Volumes 5 through 8. (''That'' must've confused some kiddies.) Finally, Season 1 was collected as ''Beast Wars: The Beginning''. These later releases used CGI art. DVD collections have so far been absent, beyond two super-cheap DVD releases by [[Universal]]. The first collected "The Agenda" through to "Cutting Edge", followed by one just collecting "Feral Scream" and "Proving Grounds". They're now out of print.

Channel 5, a terrestrial channel, showed the entire series in its complete form in 2003. Thankfully. This got rerun too, leading to the ''Beast Wars'' comics getting [[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|used as reprints in Titan's Movie-based comic]].

{{-}}

===France===
In France and (French) Belgium, the show was called "Animutants" and had a good quality dubbing, rather close to the original voices. But while the first two seasons of the show were aired, the third one never was; the show always ended with "[[The Agenda (Part III)]]", leaving the viewers in the area with the worst case of cliffhanger ever.

===Vietnam===
In Vietnam, the show was called "Chiến tranh quái vật vũ trụ" (Galaxy Monster Wars). The show was released on VHS tapes with a very good Vietnamese dub, then it was copied to VCD. Unfortunately, as happened in France, only the first two seasons were aired. It ended with "[[The Agenda (Part III)]]", and left the fans with a cliffhanger.

===Germany===
The German dub used the original title, ''Beast Wars'''. The show was initially very successful on the TV Station RTL2 and was released on VHS. However, only the first season was shown and dubbed. Furthermore, the TV broadcast had many fight scenes censored to comply with Germany's strict laws against TV violence; however, the VHS Release was uncut. After many reruns the show was cancelled and the second and third Season were never shown in Germany.

==Trivia==
* The first season of ''Beast Wars'' cost $18 million, according to [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/browse_thread/thread/b334d45514e26ab4/bc8e54e9165e0823?hl=en&lnk=st&q=bob+forward+interview+inferno+megatron&rnum=1#bc8e54e9165e0823 a 1997 interview with Bob Forward].
* [http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-CLUB_%28%E6%A8%A1%E5%9E%8B%E9%9B%91%E8%AA%8C%29 B-Club magazine] erroneously claims that ''Beast Wars'' is the first fully CGI television show in the world, a title actually held by ''[[:wikipedia:Insektors|Insektors]]''. Mainframe's own CGI show ''[[wikipedia:ReBoot|ReBoot]]'' also predates ''Beast Wars''.
* The Production Designer for the show, [[Clyde Klotz]], won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation in 1997. How cool is that?

==See also==
*[[Dark Glass]] was an unproduced script intended for season 3.

[[Category:Beast Wars| Beast Wars (cartoon)]]
[[Category:Mainframe]]
[[Category:Television series]]

Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)

2010-01-31T04:33:25Z

125.237.203.27: /* Characters */

{{Nav-bw}}

Though [[Trukk not munky|reviled]] by many Transfans when it first hit the airwaves in 1996, the wholly-[[CGI]] '''''Beast Wars''''' is now considered by many to be among the finest examples of Transformers storytelling.

:''Canadian name:'' '''Beasties'''
:''Japanese name (season 1):'' '''Super Lifeform Transformers Beast Wars''' (超生命体トランスフォーマー　ビーストウォーズ, Chō Seimeitai Transformers Beast Wars)
:''Japanese name (season 2-3):'' '''Super Lifeform Transformers Beast Wars Metals''' (超生命体トランスフォーマー　ビーストウォーズ　メタルス, Chō Seimeitai Transformers Beast Wars Metals)
:''French name:'' '''Animutants'''
:''French name (Canada):'' '''Robots-Bêtes'''
:''Italian name:'' '''Biocombat'''
:''Latin-American name:'' '''Guerra de Bestias'''
:''Polish name:'' '''Kosmiczne Wojny''' ("Cosmic Wars")

==Overview==
The series opens at an unspecified time and place, where two warring factions of robots have crashed on a strange planet populated by animals like those on [[Earth]]. The planet abounds in mystery, with vast deposits of raw [[Energon (fuel)|Energon]] and evidence of [[Vok|alien]] activity. The Energon forces the newly arrived Transformers to take on protective beast forms to shield themselves from the ambient Energon radiation. And so begin the Beast Wars...

[[Image:Beastwarsmaxgroup.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Rattrap and Airazor conspire to ruin school picture day.]]
Though at first the show seemed to be in an entirely separate continuity, by the end of the first season's 26 episodes, viewers had been treated to a number of classical Transformers references, such as [[Unicron]] and even the reappearance of [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], last seen as a ghost in the third season of [[The Transformers (cartoon)|the original cartoon]]. These ties to the original story increased as the second season progressed and the planet was revealed as prehistoric Earth, the characters having been thrown back in time. The third season was entirely structured around the [[Maximal]]s defending their dormant [[Autobot]] ancestors aboard the ancient crashed [[Ark (G1)|Ark]].

The show won over many viewers through fun, intriguing stories and generally high production values. Strong characterization, top-notch scripting and voice acting, and complex, overarching plot threads are among the reasons cited for the show's enduring popularity. Some of the show's mysteries and machinations remain topics for fan debate over a decade after it aired.

The show's CGI, though somewhat primitive by today's standards, was revolutionary by television standards of the time (and puts [[Energon (cartoon)|some later shows]] to [[Cybertron (cartoon)|shame]]). Mainframe's animators took pains to ensure their characters gestured and emoted in great detail, and the "camera" work often took creative advantage of the format's flexibility.

The show was immediately followed by a sequel series, ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]''.
{{-}}

==Episodes==
{{main|List of Beast Wars episodes}}

''Beast Wars'' has had 52 episodes over 3 seasons.

===Season 1: 1996–1997===
{{columnlist|4|
# [[Beast Wars (Part 1)]]
# [[Beast Wars (Part 2)]]
# [[The Web]]
# [[Equal Measures]]
# [[Chain of Command]]
# [[Power Surge]]
# [[Fallen Comrades]]
# [[Double Jeopardy]]
# [[A Better Mousetrap]]
# [[Gorilla Warfare]]
# [[The Probe]]
# [[Victory (episode)|Victory]]
# [[Dark Designs (episode)|Dark Designs]]
# [[Double Dinobot]]
# [[The Spark]]
# [[The Trigger, Part 1]]
# [[The Trigger, Part 2]]
# [[Spider's Game]]
# [[Call of the Wild]]
# [[Dark Voyage]]
# [[Possession]]
# [[The Low Road]]
# [[Law of the Jungle]]
# [[Before the Storm]]
# [[Other Voices, Part 1]]
# [[Other Voices, Part 2]]}}

===Season 2: 1997–1998===
{{columnlist|4|
# [[Aftermath]]
# [[Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1)]]
# [[Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)]]
# [[Tangled Web]]
# [[Maximal, No More]]
# [[Other Visits (Part 1)]]
# [[Other Visits (Part 2)]]
# [[Bad Spark]]
# [[Code of Hero]]
# [[Transmutate (episode)|Transmutate]]
# [[The Agenda (Part 1)]]
# [[The Agenda (Part 2)]]
# [[The Agenda (Part III)]]}}

===Season 3: 1998–1999===
{{columnlist|4|
# [[Optimal Situation]]
# [[Deep Metal]]
# [[Changing of the Guard]]
# [[Cutting Edge]]
# [[Feral Scream Part 1]]
# [[Feral Scream Part 2]]
# [[Proving Grounds]]
# [[Go with the Flow]]
# [[Crossing the Rubicon]]
# [[Master Blaster]]
# [[Other Victories]]
# [[Nemesis Part 1]]
# [[Nemesis Part 2]]}}

==Characters==
Because developing new CGI character models was, at the time, an expensive and time-consuming process, the number of on-screen characters in ''Beast Wars'' was relatively small compared to most other ''Transformers'' shows. It is thus practical to list all the Transformers who appeared in the cartoon. They are listed in order of appearance. (The [[stasis lock]]ed [[Autobot]]s and [[Decepticon]]s aboard the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] are not on this list.) Note that many characters besides these are also full-fledged ''Beast Wars'' characters, having appeared in other media.
[[Image:BW Maximals.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Time for Rattrap to lead.]]
[[Image:BW Predacons.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Waspinator is loved by fans.]]

{{-}}

{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Primal]] ([[Garry Chalk]])
*[[Rattrap]] ([[Scott McNeil]])
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] ([[Richard Newman]])
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] ([[Ian James Corlett]])
*[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]]* ([[Scott McNeil]])
*[[Tigatron]] ([[Blu Mankuma]])
*[[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] ([[Pauline Newstone]])
*[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] ([[Scott McNeil]])
*[[Depth Charge (BW)|Depth Charge]] ([[David Sobolov]])
*[[Tigerhawk]] ([[Blu Mankuma]])
|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] ([[David Kaye]])
*[[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] ([[Don Brown]])
*[[Tarantulas]] ([[Alec Willows]])
*[[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] ([[Doug Parker]])
*[[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] ([[Scott McNeil]])
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]]† ([[Venus Terzo]])
*[[Clone One]] ([[Scott McNeil]])
*[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] ([[Jim Byrnes]])
*[[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] ([[Colin Murdoch]])
*[[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] ([[Campbell Lane]])
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] ([[Lee Tockar]])
*[[Dinobot II]] ([[Scott McNeil]])
'''[[Tripredacus Council]]'''
*[[Ram Horn]] ([[Lee Tockar]])
*[[Sea Clamp]] ([[Ian James Corlett]])
*[[Cicadacon]] ([[Scott McNeil]])
|c4=
*[[Snowstalker]]
*[[Transmutate (character)|Transmutate]] ([[Susan Blu]])
*Assorted [[Vok]] ([[Blu Mankuma]] and [[Richard Newman]])
'''[[Decepticon]]s'''
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] ([[Doug Parker]])
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] ([[Garry Chalk]])
'''[[Protohuman]]s'''
*[[Leader Neanderthal]] ([[Garry Chalk]])
*[[Chak]]
*[[Una]] ([[Susan Blu]])
'''Predacon drones'''
*[[Cyberbee]]
*[[Cyber raptor]]s
*[[Rubber duck]]

|nonumbering=true
}}
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Allied with the Maximals, nominally a Predacon.

† Became a Maximal towards the end of the series.

==International releases==
===Japan===
In Japan the show was split into 2 separate 26 episode series, ''Beast Wars'' which aired in 1997 (consisting of Canadian season 1) and ''Beast Wars Metals'' which aired in 1999 (consisting of Canadian seasons 2 and 3). The ''Beast Wars Metals'' series featured two additional clip shows:

*Episode 14: "[[Where Is the Banana?]]"
*Episode 26: "[[Remix: I Lost the Banana!]]"

Japan crafted two separate theatrical releases, the first being "[[Beast Wars Special Super Lifeform Transformers]]" (premiering the episode "[[Bad Spark]]" as well as two other segments) and a triple feature of short animated films based on [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] toylines (premiering the episode "[[Cutting Edge]]"). Since these episodes were released theatrically, they are not included in the show's proper 26 episode list, with their places being taken by the pair of aforementioned clip shows.

Additionally, for whatever reason, the Japanese dub of ''Beast Wars'' and ''Beast Wars Metals'' notoriously chose to turn the series into a goofy comedy show with lots of fourth-wall humor and a relentless string of over-the-top and in-your-face jokes, even at the most ''inappropriate'' of moments.

Some examples include:

* The beginning of every episode would start with one of the characters asking a ridiculous question and receiving equally ridiculous answers (Optimus Primal asking "Where is my banana", for instance) before segueing into the [[War War! Stop It|opening rap theme]] by [[Banana Ice]]. (On that music note, "[[For the Dream|FOR THE DREAM]]" is the closing song, while "[[Hello! Toughness]]" was the ending song for the special "[[Clash! Beast Warriors]]".)
* Rattrap would constantly break the fourth wall by "smelling" what the audience was eating and make gluttonous comments.
* Many characters received completely new personalities that were polar opposites to their Western interpretation (Depth Charge enjoyed singing folk songs while Megatron became a flamboyant madman that shrieked like a little girl at the sight of danger). Other characters had their ''genders'' altered (poor, poor Airazor).
* Clipshows would feature the characters interacting in silly situations such as gameshows and contests (in one instance, Megatron acted as judge in a celebrity impersonation contest).
While many long-time ''Transformers'' fans in Japan reviled this dub (including [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]]) it remained a hit with its target audience: young children. At any rate, this version of ''Beast Wars'' was popular enough to spawn two equally goofy-natured spin-offs, ''[[Beast Wars II (cartoon)|Beast Wars II]]'' and ''[[Beast Wars Neo (cartoon)|Beast Wars Neo]]'', and two Japanese-exclusive theatrical releases.

However, [[Pioneer|Pioneer's]] Japanese DVD sets of the series come with optional English language dialogue with Japanese subtitles, allowing fans in Japan to view the more serious version of the show if desired.

===United Kingdom===

[[Image:UK Beast Wars Vol3 VHS.jpg|left|150px|thumb|]]
When originally aired on GMTV in the United Kingdom, ''Beast Wars'' was only screened on school holidays, usually in double bills on Bank Holidays, and one episode per morning on half-term weeks, meaning that only a few episodes were shown a year, with wide gulfs in between (most prominently, ''three months'' passed between the airings of "Other Visits" parts [[Other Visits (Part 1)|1]] and [[Other Visits (Part 2)|2]]). In a sign of things to come, "[[Beast Wars (Part 1)]]" was shown some 25 minutes earlier than billed due to re-scheduled news reports, meaning many fans missed the entire opening episode. Things went from bad to worse when "[[Equal Measures]]" was skipped, and only continued when, after "[[Victory (episode)|Victory]]", the series skipped directly to "[[Other Voices, Part 1]]". The entirety of the second season followed the conclusion of the first, but the channel never aired the third season; although it was subsequently released on VHS, the cliffhanger-resolving "[[Optimal Situation]]" was only available as a free gift with purchase at [[Toys"R"Us]].

[[Image:UK Beast Wars Beginning Vol1 VHS.jpg|right|150px|thumb|]]
Additionally, these GMTV airings were modified in various ways. The first and most foremost alteration was the removal of the word "Transformers" from the series' title, which was only reinstated with "[[Other Voices, Part 1]]". With regard to the actual content, the earliest episodes generally had nothing more extreme than the removal of uses of the word "[[Slag (slang)|slag]]" (as it is effectively a synonym for "slut" in English slang), but with the beginning of the second season, edits were steadily made to episodes for no readily apparent reasons. Additionally, any scenes featuring flashing images were routinely put through a filter that slowed such scenes down to comical levels. This culminated in a butchered version of "[[The Agenda (Part 1)|The Agenda]]", which snipped out many short scenes throughout all three episodes for no reason, from inconsequential moments like Tarantulas cackling and driving out of his lab in Part 1, to key scenes such as Silverbolt and Optimus Primal's "office talk" in Part 2, and in what was the last straw for many fans, the complete second half of [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'s speech (''the part explaining [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]'s entire motivation''), also from Part 2.

[[Image:UK Beast Wars Vol2 DVD.jpg|left|150px|thumb|]]
During the time they had the rights to the series, GMTV also showed the entirety of seasons one and two on the then cable-only channel ITV 2.

Almost the entire run of the show ended up on VHS from 2000 to 2001, oddly missing "[[Aftermath]]" and "Optimal Situation". This time, cuts were gone! Characters could rightfully swear! '''Season 3 was finally released!''' Season 3 got the first release, in Volumes 1 through 4, with box art of characters being used on the covers. Then, Season 2 got collected as well, as... Volumes 5 through 8. (''That'' must've confused some kiddies.) Finally, Season 1 was collected as ''Beast Wars: The Beginning''. These later releases used CGI art. DVD collections have so far been absent, beyond two super-cheap DVD releases by [[Universal]]. The first collected "The Agenda" through to "Cutting Edge", followed by one just collecting "Feral Scream" and "Proving Grounds". They're now out of print.

Channel 5, a terrestrial channel, showed the entire series in its complete form in 2003. Thankfully. This got rerun too, leading to the ''Beast Wars'' comics getting [[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|used as reprints in Titan's Movie-based comic]].

{{-}}

===France===
In France and (French) Belgium, the show was called "Animutants" and had a good quality dubbing, rather close to the original voices. But while the first two seasons of the show were aired, the third one never was; the show always ended with "[[The Agenda (Part III)]]", leaving the viewers in the area with the worst case of cliffhanger ever.

===Vietnam===
In Vietnam, the show was called "Chiến tranh quái vật vũ trụ" (Galaxy Monster Wars). The show was released on VHS tapes with a very good Vietnamese dub, then it was copied to VCD. Unfortunately, as happened in France, only the first two seasons were aired. It ended with "[[The Agenda (Part III)]]", and left the fans with a cliffhanger.

===Germany===
The German dub used the original title, ''Beast Wars'''. The show was initially very successful on the TV Station RTL2 and was released on VHS. However, only the first season was shown and dubbed. Furthermore, the TV broadcast had many fight scenes censored to comply with Germany's strict laws against TV violence; however, the VHS Release was uncut. After many reruns the show was cancelled and the second and third Season were never shown in Germany.

==Trivia==
* The first season of ''Beast Wars'' cost $18 million, according to [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/browse_thread/thread/b334d45514e26ab4/bc8e54e9165e0823?hl=en&lnk=st&q=bob+forward+interview+inferno+megatron&rnum=1#bc8e54e9165e0823 a 1997 interview with Bob Forward].
* [http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-CLUB_%28%E6%A8%A1%E5%9E%8B%E9%9B%91%E8%AA%8C%29 B-Club magazine] erroneously claims that ''Beast Wars'' is the first fully CGI television show in the world, a title actually held by ''[[:wikipedia:Insektors|Insektors]]''. Mainframe's own CGI show ''[[wikipedia:ReBoot|ReBoot]]'' also predates ''Beast Wars''.
* The Production Designer for the show, [[Clyde Klotz]], won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation in 1997. How cool is that?

==See also==
*[[Dark Glass]] was an unproduced script intended for season 3.

[[Category:Beast Wars| Beast Wars (cartoon)]]
[[Category:Mainframe]]
[[Category:Television series]]

Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)

2010-01-31T04:32:12Z

125.237.203.27: /* Characters */

{{Nav-bw}}

Though [[Trukk not munky|reviled]] by many Transfans when it first hit the airwaves in 1996, the wholly-[[CGI]] '''''Beast Wars''''' is now considered by many to be among the finest examples of Transformers storytelling.

:''Canadian name:'' '''Beasties'''
:''Japanese name (season 1):'' '''Super Lifeform Transformers Beast Wars''' (超生命体トランスフォーマー　ビーストウォーズ, Chō Seimeitai Transformers Beast Wars)
:''Japanese name (season 2-3):'' '''Super Lifeform Transformers Beast Wars Metals''' (超生命体トランスフォーマー　ビーストウォーズ　メタルス, Chō Seimeitai Transformers Beast Wars Metals)
:''French name:'' '''Animutants'''
:''French name (Canada):'' '''Robots-Bêtes'''
:''Italian name:'' '''Biocombat'''
:''Latin-American name:'' '''Guerra de Bestias'''
:''Polish name:'' '''Kosmiczne Wojny''' ("Cosmic Wars")

==Overview==
The series opens at an unspecified time and place, where two warring factions of robots have crashed on a strange planet populated by animals like those on [[Earth]]. The planet abounds in mystery, with vast deposits of raw [[Energon (fuel)|Energon]] and evidence of [[Vok|alien]] activity. The Energon forces the newly arrived Transformers to take on protective beast forms to shield themselves from the ambient Energon radiation. And so begin the Beast Wars...

[[Image:Beastwarsmaxgroup.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Rattrap and Airazor conspire to ruin school picture day.]]
Though at first the show seemed to be in an entirely separate continuity, by the end of the first season's 26 episodes, viewers had been treated to a number of classical Transformers references, such as [[Unicron]] and even the reappearance of [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], last seen as a ghost in the third season of [[The Transformers (cartoon)|the original cartoon]]. These ties to the original story increased as the second season progressed and the planet was revealed as prehistoric Earth, the characters having been thrown back in time. The third season was entirely structured around the [[Maximal]]s defending their dormant [[Autobot]] ancestors aboard the ancient crashed [[Ark (G1)|Ark]].

The show won over many viewers through fun, intriguing stories and generally high production values. Strong characterization, top-notch scripting and voice acting, and complex, overarching plot threads are among the reasons cited for the show's enduring popularity. Some of the show's mysteries and machinations remain topics for fan debate over a decade after it aired.

The show's CGI, though somewhat primitive by today's standards, was revolutionary by television standards of the time (and puts [[Energon (cartoon)|some later shows]] to [[Cybertron (cartoon)|shame]]). Mainframe's animators took pains to ensure their characters gestured and emoted in great detail, and the "camera" work often took creative advantage of the format's flexibility.

The show was immediately followed by a sequel series, ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]''.
{{-}}

==Episodes==
{{main|List of Beast Wars episodes}}

''Beast Wars'' has had 52 episodes over 3 seasons.

===Season 1: 1996–1997===
{{columnlist|4|
# [[Beast Wars (Part 1)]]
# [[Beast Wars (Part 2)]]
# [[The Web]]
# [[Equal Measures]]
# [[Chain of Command]]
# [[Power Surge]]
# [[Fallen Comrades]]
# [[Double Jeopardy]]
# [[A Better Mousetrap]]
# [[Gorilla Warfare]]
# [[The Probe]]
# [[Victory (episode)|Victory]]
# [[Dark Designs (episode)|Dark Designs]]
# [[Double Dinobot]]
# [[The Spark]]
# [[The Trigger, Part 1]]
# [[The Trigger, Part 2]]
# [[Spider's Game]]
# [[Call of the Wild]]
# [[Dark Voyage]]
# [[Possession]]
# [[The Low Road]]
# [[Law of the Jungle]]
# [[Before the Storm]]
# [[Other Voices, Part 1]]
# [[Other Voices, Part 2]]}}

===Season 2: 1997–1998===
{{columnlist|4|
# [[Aftermath]]
# [[Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1)]]
# [[Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)]]
# [[Tangled Web]]
# [[Maximal, No More]]
# [[Other Visits (Part 1)]]
# [[Other Visits (Part 2)]]
# [[Bad Spark]]
# [[Code of Hero]]
# [[Transmutate (episode)|Transmutate]]
# [[The Agenda (Part 1)]]
# [[The Agenda (Part 2)]]
# [[The Agenda (Part III)]]}}

===Season 3: 1998–1999===
{{columnlist|4|
# [[Optimal Situation]]
# [[Deep Metal]]
# [[Changing of the Guard]]
# [[Cutting Edge]]
# [[Feral Scream Part 1]]
# [[Feral Scream Part 2]]
# [[Proving Grounds]]
# [[Go with the Flow]]
# [[Crossing the Rubicon]]
# [[Master Blaster]]
# [[Other Victories]]
# [[Nemesis Part 1]]
# [[Nemesis Part 2]]}}

==Characters==
Because developing new CGI character models was, at the time, an expensive and time-consuming process, the number of on-screen characters in ''Beast Wars'' was relatively small compared to most other ''Transformers'' shows. It is thus practical to list all the Transformers who appeared in the cartoon. They are listed in order of appearance. (The [[stasis lock]]ed [[Autobot]]s and [[Decepticon]]s aboard the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] are not on this list.) Note that many characters besides these are also full-fledged ''Beast Wars'' characters, having appeared in other media.
[[Image:BW Maximals.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Time for Rattrap to lead.]]
[[Image:BW Predacons.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Waspinator is loved by fans.]]

{{-}}

{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Primal]] ([[Garry Chalk]])
*[[Rattrap]] ([[Scott McNeil]])
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] ([[Richard Newman]])
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] ([[Ian James Corlett]])
*[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]]* ([[Scott McNeil]])
*[[Tigatron]] ([[Blu Mankuma]])
*[[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] ([[Pauline Newstone]])
*[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] ([[Scott McNeil]])
*[[Depth Charge (BW)|Depth Charge]] ([[David Sobolov]])
*[[Tigerhawk]] ([[Blu Mankuma]])
|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] ([[David Kaye]])
*[[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] ([[Don Brown]])
*[[Tarantulas]] ([[Alec Willows]])
*[[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] ([[Doug Parker]])
*[[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] ([[Scott McNeil]])
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]]† ([[Venus Terzo]])
*[[Clone One]] ([[Scott McNeil]])
*[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] ([[Jim Byrnes]])
*[[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] ([[Colin Murdoch]])
*[[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] ([[Campbell Lane]])
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] ([[Lee Tockar]])
*[[Dinobot II]] ([[Scott McNeil]])
'''[[Tripredacus Council]]'''
*[[Ram Horn]] ([[Lee Tockar]])
*[[Sea Clamp]] ([[Ian James Corlett]])
*[[Cicadacon]] ([[Scott McNeil]])
|c4=
*[[Snowstalker]]
*[[Transmutate (character)|Transmutate]] ([[Susan Blu]])
*Assorted [[Vok]] ([[Blu Mankuma]] and [[Richard Newman]])
'''[[Decepticon]]s'''
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] ([[Doug Parker]])
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] ([[Garry Chalk]])
'''[[Protohuman]]s'''
*[[Leader Neanderthal]] ([[Garry Chalk]])
*[[Chak]]
*[[Una]] ([[Susan Blu]])
'''Predacon drones'''
[[Cyber bee]]
[[Cyber raptor]]s
[[Rubber ducky]]

|nonumbering=true
}}
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Allied with the Maximals, nominally a Predacon.

† Became a Maximal towards the end of the series.

==International releases==
===Japan===
In Japan the show was split into 2 separate 26 episode series, ''Beast Wars'' which aired in 1997 (consisting of Canadian season 1) and ''Beast Wars Metals'' which aired in 1999 (consisting of Canadian seasons 2 and 3). The ''Beast Wars Metals'' series featured two additional clip shows:

*Episode 14: "[[Where Is the Banana?]]"
*Episode 26: "[[Remix: I Lost the Banana!]]"

Japan crafted two separate theatrical releases, the first being "[[Beast Wars Special Super Lifeform Transformers]]" (premiering the episode "[[Bad Spark]]" as well as two other segments) and a triple feature of short animated films based on [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] toylines (premiering the episode "[[Cutting Edge]]"). Since these episodes were released theatrically, they are not included in the show's proper 26 episode list, with their places being taken by the pair of aforementioned clip shows.

Additionally, for whatever reason, the Japanese dub of ''Beast Wars'' and ''Beast Wars Metals'' notoriously chose to turn the series into a goofy comedy show with lots of fourth-wall humor and a relentless string of over-the-top and in-your-face jokes, even at the most ''inappropriate'' of moments.

Some examples include:

* The beginning of every episode would start with one of the characters asking a ridiculous question and receiving equally ridiculous answers (Optimus Primal asking "Where is my banana", for instance) before segueing into the [[War War! Stop It|opening rap theme]] by [[Banana Ice]]. (On that music note, "[[For the Dream|FOR THE DREAM]]" is the closing song, while "[[Hello! Toughness]]" was the ending song for the special "[[Clash! Beast Warriors]]".)
* Rattrap would constantly break the fourth wall by "smelling" what the audience was eating and make gluttonous comments.
* Many characters received completely new personalities that were polar opposites to their Western interpretation (Depth Charge enjoyed singing folk songs while Megatron became a flamboyant madman that shrieked like a little girl at the sight of danger). Other characters had their ''genders'' altered (poor, poor Airazor).
* Clipshows would feature the characters interacting in silly situations such as gameshows and contests (in one instance, Megatron acted as judge in a celebrity impersonation contest).
While many long-time ''Transformers'' fans in Japan reviled this dub (including [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]]) it remained a hit with its target audience: young children. At any rate, this version of ''Beast Wars'' was popular enough to spawn two equally goofy-natured spin-offs, ''[[Beast Wars II (cartoon)|Beast Wars II]]'' and ''[[Beast Wars Neo (cartoon)|Beast Wars Neo]]'', and two Japanese-exclusive theatrical releases.

However, [[Pioneer|Pioneer's]] Japanese DVD sets of the series come with optional English language dialogue with Japanese subtitles, allowing fans in Japan to view the more serious version of the show if desired.

===United Kingdom===

[[Image:UK Beast Wars Vol3 VHS.jpg|left|150px|thumb|]]
When originally aired on GMTV in the United Kingdom, ''Beast Wars'' was only screened on school holidays, usually in double bills on Bank Holidays, and one episode per morning on half-term weeks, meaning that only a few episodes were shown a year, with wide gulfs in between (most prominently, ''three months'' passed between the airings of "Other Visits" parts [[Other Visits (Part 1)|1]] and [[Other Visits (Part 2)|2]]). In a sign of things to come, "[[Beast Wars (Part 1)]]" was shown some 25 minutes earlier than billed due to re-scheduled news reports, meaning many fans missed the entire opening episode. Things went from bad to worse when "[[Equal Measures]]" was skipped, and only continued when, after "[[Victory (episode)|Victory]]", the series skipped directly to "[[Other Voices, Part 1]]". The entirety of the second season followed the conclusion of the first, but the channel never aired the third season; although it was subsequently released on VHS, the cliffhanger-resolving "[[Optimal Situation]]" was only available as a free gift with purchase at [[Toys"R"Us]].

[[Image:UK Beast Wars Beginning Vol1 VHS.jpg|right|150px|thumb|]]
Additionally, these GMTV airings were modified in various ways. The first and most foremost alteration was the removal of the word "Transformers" from the series' title, which was only reinstated with "[[Other Voices, Part 1]]". With regard to the actual content, the earliest episodes generally had nothing more extreme than the removal of uses of the word "[[Slag (slang)|slag]]" (as it is effectively a synonym for "slut" in English slang), but with the beginning of the second season, edits were steadily made to episodes for no readily apparent reasons. Additionally, any scenes featuring flashing images were routinely put through a filter that slowed such scenes down to comical levels. This culminated in a butchered version of "[[The Agenda (Part 1)|The Agenda]]", which snipped out many short scenes throughout all three episodes for no reason, from inconsequential moments like Tarantulas cackling and driving out of his lab in Part 1, to key scenes such as Silverbolt and Optimus Primal's "office talk" in Part 2, and in what was the last straw for many fans, the complete second half of [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'s speech (''the part explaining [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]'s entire motivation''), also from Part 2.

[[Image:UK Beast Wars Vol2 DVD.jpg|left|150px|thumb|]]
During the time they had the rights to the series, GMTV also showed the entirety of seasons one and two on the then cable-only channel ITV 2.

Almost the entire run of the show ended up on VHS from 2000 to 2001, oddly missing "[[Aftermath]]" and "Optimal Situation". This time, cuts were gone! Characters could rightfully swear! '''Season 3 was finally released!''' Season 3 got the first release, in Volumes 1 through 4, with box art of characters being used on the covers. Then, Season 2 got collected as well, as... Volumes 5 through 8. (''That'' must've confused some kiddies.) Finally, Season 1 was collected as ''Beast Wars: The Beginning''. These later releases used CGI art. DVD collections have so far been absent, beyond two super-cheap DVD releases by [[Universal]]. The first collected "The Agenda" through to "Cutting Edge", followed by one just collecting "Feral Scream" and "Proving Grounds". They're now out of print.

Channel 5, a terrestrial channel, showed the entire series in its complete form in 2003. Thankfully. This got rerun too, leading to the ''Beast Wars'' comics getting [[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|used as reprints in Titan's Movie-based comic]].

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===France===
In France and (French) Belgium, the show was called "Animutants" and had a good quality dubbing, rather close to the original voices. But while the first two seasons of the show were aired, the third one never was; the show always ended with "[[The Agenda (Part III)]]", leaving the viewers in the area with the worst case of cliffhanger ever.

===Vietnam===
In Vietnam, the show was called "Chiến tranh quái vật vũ trụ" (Galaxy Monster Wars). The show was released on VHS tapes with a very good Vietnamese dub, then it was copied to VCD. Unfortunately, as happened in France, only the first two seasons were aired. It ended with "[[The Agenda (Part III)]]", and left the fans with a cliffhanger.

===Germany===
The German dub used the original title, ''Beast Wars'''. The show was initially very successful on the TV Station RTL2 and was released on VHS. However, only the first season was shown and dubbed. Furthermore, the TV broadcast had many fight scenes censored to comply with Germany's strict laws against TV violence; however, the VHS Release was uncut. After many reruns the show was cancelled and the second and third Season were never shown in Germany.

==Trivia==
* The first season of ''Beast Wars'' cost $18 million, according to [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/browse_thread/thread/b334d45514e26ab4/bc8e54e9165e0823?hl=en&lnk=st&q=bob+forward+interview+inferno+megatron&rnum=1#bc8e54e9165e0823 a 1997 interview with Bob Forward].
* [http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-CLUB_%28%E6%A8%A1%E5%9E%8B%E9%9B%91%E8%AA%8C%29 B-Club magazine] erroneously claims that ''Beast Wars'' is the first fully CGI television show in the world, a title actually held by ''[[:wikipedia:Insektors|Insektors]]''. Mainframe's own CGI show ''[[wikipedia:ReBoot|ReBoot]]'' also predates ''Beast Wars''.
* The Production Designer for the show, [[Clyde Klotz]], won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation in 1997. How cool is that?

==See also==
*[[Dark Glass]] was an unproduced script intended for season 3.

[[Category:Beast Wars| Beast Wars (cartoon)]]
[[Category:Mainframe]]
[[Category:Television series]]