TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom

Thursday, April 19th, 2012 9:42AM CDT

Categories: Toy News, Sponsor News, Collectables
Posted by: Dead Metal Views: 55,234

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Looks like TakaraTomy are bringing back the Battle Beasts, or Beastformers as they where known in Japan. The new franchise carries the name Beast Saga and is currently made up of a comic (that's what manga means) and a toy line.

We have no idea if this new incarnation is still part of the Transformers canon or if this is now separate like in the US.

You can view the homepage of the comic, or manga what ever you prefer to call it, by clicking here or any of the following images.
You can even read some of the strip on that site, if you can read Japanese that is, just click the big red button under the Lion or here. That will open up a Java script gallery you can navigate through by clicking on the left hand side of the images and on the right to move back a page.

That is however not all, you see site sponsor Robotkingdom.com has posted pre-orders for the toy-line that is slated for a September 2012 release, and as you'll see the figures are different from the ones Diamond Select is planing to produce and look more like the original Battle Beasts style wise.

We've mirrored a few images below, just click the links after the images to see all the pre-orders!

Credit(s): Beast Saga, Robotkingdom

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Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1370785)
Posted by Sabrblade on April 19th, 2012 @ 9:54am CDT

Dead Metal wrote:Looks like TakaraTomy had the same idea, they too are bringing back the Battle Beasts, or Beastformers as they where known in Japan.

Fixed.

Dead Metal wrote:We have no idea if this new incarnation is still part of the Transformers canon or if this is now separate like in the US.

Nor do we know if this even is related to Battle Beasts/Beastformers since none of these characters are the same those from Beastformers, and it looks like there's only two (land-based and sea-based) types this time instead of three (fire-wood-water).

It could very well be a modern day version of how Transformers and GoBots were similar concepts, but still two different things. So, I'm not quite ready to call this a return of Battle Beasts/Beastformers just yet. :-B

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1370788)
Posted by Dead Metal on April 19th, 2012 @ 9:59am CDT

Sabrblade wrote:
Dead Metal wrote:Looks like TakaraTomy had the same idea, they too are bringing back the Battle Beasts, or Beastformers as they where known in Japan.
Fixed.

Dead Metal wrote:We have no idea if this new incarnation is still part of the Transformers canon or if this is now separate like in the US.
Nor do we know if this even is related to Battle Beasts/Beastformers since none of these characters are the same those from Beastformers, and it looks like there's only two (land-based and sea-based) types this time instead of three (fire-wood-water).

It could very well be a modern day version of how Transformers and GoBots were similar concepts, but still two different things. So, I'm not quite ready to call this a return of Battle Beasts/Beastformers just yet.

Fixing the Beastformers bit.

They look a lot like the Battle Beasts, secondly the Robotkingdom told us that this was TTs revival of the Battle Beasts. >:oP

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1370793)
Posted by Sabrblade on April 19th, 2012 @ 10:05am CDT

Dead Metal wrote:They look a lot like the Battle Beasts, secondly the Robotkingdom told us that this was TTs revival of the Battle Beasts.

Until there's a statement from TT themselves about this being a revival of Beastformers, I'll need more convincing.

These could very well be just an homage or a tribute to Beastformers while being its own entity with its own identity and not actually being Beastformers.

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1370794)
Posted by Dead Metal on April 19th, 2012 @ 10:07am CDT

Sabrblade wrote:
Dead Metal wrote:They look a lot like the Battle Beasts, secondly the Robotkingdom told us that this was TTs revival of the Battle Beasts.
Until there's a statement from TT themselves about this being a revival of Beastformers, I'll need more convincing.

These could very well be just an homage or a tribute to Beastformers while being its own entity with its own identity and not actually being Beastformers.

Oh stop trying to be mister smart ass, we where sent a message by RK that this was TTs revival of the Battle Beasts, so we posted it. End of story.

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1370798)
Posted by Sabrblade on April 19th, 2012 @ 10:16am CDT

Dead Metal wrote:Oh stop trying to be mister smart ass, we where sent a message by RK that this was TTs revival of the Battle Beasts, so we posted it. End of story.

Okay, chill!

All I'm saying is that I (just me) wanna wait and hear from TT themselves, since this is their product and RobotKingdom may be just assuming. That's all.

These also remind me of Visionaries as well.

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1370810)
Posted by gothsaurus on April 19th, 2012 @ 10:51am CDT

Nicely done designs on these. Very cute figures.

I DO think if they're resurrecting the line, they need to stick with the original game play. Having three factions let you do a rock-paper-scissor kind of game. Dumbing it down is much less fun gameplay. :-?

I also think they should maintain some of the key players from the original line... only done with nicer sculpts. >:oP

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1370818)
Posted by Dead Metal on April 19th, 2012 @ 11:25am CDT

Sabrblade wrote:
Dead Metal wrote:Oh stop trying to be mister smart ass, we where sent a message by RK that this was TTs revival of the Battle Beasts, so we posted it. End of story.
Okay, chill!

All I'm saying is that I (just me) wanna wait and hear from TT themselves, since this is their product and RobotKingdom may be just assuming. That's all.

These also remind me of Visionaries as well.

Course you do.

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1370906)
Posted by Screamfleet on April 19th, 2012 @ 3:38pm CDT

Oh man....I'm going to have to import blind packs?
These really nice, but that's my only gripe is not knowing what I'll be getting. Hopefully getting singles won't be too expensive.

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1370908)
Posted by gothsaurus on April 19th, 2012 @ 3:41pm CDT

If you keep importing those packs, you'll go blind!

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1370910)
Posted by NihilistNun on April 19th, 2012 @ 3:43pm CDT

Diamond Select didn't "buy the rights to the Battle Beasts franchise" and all the sites that've been reporting they have have been making false assumptions. Hasbro neglected to retain the trademark rights to the name Battle Beasts because it wasn't being used and Diamond Select acquired the name; they haven't purchased, or even licensed, the rights to the original Beastformers franchise. Diamond's line is entirely new and they won't be producing merchandise based on the original character designs or making anything too similar because they legally can't. Of course, they're not going to go out of their way to clarify the issue because the whole point of registering the Battle Beasts trademark is to capitalize on nostalgia and create the perception that their line is an official revival of the franchise.

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1370914)
Posted by gothsaurus on April 19th, 2012 @ 3:50pm CDT

Oh wow. That explains a lot.

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1370952)
Posted by Screamfleet on April 19th, 2012 @ 5:28pm CDT

Thing is, Hasbro could release these TT toys as something else. They just can't call them "Battle Beasts" here in the US, since diamond owns that name now.

I wonder if they'd dare to call it "Beast Wars"

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1370955)
Posted by Blurrz on April 19th, 2012 @ 5:40pm CDT

Loving the Water team designs. Can't wait to start picking these guys up, and should probably start up the vintage collection too.

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1371194)
Posted by Dead Metal on April 20th, 2012 @ 10:50am CDT

NihilistNun wrote:Diamond Select didn't "buy the rights to the Battle Beasts franchise" and all the sites that've been reporting they have have been making false assumptions. Hasbro neglected to retain the trademark rights to the name Battle Beasts because it wasn't being used and Diamond Select acquired the name; they haven't purchased, or even licensed, the rights to the original Beastformers franchise. Diamond's line is entirely new and they won't be producing merchandise based on the original character designs or making anything too similar because they legally can't. Of course, they're not going to go out of their way to clarify the issue because the whole point of registering the Battle Beasts trademark is to capitalize on nostalgia and create the perception that their line is an official revival of the franchise.

That is interesting and if true a real dick move especially considering the press release and messages we've received from them over the past few years.
I'll look into this and if true, I think the Diamond Battle Beast article will disappear.

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1371285)
Posted by Screamfleet on April 20th, 2012 @ 4:14pm CDT

That is interesting and if true a real dick move especially considering the press release and messages we've received from them over the past few years.
I'll look into this and if true, I think the Diamond Battle Beast article will disappear.

It is true, and I'm trying to find confirmation from my minimates buddies.

I do remember chuck, the diamond/minimates guy mentioned he wasn't sure if they could do rubsigns because of the copyrights involved, admitting they don't have the line as a whole. They're promoting toys, so they weren't going to talk about what they couldn't do just yet

At the same time, hasbro did not renew the license. So, it's a two sided issue. If hasbro really wanted it, why let it expire? They did nothing with it for however many years. So, it being stolen is kind of weird issue. I don't see it so much as a dick move as more like "if you're not going to use it...."

Though diamond had to keep pushing battle beast back. They never really addressed why. They kept doing soft promotions with their gator mold. They had completely different prototypes seen on display before, not using minimates bodies at all. Those seem to be scrapped now. These prototypes actually took animal/color combinations from the original. I suspect they ran into legal trouble.

So, now we have original ones, that seem like the older ones, still new names, new look, different toyline all togethr.

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1371298)
Posted by Dead Metal on April 20th, 2012 @ 4:52pm CDT

Screamfleet wrote:
That is interesting and if true a real dick move especially considering the press release and messages we've received from them over the past few years.
I'll look into this and if true, I think the Diamond Battle Beast article will disappear.

It is true, and I'm trying to find confirmation from my minimates buddies.

I do remember chuck, the diamond/minimates guy mentioned he wasn't sure if they could do rubsigns because of the copyrights involved, admitting they don't have the line as a whole. They're promoting toys, so they weren't going to talk about what they couldn't do just yet

At the same time, hasbro did not renew the license. So, it's a two sided issue. If hasbro really wanted it, why let it expire? They did nothing with it for however many years. So, it being stolen is kind of weird issue. I don't see it so much as a dick move as more like "if you're not going to use it...."

Though diamond had to keep pushing battle beast back. They never really addressed why. They kept doing soft promotions with their gator mold. They had completely different prototypes seen on display before, not using minimates bodies at all. Those seem to be scrapped now. These prototypes actually took animal/color combinations from the original. I suspect they ran into legal trouble.

So, now we have original ones, that seem like the older ones, still new names, new look, different toyline all togethr.

No it's a dick move in the sense that they lead us to believe that these where actually Battle Beasts as in the same ones Hasbro and Takara sold, while in reality this is just a line with a similar concept using the same name and then telling every one it's the original reincarnate. That's as if someone bought the trademark to Go-Bots and put it on Lego like robots while telling everyone it was the actual Go-Bots just resurrected.

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1371305)
Posted by Screamfleet on April 20th, 2012 @ 5:07pm CDT

Well, at certain points in the toys development their intentions may have been different. I've never gathered these are the same BB. So over the years, the sent press releases and wanted BB to be part of the original line and such. I'm pretty well convinced they discovered they could not.

http://powet.tv/powetblog/wp-content/up ... banner.jpg

Those canceled prototypes do utilize what hasbro/takara did. Yea a gorilla in red armor isn't that big of a deal, but, that's what the original was. In that sense, at one point, they were trying to reinvent the originals. I don't think their intent was to mislead, but at this point, it kind of is. I get what you mean, it is kind of a dick move in that sense. As they're pretty much utilizing the name to capitalize on the fans of the old toys.

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1380260)
Posted by Iron Prime on May 16th, 2012 @ 7:53am CDT

Wasn't Seibs working on a Battle Beasts site? There used to be link on the main page but I can't find it now... (there was a GI Joe one as well I believe)

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1396771)
Posted by Blurrz on July 3rd, 2012 @ 4:24pm CDT

BS-15-20 are listed.

Turtle Power!

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1397275)
Posted by Iron Prime on July 5th, 2012 @ 9:29am CDT

SWEET!

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1398836)
Posted by Andrius on July 10th, 2012 @ 12:05am CDT

I'm so looking forward to these little guys!

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1399003)
Posted by Blurrz on July 10th, 2012 @ 3:01pm CDT

Me and you the same. I hope they release some playset vehicles along with these guys!

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1408182)
Posted by FortMacs on August 8th, 2012 @ 2:09am CDT

loved them as a kid and they usually come up when remanising about childhood with friends. will deff. pick some up.

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1419602)
Posted by Andrius on September 12th, 2012 @ 10:36pm CDT

Well, it seems no one's posted about it yet, but the first wave of these little fellas has landed at BBTS and mine are on their way! Excited!

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1419692)
Posted by Iron Prime on September 13th, 2012 @ 7:51am CDT

There's been so little news I thought maybe this fizzled - glad that it didn't. I'll have to head over and check it out!

Re: TakaraTomy resurrects the Battle Beasts: Beast Saga, pre-orders at Robotkingdom (1661158)
Posted by SkyWarpt on March 10th, 2015 @ 3:21am CDT

Adding a few to my MP shelf