1989 - Transformers: Victory

Considered by many fans to be the pinnacle of Takara's original Transformers shows, Transformers: Victory remains popular even after all this time for its epic adventure, sweeping battles, and impressive characters.

Taking place more than twenty years after Transformers: Super God Masterforce, Victory begins with Deathsaurus leading a(nother) Destron drive to conquer Earth and plunder its resources. Opposing him is Star Saber, the greatest swordsman in the galaxy, his adopted (human) son Jan, and the Cybertron warriors Blacker, Braver, and Laster, who combine to form Road Caesar.

Things turn to Deathsaurus' advantage when his lieutenant Leozak gathers enough members to form the vicious Liocaesar. A high point of Victory is when God Ginrai (from Masterforce) sacrifices himself to save Star Saber from a fatal blow from Deathsarus; God Ginrai dies, but is subsequently resurrected as the bestial Victory Leo, who can combine with Star Saber to form Victory Saber.

Deathsarus, Emperor of Destruction (and friend to small children)

Due to declining popularity of the Transformers worldwide at the time, many of the toys in the Victory series were exclusive to Japan:

• Multiforce is a Cybertron team of six vehicles; any two can combine to form a robot, and all six can be combined to form Landcross.

• Dinoforce is a Destron team of "cyborg dinosaurs," whose robots can be removed from the shells and combined to form Dinoking. The toys were sold in America as the Monster Pretenders, but with monster shells instead of dinosaur ones.

• Brainmasters (Star Saber and team Road Caesar) consist of a small figure that goes into the chest of the robot. When the chest was closed, the figure rose into the robot's head and formed its face (and, ostensibly, brains).

• Finally, the Destrons had Breastforce (Deathsaurus and the members of Liocaesar); the name comes from their breastplates, which could be removed and transformed into either a weapon or an animal attack partner. And anyone who's seen the Breastforcers fight know you snicker at your peril...