Hands-on: this self-transforming Megatron is as badass as it is expensive

Megatron. | Image: Robosen

Three years later, Hasbro’s self-transforming, dancing, driving, talking, and attacking Optimus Prime yet has a villain to fight. Megatron, the person of the Decepticons, is astir to arrive. For $1,200 — $899 done May 25th — its robot spouse Robosen has created what could beryllium the champion auto-converting Transformer yet.

Just to marque definite you’re getting it: this bot automatically transforms itself into a badass remote-control vessel with a gigantic auto-extending cannon that tin really occurrence projectiles — past stands up and speaks implicit 270 phrases from archetypal Megatron dependable histrion Frank Welker portion doing each sorts of tricks.

Here, bask successful the glory of puerility imaginativeness go real:

Did I notation it responds to loads of dependable commands, too?

I’ve been playing with Megatron for fractional a time now, and it’s mostly awesome. Not lone bash its 36 servo motors and 118 microchips fto the 21-inch gangly bot execute each kinds of routines, but it’s besides got much engaging play features than Optimus or the Dinobot Grimlock, acknowledgment to a amended acceptable of weapons, 112 agleam LEDs, and intriguing caller joints for its servos to actuate.

When you occurrence up the Fusion Cannon, permanently attached to Megatron’s arm, it doesn’t conscionable plaything a achromatic integrative prop around: 3 joints fto the cannon shingle arsenic it’s “charging,” giving it recoil, portion the LEDs delightfully airy its innards.

The light-up sword and caller flail (yes, this bot tin really plaything a spiked rubber shot connected a chain!) person twist-off pommels, truthful you tin easy descent them into Megatron’s hands and yet unafraid them arsenic well.

GIF by Sean Hollister / The Verge Megatron’s cannon.

And erstwhile Megatron falls — and it will fall, I’m acrophobic — it’s yet astute capable to basal up again each connected its own.

Robosen has adjacent addressed 1 of my biggest complaints astir Optimus: it made Megatron’s limb servos stiff capable that you tin optionally permission the bot lasting up connected a support erstwhile it’s powered down. And I emotion however Megatron talks astir Energon accumulation and lights up a five-LED charging indicator erstwhile you plug successful the USB-C cable.

Image: Robosen That purple Decepticon logo adjacent automatically spins to the close predisposition arsenic the bot transforms.

The bot’s servos are present astir each hidden down clever spring-loaded integrative flaps now, excessively — and 1 of them adjacent automatically rotates the Decepticon logo arsenic Megatron emerges from vessel mode.

As chill arsenic it is, though, the artifact could truly usage much enactment earlier it ships successful Q3, and based connected erstwhile launches, I’m not wholly assured it’ll get each that enactment done.

This is the 3rd Robosen bot I’ve tried with a confusing and somewhat buggy app that makes it truly hard to bash customized programming and creates each sorts of delays adjacent if you’re conscionable trying to remote-control the vessel around. It inactive doesn’t springiness you entree to each associated erstwhile you’re creating customized moves and poses. And its dependable bid designation strategy is inactive mediocre — much than fractional the time, the bot wouldn’t decently respond.

My trial bot had immoderate much cardinal issues, too, similar a inclination to just... autumn implicit and hide immoderate of its settings aft powering up again oregon support repeating the aforesaid dependable enactment successful dependable bid mode without maine asking. The flail really fell isolated aft the archetypal 10 smacks oregon so, arsenic 1 of its chain-link pins was excessively loose. Some of these hopefully won’t marque it to afloat wide production, but I deliberation it’s worthy telling you.

Image: Robosen Tank mode.

And you should besides cognize that, similar erstwhile bots, these are exclusively for usage connected smooth, hard floors: it’s perpetually scraping parts of itself connected the level to walk, turn, alteration and basal up, and astir of it doesn’t enactment connected carpet. While you can thrust its precise noisy rubber treads up inclines oregon bladed carpet, I couldn’t crook connected brushed surfaces: I severely snagged 1 of its rubber treads trying to rotation the vessel astir connected a rug.

But like Optimus, which had its issues, nary of this killed my enthusiasm. This is 1 of the coolest lines of toys ever made; I conscionable privation them to beryllium adjacent better.

Image: Robosen What comes successful the box.