Following the pattern of introducing a new animated TV series between live-action movies, Robots in Disguise debuted in 2015 as the new main story-driven toyline. The series is a spiritual successor to Transformers: Prime in terms of its storyline and place in the fictional multiverse, but the artistic style of the characters, packaging, and animation is very remniscent of Transformers Animated. The series should not be confused with Robots in Disguise, the 2001 port of Japan’s Car Robots, with which RiD 2015 shares almost nothing in common.
RiD’s marketing structure echoes that of Age of Extinction before it, featuring separate classes of toys with highly simplified transformations targetted at younger children. These include a continuation of the 1-Step Changers, which feature no accessories and little poseability. The line also introduces 3-Step Changers, much larger figures in the vein of the smaller 1-Steppers. The “main” figures comprise a new assortment called the Warrior Class, which is largely similar to the traditional Deluxe Class, but much simpler than Genrations-branded deluxes. The Warrior class does not adhere to a specific step count, but the packaging does advertise the number of steps in each figure’s conversion process. The Legion Class is also continued as miniature versions of main characters. The low step count of most figures in the line meant that almost all figures’s instructions were simply printed on the back of the package instead of included on a separate sheet. Later in 2015, the concept of Deployers was (re-)introduced. Special larger figures could launch seperately-sold one-step mini figures that transform into wheels (for the Autobots) or torpedoes (for the Decepticons). The individual Deployers are packed with an assortment of translucent weapons and armor still attached to a sprue. The outer rim of the sprue is shaped in the silhouette of either the the Autobot or Decepticon faction symbol, and had a peg that could mount the figure in its center for display.
The single over-arching gimmick of RiD, however, is a special type of faction sticker included on every figure of every class. These circular faction stickers feature a unique dotted ring around the the usual symbol. The ring can be scanned with a smartphone or tablet’s camera using a Transformers app (advertised on the back of each toy’s package) to unlock in-game content. The patterend rings are unique for every figure in the line, with different versions of the same character unlocking different content in the game. Even non-transformable merchandise included the special logos, such as the small rubber Tiny Titans, which featured the rings on their included art cards.
The Japanese localization of RiD is Transformers Adventure.
