Transformers Platinum Edition Year of the Fire Monkey Optimus Primal

Year of the Fire Monkey Optimus Primal

Presenting the Transformers Platinum Edition Year of the Fire Monkey Optimus Primal.

Gong Xi Fa Cai! The New Lunar Year has rolled in and we are now under the gracious auspices of the Chinese Zodiac's Fire Monkey. Lucky numbers for the year are 1, 8 & 7. Lucky colors are Gold, Blue and White.

In celebration of the new year, new hope and new beginnings, Hasbro decided to release this redeco of the 2001 Robots in Disguise Air Attack Optimus Primal.

Personally we'd rather that they reissued the 1998 Super Optimal Optimus, but this is still a gigantic leap over the YOTG debacle last year involving the translucent G2 Battle Convoy armed with pink missiles (It couldn't get any gayer). While it's no YOTH MP10 Optimus Prime, it's still a step up over last lunar year.


The blister card of the YOTM Optimus Primal doesn't say anything at all about the leader of the Maximals, it just indicates that 2016 is the Year of the Monkey.

Scuttlebutt has it that there's a growing campaign to update the Beast Wars cartoons - supposedly because people are starting to get fed up with the Combiner Wars (Really?). To the uninitiated, we do have to point out that Optimus Primal and Optimus Prime are two different entities. That's a long story. They share a similar name, that's about it. Optimus Primal will never rise to be as great as Optimus Prime (We're biased).

We should probably also note that Optimus Primal started out his career as a Fruit Bat before becoming a flying Gorilla.

Year of the Fire Monkey Optimus Primal

What's to like about the TF Platinum Edition Year of the Fire Monkey Optimus Primal?

FIRST: Yeah that's a bad bad monkey! The Year of the Fire Monkey Optimus Primal is a joy to pose in gorilla mode. He comes with incredibly high upper-torso articulation - note though that only his right arm has a forearm swivel - giving us one incredibly frightening monkey. We're particularly fond of the rotating neck.

We should probably note at this point that monkeys are not apes, but we're not the ones who told Hasbro to assign an ape to represent monkeys.

And the plural of monkey is monkeys, not monkies (Not to be confused with the Monkees).

Anyway check out the intimidating YOTM Optimus Primal beast mode! He looks like a beast ready to plow his way through the opposition!

Year of the Fire Monkey Optimus Primal

Year of the Fire Monkey Optimus Primal

Definitely not a Gorilla you want to stand in the way of - and those are just with him using his fists! Here's Optimus Primal using the fine articulation of his hands:

Year of the Fire Monkey Optimus Primal

The Transformers Platinum Edition Year of the Fire Monkey Optimus Primal can also stand like a Gorilla, and look! He has a butt! It's rock solid!

Year of the Fire Monkey Optimus Primal

SECOND:  Speaking of brawlers the TF Platinum Edition Year of the Fire Monkey Optimus Primal transforms into another top-heavy brawler.

Optimus Primal has a huge barrel for a chest, battering rams for hands and shoulders meant for crashing through whatever comes his way.

We could argue that it would be better if he had a gun, but these are Beast Wars Transformers, they prefer things up close and personal - and he does have a ranged weapon. Pressing a button on his back launches a disc from his chest (You can see the disc right underneath his barrel of a chest and right above his "abs". The same disc can be launched in his gorilla mode, but it launches from his neck instead.

But this Optimus was definitely mean to fight hand-to-hand.

Year of the Fire Monkey Optimus Primal

Year of the Fire Monkey Optimus Primal

If he had to, the Platinum edition Optimus Primal can kneel. Optimus Primal actually has a "power-punch" action. Pull back his left arm and it will snap back (Kinda weak though).

Also, this Optimus Primal was meant to fly, another button on his back activates his jetpack:

You can also rotate Optimus Primal's chest to reveal the Maximal Matrix of Leadership. Also check out his Year of the Fire Monkey / Maximal logo on his shoulder-pads:

What's NOT to like about the TF Platinum Edition Year of the Fire Monkey Optimus Primal?

FIRST: Optimus Primal's jaw cannot be closed in either beast or robot mode. We don't mind the open mouth in gorilla mode, but it just looks so wrong in robot mode. We're constantly waiting for Optimus Primal to start drooling.

SECOND:  His opposable thumb. Whenever Optimus Primal has to switch between gorilla and robot mode, his thumb has to switch from one side to the other. There isn't enough clearance between his thumbs and his fingers to form a proper fist, so most of the time you'll find his thumbs clashing with his fingers.

THIRD: The YOTM Optimus Primal is top heavy. That's fine in gorilla mode, but he was a pain to pose in robot mode.

FOURTH: He has practically no lower leg articulation in gorilla mode - which is fine we suppose since that part of him is mostly hidden and doesn't have to be focused upon.

FIFTH: The electronics. Damn his electronics are irritating. There's no way that you won't trigger them when transforming him or during basic play because the primary trigger is that barrel for a chest that he has. And we don't know how much more "jungle beats" we can listen to. Someone told us that this is not the electronic sound effects that the Robots in Disguise Air Attack Optimus Primal has. Whatever it is, it's irritating. And Optimus Primal's head glowing just reminds us that his mouth is open - looks great in gorilla mode though. We're also not sure if it's specific to our particular Optimus Primal, but his "flying effects" (Yes flying effects, raise his right arm, trigger the jetpack and he's supposed to have different flying sound effects based upon how you hold or move him through the air - including landing) don't always work.

We think that the biggest fault of the Transformers Platinum Edition Year of the Fire Monkey Optimus Primal is that it tries to be so many things at one time. It doesn't have to be that complex. The Transformers Platinum Edition Year of the Fire Monkey Optimus Primal is available on Amazon for US$ 149.95 (Roughly PhP 7,200 plus shipping). Hopefully it brings us good luck.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!