It's easy to tell that the entire game is a giant love letter towards fellow Transformers fans from the PlatinumGames devs. With references out the wazoo from not only to Generation One but also other entries and media from the franchise.
- When Blitzwing shifts from his jet mode to his tank mode, you can see fiery and icy effects around him. This, of course, references his Animated counterpart.
- The Nemesis Prime pre-order bonus wields the Dark Star Saber, which hails from Transformers: Prime. However, it goes further than that, as the weapon itself was based on one from Transformers: Armada, where it too was wielded by that series' version of Nemesis Prime.
- Various billboards advertise the services of S. Witwicky's Auto Shop. There's also a store called Sparks and Plugs, and an add for MacAddams' Oil ("Straight from the Old Oil Shop!").
- The doppelgangers Shockwave creates for his boss fight resemble the colours of the Astro Magnum, the toy that the original Shockwave was made from. The ability itself is taken from the original cartoon's production bible, which he never really gets to display. He also makes black duplicates of himself, likely alluding to his Animated counterpart staying in a grey and black disguise to fool the Elite Autobot Command.
- In the final battle with Megatron, he deploys a chain with a wrecking ball attached, almost identical to his weapon from his first battle with Prime.
- Collecting the files on the fate of the Proudstar makes it increasingly clear to longtime fans that the unlucky crew happened to meet up with Unicron.
- The device Wheeljack constructs for his Ultimate Ability is The Immobilizer, from the G1 episode of the same name. True to its purpose, it can freeze all enemies around him, or true to Wheeljack's usual MO, it becomes a grenade that explodes violently.
- The use of charged-up shield breaking moves from the video game adaptations of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Transformers Prime reappears.
- The upgradeable stats for the Autobots are called "Technical Data", which originates from the original toyline's "Tech Specs".
- During Mission 21, more than a few characters get a chance to declare their motto from their G1 bio cards.
- One of Motormaster's lines when he enters the field is taken directly from the G1 episode "Masquerade"."When i'm finished with ya, you'll be King of the Junkyard!"
- The Stunticons' Transformation Sequence into Menasor uses an action-line background reminiscent of the Stock Footage of the Unicron Trilogy, but the actual combination more closely resembles G1.
- The game features generic Decepticons who look like the Battlechargers; Runabout and Runamuck. The other common generics are Seekers based on the Coneheads; Dirge, Thrust and Ramjet.
- Challenge mode includes a Mirror Match which makes you fight evil clones of each playable Autobot. The Decepticons utilized cloning technology in the G1 episode A Prime Problem.
- There's quite a few Call Forwards to The Transformers: The Movie:
- At one point, Megatron taunts Optimus by saying that he thought Prime was made of sterner stuff. It's an Ironic Echo that spans several decades, as Optimus once said that exact same line to Megatron when he tried to fake a surrender in the '80s movie.
- In the final battle, Optimus finishes Megatron using the exact same two-fisted hammer blow that he used to defeat him in the original movie.
- The end credits theme; Face The Devastation, contains a brief snippet of The Transformers: The Movie 's Autobot/Decepticon battle.
- Practically every unlockable weapon is derived from weapons that were used in past Transformers media:
- The Heavy Blaster and all the variants have the basic model similar to Jetfire's gun from G1, with twin barrels.
- Sideswipe's melee weapons are a pair of dual silver swords based on his G2 Masterpiece toy.
- The Loudspeaker weapon you get from defeating Soundwave was actually last-seen with Jazz, being the combined form of all of his Generations figure's accessories.
- Bulkhead's wrecking balls from Prime are an unlockable melee weapon.
- The Star Saber and Forge of Solus Prime, also from Prime, are present as well.
- The basic Hammer weapons in general greatly resemble the Magnus Hammer.
- There are a few weapons which belong to characters who don't appear in the game, such as the thermal swords preferred by the Dinobots and the Photon Eliminator Rifle traditionally wielded by Rodimus Prime (who doesn't even exist yet).
- The hyper Swords have the distinct S-shaped design used by Optimus Primal. The Elite Seeker that wields them in battle also has Primal's colors
- Quite a few are outright based on weapons from the the live-action movies.
- Prime's Energon Swords are available weapons complete with being able to come out of the Autobot's fists and having the signature orange glow.
- The Fusion Cannon (MOD version) is a reference to Megatron's weapon in Dark of the Moon (which basically functioned like a pump action shotgun).
- The Energon and Shock Hammer are clearly based on Age of Extinction Grimlock's mace.
