View source for All your base are belong to us

{{Short description|Internet meme from a video game}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
[[File:Aybabtu.png|thumb|320px|The phrase as it appears in the introduction to ''[[Zero Wing]]'']]

"'''All your base are belong to us'''" is an [[Internet meme]] based on a [[Engrish|poorly translated]] phrase from the opening [[cutscene]] of the Japanese video game ''[[Zero Wing]]''. The phrase first appeared on the European release of the 1991 [[Sega Mega Drive]] [[Video game conversion|conversion]] of the 1989 Japanese [[arcade game]]. 

By the early 2000s, a [[GIF animation]] depicting the opening text became widespread on [[web forum]]s.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Dibbell |first=Julian |date=18 January 2008 |title=Mutilated Furries, Flying Phalluses: Put the Blame on Griefers, the Sociopaths of the Virtual World |url=http://archive.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/magazine/16-02/mf_goons?currentPage=all |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140630204641/http://archive.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/magazine/16-02/mf_goons?currentPage=all |archive-date=30 June 2014 |access-date=30 June 2014}}</ref> A music video accompanied by a [[techno]] remix of the clip, originally posted on the website [[Newgrounds]], gained popularity and became a derivative [[Internet meme]] in its own right. The original meme has been referenced many times in media outside of the forums.

The original phrase in Japanese, uttered by the enigmatic antagonist "CATS", is "君達の基地は、全てCATSがいただいた" ([[Hepburn Romanization]]: ''Kimitachi no kichi wa subete CATS ga itadaita''), which can be translated more accurately as "All of your bases have been taken over by CATS" (see the transcript below).

==''Zero Wing'' transcript==
{{hatnote|For the full English-language transcript, see the [[q:Zero Wing|quotations related to ''Zero Wing'' at Wikiquote]]}}
<!-- PLEASE NOTE: This table was reduced to include a few relevant examples as opposed to the entire text as a result of a talk-page discussion. The full transcript has been salvaged to Wikiquote. -->
Below are some other examples of text as it appeared in the poorly translated English release, alongside a more accurate translation from the original Japanese. 
{| class="wikitable"
! Original script<ref>{{cite video game |title=[[Zero Wing]] |developer= [[Toaplan]]|publisher= [[Taito]]|date= 31 May 1991|platform= [[Sega Mega Drive]] |scene= Intro sequence |language= ja |isolang=ja}}</ref>
! Basic translation from Japanese<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mandelin |first=Clyde |date=13 January 2014 |url=https://legendsoflocalization.com/lets-take-a-peek-at-zero-wings-all-your-base-translation/|title=How Zero Wing's 'All Your Base' Translation Compares with the Japanese Script|website=Legends of Localization |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200106150046/https://legendsoflocalization.com/lets-take-a-peek-at-zero-wings-all-your-base-translation/|archive-date=6 January 2020|access-date=17 September 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>
! English version of the game<ref>{{cite video game |title= Zero Wing|developer= Toaplan|publisher= Taito|date= 1992|platform= Sega Mega Drive|scene= Intro scene}}</ref>{{efn|Original [[Engrish|broken English]] translation as it appeared in the released video game.}}
|-
| {{lang|ja|機関士：{{ruby-ja|何者|なにもの}}かによって、{{ruby-ja|爆発物|ばくはつぶつ}}が{{ruby-ja|仕掛|しか}}けられたようです。}}
| Engineer: It appears someone has planted explosives.
| Mechanic: Somebody set up us the bomb.
|-
| {{lang|ja|通信士：メインスクリーンにビジョンが{{ruby-ja|来|き}}ます。}}
| Communications Operator: Incoming visual on the main screen.
| Operator: Main screen turn on.
|-
| {{lang|ja|CATS：{{ruby-ja|連邦政府|れんぽうせいふ}}{{ruby-ja|軍|ぐん}}のご{{ruby-ja|協力|きょうりょく}}により、{{ruby-ja|君達|きみたち}}の{{ruby-ja|基地|きち}}は、{{ruby-ja|全|すべ}}てCATSがいただいた。}}
| CATS: With the help of Federation government forces, CATS has taken all of your bases.
| CATS: All your base are belong to us.
|-
| {{lang|ja|CATS：せいぜい{{ruby-ja|残|のこ}}り{{ruby-ja|少|すく}}ない{{ruby-ja|命|いのち}}を、{{ruby-ja|大切|たいせつ}}にしたまえ・・・・。}}
| CATS: Treasure what little time you have left to live...
| CATS: You have no chance to survive make your time.
|-
| {{lang|ja|艦長：たのむぞ。ZIG！！}}
| Captain: We're counting on you, ZIG!!
| Captain: Move 'ZIG'.
|-
| {{lang|ja|艦長：{{ruby-ja|我|われ}}{{ruby-ja|々|われ}}の{{ruby-ja|未来|みらい}}に{{ruby-ja|希望|きぼう}}を・・・}}
| Captain: May there be hope for our future...
| Captain: For great justice.
|}

==History==
{{External media|float=right|video1=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icVy7Ve6y6A YouTube video of the opening sequence, featuring the line]|video2=[https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/11940 Newgrounds post where the music video was posted]|title=External videos}}
''[[Zero Wing]]'' was released in Japanese arcades by developer [[Toaplan]] on 1 July 1989,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zero Wing (Registration Number PA000045123) |url=https://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209011156/https://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First |archive-date=2023-02-09 |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=United States Copyright Office}}</ref> and in North America in April 1990.<ref>{{cite book|last=Akagi|first=Masumi|url=https://archive.org/stream/ArcadeGameList1971-2005#page/n51/mode/1up|title=東亜プラン (Toa Plan); ナムコ（中村製作所）Namco; ゼ; Williams Electronics; Z|work=アーケードTVゲームリスト 国内•海外編 (1971-2005)|edition=1st|publisher=[[:ja:アミューズメント通信社|Amusement News Agency]]|date=13 October 2006|pages=50, 52, 84, 140, 172|isbn=978-4990251215|language=ja}}</ref> The European release of the game on the [[Sega Genesis|Sega Mega Drive]], also known as the Sega Genesis, which contained the script of the meme's origin, occurred in July 1991.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Rand |first1=Paul |last2=Boone |first2=Tim |date=1991-07-15 |title=Review: Zero Wing - Megadrive by Toaplan |url=https://archive.org/details/cvg-magazine-117/page/n59/mode/2up |magazine=[[Computer and Video Games]] |location=United Kingdom |publisher=[[EMAP]] |issue=117 (August 1991) |pages=60–62 |access-date=2023-02-10}}</ref>

''Zero Wing'' is one of the most widely known examples of poor linguistic translation in video games.<ref name="Eyman2">{{Cite book |last1=Eyman |first1=Douglas |title=Games & Play in Chinese & Sinophone Cultures |last2=Eyman |first2=Douglas |last3=Sun |first3=Hongmei |date=2024 |publisher=[[University of Washington Press]] |isbn=9780295752402 |editor-last=Guo |editor-first=Li |location=Seattle, WA |chapter=Translation and Chinese Culture in Video Games |editor-last2=Eyman |editor-first2=Douglas |editor-last3=Sun |editor-first3=Hongmei}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=249-250}} Toaplan staff Tatsuya Uemura (programmer and music composer of ''Zero Wing'' and Toaplan founding member) and Masahiro Yuge (fellow Toaplan composer and founder) addressed the meme in interviews during the 2010s. According to Uemura, the English translation in the Mega Drive version was handled by a member of the Toaplan design team in charge of export and overseas business, and not by a professional translator.<ref name="Eyman2" />{{Rp|page=250}} <ref name="STGv4b">{{cite magazine |last1=Kiyoshi |first1=Tane |author2=hally (VORC) |last3=Yūsaku |first3=Yamamoto |date=3 February 2012 |title=東亜プラン特集 - 元・東亜プラン 開発者インタビュー: 弓削雅稔 |url=https://archive.org/details/Shooting_Gameside_Vol.4/page/n41/mode/2up |magazine=Shooting Gameside |language=Japanese |publisher=Micro Magazine |volume=4 |pages=41–48 |isbn=978-4896373844 |access-date=2023-02-11}}</ref><ref name="OZwgTU">{{cite podcast |url=https://pixelatedaudio.com/out-zone/ |title=Out Zone with guest Tatsuya Uemura – PA76 |date=March 2017 |access-date=23 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191023230947/https://pixelatedaudio.com/out-zone/ |archive-date=23 October 2019 |url-status=live |website=Pixelated Audio |last=Mosley |first=Brian |last2=Brunner |first2=James}}</ref> Uemura said that the English skills of the team member who prepared the translations were "really terrible".<ref name="Eyman2" />{{Rp|page=250}}

The first references of the meme could be seen in 1999 and the early 2000s when an animated GIF of the scene appeared on [[Internet forum|forums]] and sites like Zany Video Game Quotes,<ref>{{Cite web |last=TVsIan |date=2001-01-01 |title=Aybabtu: The History |url=http://hubert.retrogames.com/article.php?sid=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010602111141/http://hubert.retrogames.com/article.php?sid=1 |archive-date=2001-06-02 |website=Hubert}}</ref> OverClocked,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2000-06-05 |title=OverClocked - #116 - The ZeroWing Dub Project |url=http://www.overclocked.org/OCzerowing.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000816001019/http://www.overclocked.org/OCzerowing.htm |archive-date=2000-08-16 |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=OverClocked}}</ref> and TribalWar forums.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bad_CRC |date=2000-12-16 |title=OT: All your base are belong to us |url=https://www.tribalwar.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=24539 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412130932/https://www.tribalwar.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=24539 |archive-date=2022-04-12 |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=TribalWar Forums}}</ref> In November 2000, [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]] computer programmer and part-time [[disc jockey]] Jeffrey Ray Roberts (1977–2011), of the [[gabber]] band The Laziest Men on Mars, made a techno dance track, "Invasion of the Gabber Robots," which remixed some of the ''Zero Wing'' video game music with a voice-over of the phrase, "All your base are belong to us".<ref name="time">{{cite magazine |last=Taylor|first=Chris |date=25 February 2001 |title=All Your Base Are Belong To Us |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,100525,00.html |url-status=dead |magazine=Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070621020832/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C100525%2C00.html |archive-date=21 June 2007 |access-date=29 June 2007}}</ref> (The original music for ''Zero Wing'' was written by [[Tatsuya Uemura]] and arranged by [[Noriyuki Iwadare]].) On 16 February 2001, user Bad_CRC posted an animated [[music video]] accompanying the song onto the [[Adobe Flash|Flash]] game and animation sharing site [[Newgrounds]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Machkovech |first=Sam |date=2021-02-16 |title=An anniversary for great justice: Remembering 'All Your Base' 20 years later |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/02/get-ready-to-feel-old-the-all-your-base-music-video-turns-20-today/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221218184648/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/02/get-ready-to-feel-old-the-all-your-base-music-video-turns-20-today/ |archive-date=2022-12-18 |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=[[Ars Technica]] |language=en-us}}</ref> The video was shared rapidly, soon becoming an [[Internet meme]] and receiving widespread media attention.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Walker |first=Ian |date=16 February 2021 |title=The 'All Your Base Are Belong To Us' Video Is Now 20 Years Old |url=https://kotaku.com/the-all-your-base-are-belong-to-us-video-is-now-20-ye-1846281979 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224093634/https://kotaku.com/the-all-your-base-are-belong-to-us-video-is-now-20-ye-1846281979 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |access-date=25 February 2021 |website=[[Kotaku]] |language=en-us}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite magazine |last=Benner |first=Jeffrey |date=23 February 2001 |title=When Gamer Humor Attacks |url=https://www.wired.com/2001/02/when-gamer-humor-attacks/ |url-status=live |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|WIRED]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219232934/https://www.wired.com/2001/02/when-gamer-humor-attacks/ |archive-date=2022-12-19 |access-date=2023-02-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kornblum |first=Janet |date=2002-02-08 |title=Odd phrase touches all the Web bases |url=https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/2001-03-07-ebrief.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201230030/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/2001-03-07-ebrief.htm |archive-date=2023-02-01 |access-date=2023-02-11 |website=[[USA Today]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Carroll |first=Jon |date=2001-02-20 |title=All Your Base Are Belong to Us |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/carroll/article/all-your-base-are-belong-to-us-3327364.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202202752/https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/carroll/article/All-Your-Base-Are-Belong-to-Us-3327364.php |archive-date=2023-02-02 |access-date=2023-02-11 |website=[[SFGATE]] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite news |last=Johnston |first=Rich |date=2001-02-27 |title=All your base ... |language=en-GB |work=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2001/feb/28/internetnews.g2 |url-status=live |access-date=2023-02-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208085128/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2001/feb/28/internetnews.g2 |archive-date=2023-02-08 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The meme's popularity was seen throughout the 2000s when it was broadcast unauthorized onto the [[News ticker|ticker]] of a [[Raleigh, North Carolina]], TV channel,<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Poulsen |first=Kevin |date=2004-03-05 |title=Wags hijack TV channel's on-screen ticker |url=https://www.theregister.com/2004/03/05/wags_hijack_tv_channels_onscreen/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228232951/https://www.theregister.com/2004/03/05/wags_hijack_tv_channels_onscreen/ |archive-date=2022-12-28 |access-date=2023-02-11 |website=[[The Register]] |language=en}}</ref> used as a placeholder message by [[YouTube]] while under maintenance,<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Sandoval |first=Greg |date=2006-06-02 |title=YouTube: Our humor, not our hack |url=https://www.cnet.com/culture/youtube-our-humor-not-our-hack/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811020228/https://www.cnet.com/culture/youtube-our-humor-not-our-hack/ |archive-date=2022-08-11 |access-date=2023-02-11 |website=[[CNET]] |language=en}}</ref> and reproduced onto T-shirts.<ref name=":9" /><ref name="time"/>

The 15th and 20th anniversaries of the posting of the remix on Newgrounds were recognized by numerous culture sites.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Stephen |first=Bijan |date=17 February 2021 |title=All Your Base Are Belong To Us has turned 20 |url=https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/17/22287208/all-your-base-are-belong-to-us-20th-anniversary-internet-culture |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410231946/https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/17/22287208/all-your-base-are-belong-to-us-20th-anniversary-internet-culture |archive-date=10 April 2021 |access-date=2023-02-10 |website=[[The Verge]]}}</ref><ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hathaway |first=Jay |date=2016-02-16 |title=We Get Signal: 'All Your Base Are Belong to Us' Is 15 Years Old |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/02/all-your-base-are-belong-to-us-turns-15.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220002852/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/02/all-your-base-are-belong-to-us-turns-15.html |archive-date=2022-12-20 |access-date=2023-02-11 |website=Intelligencer |publisher=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |language=en-us}}</ref> The meme has been highlighted for its uniqueness in that, unlike other memes of the time, it lacked sexual innuendos or vulgarity.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Parish |first=Jeremy |date=2016-03-01 |title=For Great Justice: A Partial Origin Story of Gaming's Original Internet Meme |url=https://www.vg247.com/for-great-justice-a-partial-origin-story-of-gamings-original-internet-meme |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226054449/https://www.vg247.com/for-great-justice-a-partial-origin-story-of-gamings-original-internet-meme |archive-date=2022-12-26 |access-date=2023-02-11 |website=[[VG247]] |language=en}}</ref>

==Mentions in media==
<!-- ATTENTION: PLEASE ONLY ADD ITEMS DESCRIBED BY RELIABLE SOURCES TO THIS SECTION. Per the consensus reached on this article's talk page, references of appearances (such as an occurrence in a video game or a TV episode) that didn't receive some sort of media coverage should not be included here. -->[[File:All your base are belong to us at US-50.jpg|thumb|"All Your Base Are Belong to Us" [[graffiti]]ed on the side of [[U.S. Route 50 in Nevada|U.S. Route 50]] in [[Nevada]]]]
The phrase or some variation of lines from the game has appeared numerous times in films, commercials, news broadcasts, other games, and [[social media]] posts.

On 1 April 2003, in [[Sturgis, Michigan]], seven people placed signs through the town that read: "All your base are belong to us. You have no chance to survive make your time." They claimed to be playing an [[April Fools' Day|April Fools']] joke, but most people who saw the signs were unfamiliar with the phrase. Many residents were upset that the signs appeared while the US was at [[2003 invasion of Iraq|war with Iraq]], and police chief Eugene Alli said the signs could be "a borderline [[Domestic terrorism|terrorist threat]], depending on what someone interprets it to mean".<ref>{{cite web |last=Doyle |first=Holly |date=4 April 2003 |title=Men arrested for 'All Your Base' prank |url=http://www.wwmt.com/news/sturgis-468-security-thought.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100829220138/http://www.wwmt.com/news/sturgis-468-security-thought.html |archive-date=29 August 2010 |access-date=10 July 2009 |publisher=WWMT Newschannel 3}}</ref>

In February 2004, [[North Carolina State University]] students and members of [[TheWolfWeb]] in [[Raleigh, North Carolina]], exploited a web-based service used by local schools and businesses to report weather-related closures to display the phrase within a [[news ticker]] on a live news broadcast on [[Spectrum News North Carolina|News 14 Carolina]].<ref name=":7" />

On 1 June 2006, the phrase "All Your Video Are Belong to Us" appeared in all-caps below the YouTube logo as a placeholder while [[YouTube]] was under maintenance. Some users believed the site had been hacked, leading YouTube to add the message "No, we haven't be{{Sic|}} hacked. Get a sense of humor."<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Sandoval |first=Greg |date=2 June 2006 |title=YouTube: Our humor, not our hack |work=[[CNET]] |url=http://news.cnet.com/YouTube-Humor,-not-hack/2100-1026_3-6079314.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140506201205/http://news.cnet.com/YouTube-Humor%2C-not-hack/2100-1026_3-6079314.html |archive-date=6 May 2014}}</ref>

In the [[E3 2016]] demo for the 2017 video game ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild]]'', "all your base are" could be seen written in the game's symbol-based fictional language.<ref>{{Cite web |last=LaGioia |first=Stephen |date=May 31, 2023 |title=Zelda: Breath Of The Wild – Secrets, References, And Easter Eggs |url=https://www.thegamer.com/botw-secrets/ |website=TheGamer |access-date=October 1, 2025}}</ref>

On 19 January 2019, [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] [[United States House of Representatives|Congresswoman]] [[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez]] of [[New York State|New York]] tweeted "All your base (are) belong to us" in response to a poll which found that 45% of [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] approved of her suggested implementation of a 70% [[marginal tax rate]] for individual income over $10 million per year.<ref name=":1">{{cite web |last1=Cole |first1=Brendan |title=Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Tax Rate Plans Find Favor Among Republicans, She Responds with Retro Meme |url=https://www.newsweek.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortezs-tax-rate-plans-find-favor-among-republicans-she-1298164 |website=Newsweek |date=19 January 2019 |access-date=21 January 2019 |archive-date=21 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121134329/https://www.newsweek.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortezs-tax-rate-plans-find-favor-among-republicans-she-1298164 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite tweet|number=1086483485668319233|user=AOC|title=All your base (are) belong to us 👾|author=Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez|author-link=Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez|date=2019-01-18|access-date=2023-02-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rosenberg |first=Adam |date=2019-01-19 |title=Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made perfect use of this 20-year-old video game meme |url=https://mashable.com/article/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-all-your-base-tweet-meme |access-date=2023-02-11 |website=[[Mashable]] |language=en |archive-date=11 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211012303/https://mashable.com/article/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-all-your-base-tweet-meme |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Internet|Linguistics|Video Games}}
* {{annotated link|Linguistic interference}}
* {{annotated link|Code-switching}}
* {{annotated link|The cake is a lie}}
* {{annotated link|English as She Is Spoke|''English as She Is Spoke''}}
* {{annotated link|List of Internet phenomena}}
* {{annotated link|Lolcat}}
* [[I am Error]]

==Footnotes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Spoken Wikipedia|All Your Base -22-10-10).ogg|date=22 October 2010}}
{{Wiktionary|all your base are belong to us}}
* {{commons category-inline}}
* {{wikiquote-inline|Zero Wing}}
* [https://archive.org/details/flash_allyourbase All your base are belong to us] at the [[Internet Archive]]
*
* {{Know Your Meme | all-your-base-are-belong-to-us | All Your Base Are Belong to Us }}

{{Newgrounds|state=expanded}}

[[Category:1991 in video gaming]]
[[Category:In-jokes]]
[[Category:Internet memes introduced in 1999]]
[[Category:Quotations from video games]]
[[Category:Video game memes]]
[[Category:1991 quotations]]
[[Category:Humour in translation]]
[[Category:Translations into English]]
[[Category:Mistranslation]]