All your base are belong to us explained

"All your base are belong to us" is an Internet meme based on a 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 / Genesis port of the 1989 Japanese arcade game.

By the early 2000s, a GIF animation depicting the opening text became widespread on web forums.[1] A music video accompanied by an EDM remix of the clip, originally posted on the comedy forum Something Awful, 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.

Zero Wing transcript

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.

Original script[2] Basic translation from Japanese[3] English version of the game[4]
Japanese: 機関士：{{ruby-ja|何者|なにものEngineer: It appears someone has planted explosives.Mechanic: Somebody set up us the bomb.
Japanese: 通信士：メインスクリーンにビジョンが{{ruby-ja|来|きCommunications Operator: Incoming visual on the main screen.Operator: Main screen turn on.
Japanese: CATS：{{ruby-ja|連邦政府|れんぽうせいふCATS: With the help of Federation government forces, CATS has taken all of your bases.CATS: All your base are belong to us.
Japanese: CATS：せいぜい{{ruby-ja|残|のこCATS: Treasure what little time you have left to live...CATS: You have no chance to survive make your time.
Japanese: 艦長：たのむぞ。ZIG！！Captain: We're counting on you, ZIG!Captain: Move 'ZIG'.
Japanese: 艦長：{{ruby-ja|我|われCaptain: May there be hope for our future...Captain: For great justice.

History

Zero Wing was released in Japanese arcades by developer Toaplan on 1 July 1989,[5] and in North America in April 1990.[6] The European release of the game on the Sega Mega Drive, also known as the Sega Genesis, which contained the script of the meme's origin, occurred in July 1991.[7]

Zero Wing is one of the most widely-known examples of poor linguistic translation in video games.[8] Translations were handled internally by the design team, not with a professional translator. According to game designer Tatsuya Uemara, the English skills of the team member who prepared the translations were "really terrible".

The first references of the meme could be seen in 1999 and the early 2000s when an animated GIF of the scene appeared on forums and sites like Zany Video Game Quotes,[9] OverClocked,[10] and TribalWar forums.[11] In November 2000, 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".[12] (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 Flash game and animation sharing site Newgrounds.[13] The video was shared rapidly, soon becoming an Internet meme and receiving widespread media attention.[14] [15] [16] [17] [18] The meme's popularity was seen throughout the early 2000s when it was broadcast unauthorized onto the ticker of a Raleigh, North Carolina TV channel,[19] used as a placeholder message by YouTube while under maintenance,[20] and reproduced onto T-shirts.[21]

The meme was addressed by Toaplan representatives Tatsuya Uemura (programmer and music composer of Zero Wing and Toaplan founding member) and Masahiro Yuge (fellow Toaplan composer and founder) in interviews during the 2010s. Uemura stated that the poor English translation in the Mega Drive version was handled by a member of Toaplan in charge of export and overseas business.[22] [23]

The 15th and 20th anniversaries of the posting of the remix on Newgrounds were recognized by numerous culture sites.[24] [25] The meme has been highlighted for its uniqueness in that, unlike other memes of the time, it lacked sexual innuendos or vulgarity.[26]

Mentions in media

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 12 March 2001, American comic strip Foxtrot featured the phrase spoken by one of the strip's main characters, Jason Fox. Jason approaches his parents, speaking the phrase, much to their confusion, speaking it twice more before leaving while laughing.[27]

In Empire Earth, a 2001 real-time strategy video game developed by Stainless Steel Studios, "All your base are belong to us" is a cheat code that can be used by the player during the game to obtain 100,000 of all resources. Additionally, "Somebody set up us the bomb" is another code that gives the player an instant victory.[28]

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' 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 war with Iraq, and police chief Eugene Alli said the signs could be "a borderline terrorist threat, depending on what someone interprets it to mean".[29]

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 News 14 Carolina.

On 1 June 2006, the phrase "ALL YOUR VIDEO ARE BELONG TO US" appeared 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 hacked. Get a sense of humor."[30]

and , two tactical multiplayer first-person shooters developed by Valve, both feature the phrase "Someone Set Up Us The Bomb" as one of the game's achievements.[31]

On 19 January 2019, American Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tweeted "All your base (are) belong to us" in response to a poll by "Hill-HarrisX" indicating that 45% of the Republicans who were polled approved of Ocasio-Cortez's suggested implementation of a 70% marginal tax rate for individual income over $10 million per year.[32] [33] [34]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Dibbell . Julian . 18 January 2008 . Mutilated Furries, Flying Phalluses: Put the Blame on Griefers, the Sociopaths of the Virtual World . . https://web.archive.org/web/20140630204641/http://archive.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/magazine/16-02/mf_goons?currentPage=all . 30 June 2014 . 30 June 2014.
  2. . Toaplan. Taito. 31 May 1991. . Intro sequence . ja . ja.
  3. Web site: Mandelin . Clyde . 13 January 2014 . How Zero Wing's "All Your Base" Translation Compares with the Japanese Script. Legends of Localization . https://web.archive.org/web/20200106150046/https://legendsoflocalization.com/lets-take-a-peek-at-zero-wings-all-your-base-translation/. 6 January 2020. 17 September 2020. live.
  4. Zero Wing. Toaplan. Taito. 1992. Sega Mega Drive. Intro scene.
  5. Web site: Zero Wing (Registration Number PA000045123) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230209011156/https://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First . 2023-02-09 . 2023-02-10 . United States Copyright Office.
  6. Web site: Akagi. Masumi. 東亜プラン (Toa Plan); ナムコ（中村製作所）Namco; ゼ; Williams Electronics; Z. アーケードTVゲームリスト 国内•海外編 (1971-2005). 1st. Amusement News Agency. 13 October 2006. 50, 52, 84, 140, 172. 978-4990251215. ja.
  7. Rand . Paul . Boone . Tim . 1991-07-15 . Review: Zero Wing - Megadrive by Toaplan . . United Kingdom . . 117 (August 1991) . 60–62 . 2023-02-10.
  8. Book: Eyman, Douglas . Games & Play in Chinese & Sinophone Cultures . Eyman . Douglas . Sun . Hongmei . 2024 . . 9780295752402 . Guo . Li . Seattle, WA . Translation and Chinese Culture in Video Games . Eyman . Douglas . Sun . Hongmei.
  9. Web site: TVsIan . 2001-01-01 . Aybabtu: The History . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20010602111141/http://hubert.retrogames.com/article.php?sid=1 . 2001-06-02 . Hubert.
  10. Web site: 2000-06-05 . OverClocked - #116 - The ZeroWing Dub Project . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20000816001019/http://www.overclocked.org/OCzerowing.htm . 2000-08-16 . 2023-02-10 . OverClocked.
  11. Web site: Bad_CRC . 2000-12-16 . OT: All your base are belong to us . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220412130932/https://www.tribalwar.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=24539 . 2022-04-12 . 2023-02-10 . TribalWar Forums.
  12. Taylor, Chris . 25 February 2001 . All Your Base Are Belong To Us . dead . Time . https://web.archive.org/web/20070621020832/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C100525%2C00.html . 21 June 2007 . 29 June 2007.
  13. Web site: Machkovech . Sam . 2021-02-16 . An anniversary for great justice: Remembering "All Your Base" 20 years later . live . 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/ . 2022-12-18 . 2023-02-10 . . en-us.
  14. Web site: Walker . Ian . 16 February 2021 . The 'All Your Base Are Belong To Us' Video Is Now 20 Years Old . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210224093634/https://kotaku.com/the-all-your-base-are-belong-to-us-video-is-now-20-ye-1846281979 . 24 February 2021 . 25 February 2021 . . en-us.
  15. Benner . Jeffrey . 23 February 2001 . When Gamer Humor Attacks . live . . https://web.archive.org/web/20221219232934/https://www.wired.com/2001/02/when-gamer-humor-attacks/ . 2022-12-19 . 2023-02-11.
  16. Web site: Kornblum . Janet . 2002-02-08 . Odd phrase touches all the Web bases . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230201230030/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/2001-03-07-ebrief.htm . 2023-02-01 . 2023-02-11 . USA Today.
  17. Web site: Carroll . Jon . 2001-02-20 . All Your Base Are Belong to Us . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202202752/https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/carroll/article/All-Your-Base-Are-Belong-to-Us-3327364.php . 2023-02-02 . 2023-02-11 . . en-US.
  18. News: Johnston . Rich . 2001-02-27 . All your base . . . . en-GB . . live . 2023-02-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230208085128/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2001/feb/28/internetnews.g2 . 2023-02-08 . 0261-3077.
  19. Web site: Poulsen . Kevin . 2004-03-05 . Wags hijack TV channel's on-screen ticker . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221228232951/https://www.theregister.com/2004/03/05/wags_hijack_tv_channels_onscreen/ . 2022-12-28 . 2023-02-11 . . en.
  20. Web site: Sandoval . Greg . 2006-06-02 . YouTube: Our humor, not our hack . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220811020228/https://www.cnet.com/culture/youtube-our-humor-not-our-hack/ . 2022-08-11 . 2023-02-11 . . en.
  21. Taylor . Chris . 2001-02-25 . All Your Base Are Belong To Us . en-US . . live . 2023-02-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221109091255/https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,100525,00.html . 2022-11-09 . 0040-781X.
  22. Kiyoshi . Tane . hally (VORC) . Yūsaku . Yamamoto . 3 February 2012 . 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 . Shooting Gameside . Japanese . Micro Magazine . 4 . 41–48 . 978-4896373844 . 2023-02-11.
  23. Out Zone with guest Tatsuya Uemura – PA76 . March 2017 . 23 October 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191023230947/https://pixelatedaudio.com/out-zone/ . 23 October 2019 . live . Pixelated Audio . Mosley . Brian . Brunner . James.
  24. Web site: Stephen . Bijan . 17 February 2021 . All Your Base Are Belong To Us has turned 20 . live . 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 . 10 April 2021 . 2023-02-10 . The Verge.
  25. Web site: Hathaway . Jay . 2016-02-16 . We Get Signal: 'All Your Base Are Belong to Us' Is 15 Years Old . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221220002852/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/02/all-your-base-are-belong-to-us-turns-15.html . 2022-12-20 . 2023-02-11 . Intelligencer . . en-us.
  26. Web site: Parish . Jeremy . 2016-03-01 . For Great Justice: A Partial Origin Story of Gaming's Original Internet Meme . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221226054449/https://www.vg247.com/for-great-justice-a-partial-origin-story-of-gamings-original-internet-meme . 2022-12-26 . 2023-02-11 . . en.
  27. Web site: Amend . Bill . 12 March 2001 . FoxTrot Comic Strip . 14 December 2023 . GoComics 3.
  28. Web site: gamespot.com . 2024 . Empire Earth Cheats For PC . 2024-04-03 . en.
  29. Web site: Doyle . Holly . 4 April 2003 . Men arrested for "All Your Base" prank . https://web.archive.org/web/20100829220138/http://www.wwmt.com/news/sturgis-468-security-thought.html . 29 August 2010 . 10 July 2009 . WWMT Newschannel 3.
  30. News: Sandoval . Greg . 2 June 2006 . YouTube: Our humor, not our hack . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20140506201205/http://news.cnet.com/YouTube-Humor%2C-not-hack/2100-1026_3-6079314.html . 6 May 2014.
  31. Web site: Reema . 2017-03-09 . Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Steam Achievements . 2024-03-15 . TheTech52 . en-US.
  32. Web site: Cole . Brendan . Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Tax Rate Plans Find Favor Among Republicans, She Responds with Retro Meme . Newsweek . 19 January 2019 . 21 January 2019 . 21 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190121134329/https://www.newsweek.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortezs-tax-rate-plans-find-favor-among-republicans-she-1298164 . live.
  33. 1086483485668319233. AOC. All your base (are) belong to us . Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. 2019-01-18. 2023-02-11.
  34. Web site: Rosenberg . Adam . 2019-01-19 . Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made perfect use of this 20-year-old video game meme . 2023-02-11 . . en . 11 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230211012303/https://mashable.com/article/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-all-your-base-tweet-meme . live .

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