Retro games at the time of their release can be either of two things: they can be disappointing to players that they ignore them on sight, much like the Atari's ET game that almost killed the video game industry, per NPR, or be a masterpiece, like the 1987 Metal Gear for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
How video games became disasters or pieces of art varies, but one of the ways a video game can be called art is dialogue so bad it became memorable enough o be one of the first comical memes.
Enter Zero Wing, the game that brought is the popular catchphrases "Somebody set up us the bomb" and "All your base are belong to us."
The History Behind the Meme
According to Know Your Meme, the phrase and meme were born when Zero Wing's 1992 port to SEGA Mega Drive was released. The quote was part of the game's introduction sequence, wherein the game's main antagonist, CATS, appeared to announce, "all your base are belong to us."
The now-infamous quote is an awkward translation of "all of your bases are now under our control." In fact, the game was beset by poor grammar so much that another infamous catchphrase, "somebody set up us the bomb," also came from it.
This part of Zero Wing's introductory sequence was eventually turned into a GIF, which is rumored to have originated on the Rages Games website in early 1998. However, this addition was not enough of a push to send it to the meme hall of fame.
Another website, Zany Video Game Quotes, is credited with the popularization of the GIF. According to RetroGames.com, the GIF was posted on the site sometime in late 1998 or early 1999. This popularization led people at Overclock.org to post their Zero Wing Dub Project, which features a dubbed version of the game's introduction using Wayne Newton's voice.
From there, the GIF went to become the talking point of internet forums, the topic of news articles, and even the ending phrase of hacked weather-related news broadcastings.
The catchphrase was also featured in a robo-voiced music video that went live at Newgrounds on February 16, 2001, which further elevated the catchphrase and the GIF of it to legendary meme status.
YouTube also got into the craze with its engineers replacing the site with a message featuring the catchphrase as they prepare to roll out new features, per CNET.
'All Your Base Are Belong to Us' — How Is It Now?
The meme is no longer relevant due to the advent of faster and more accessible internet connections, with Google Trends stating that people looking for the meme has sharply declined compared to about two decades ago.
According to The Verge, it is a meme from a time when the whole joke was getting the catchphrase. Knowing the reference when it was sneaked into something that didn't belong was funny because not everyone knew it unless you know.
Kotaku, on the other hand, said that the meme is indicative of an era when the internet fell like a wild frontier rather than what is now — a place of business owned by a few massive corporations.
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