"All Your Base Are Belong to Us" is an Internet meme that grew from a famously poor English localization in the European Sega Mega Drive release of the arcade game Zero Wing. The antagonist's Japanese line, meaning that the enemy has taken over all of the player's bases, was rendered in broken English in the 1991 release and accompanied by other awkward lines, making the cutscene notable for mistranslation. Toaplan developers later confirmed the translation was done in-house by a non‑professional, explaining the grammatical errors. Revised translations in later re-releases correct the wording to reflect the original Japanese intent.
The mistranslation spawned an animated GIF and, after a 2000 techno remix by Jeffrey Ray Roberts, a Flash music video posted to Newgrounds on 16 February 2001 that propelled the phrase into widespread online circulation. The meme spread across forums and mainstream media through the 2000s, appearing on TV tickers, t‑shirts, graffiti, and as playful uses by major sites (including a 2006 YouTube maintenance message). It prompted occasional controversy, such as 2003 roadside sign postings misunderstood during wartime, and continued to surface as Easter eggs and political references into the 2010s, demonstrating early viral culture centered on gaming, translation quirks, and remixable media.
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