Zero Wing

Arcade version

The game was released in the U.S. in the arcades by Williams, licensed from Toaplan. It was not, however, released for the home consoles in North America The arcade version had no intro. That was first seen on the home console versions.

Internet phenomena

The infamous "All Your Base Are Belong To Us" quotes were taken from the European localization of the Sega Genesis port released in 1989. More information on the internet phenomenon can be found here.

Also, the phenomenon of this translation was already noted back when the game was released in Europe, as noted on the magazine Megatech on the May 1992 issue. Of course there are six pics from the intro, including the infamous AYB phrase and also the 'what you say!' follow up. Strangely enough, the shoot 'em up managed to get a 82% score, even though the reviewer himself says the gameplay is rather disappointing.

References to the game

• Zero Wing is referenced in the Futurama episode Anthology of Interest II. The episode consists of three shorts; one of which involves Fry asking the "what-if" machine "what if life was more like a video game." The short contains the "All your base" quote.
• Zero Wing is referenced in the 2008 video for the single Pork and Beans by American rock band Weezer, which is a collage of all kinds of Internet phenomena and YouTube hits. During the video a shot of Zero Wing's villain Cats is shown, with the accompanying "All your base" quote being replaced by "All your pork and beans are belong to us !!".

Information also contributed by gamewarrior, LepricahnsGold, MDMaster, and Roedie