What is "All your base are belong to us"? Where did it come from?

It's Engrish (poor japanese-english translation) for "We now control your entire base". It comes from the 1989 space-ship shooter Zero Wing (Toaplan). The game was your typical run-o-the-mill Gradius knock-off, however... for the Europeon release, they added a special intro to the game including anime characters and computerized voice-overs. But it would be the horrid translations which would immortalize the game as a cult hit. Here's a transcript:

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[A small space station is floating in view]

Narrator: In AD 2101, War was beginning

[Explosions erupt across the space station]
[We see the interior of the station, men sitting at computers and moniters]

Captain: What happen?
Mechanic: Somebody set up us the bomb

[View changes to a man with a headset, looking urgent]

Operator: We get signal
Captain: What!

[Back to the view of the room, three large moniters begin to flash]

Operator: Main screen turn on
[The image of a robed figure appears holographically, his face half hidden under bionic implants... he is Cats, the 'bad guy']

Captain: It's you!!
Cats: How are you gentlemen!!
All your base are belong to us.
You are on the way to destruction.

Captain: What you say!

Cats: You have no chance to survive, make your time.
ha ha ha ha....

[The hologram fades and we see the captain in deep thought]

Operator: Captain!!

[The moniters begin to show a hanger filled with small figher craft, these are Zigs]

Captain: Take off every Zig!

[A Zig pilot begins to power up his vessel]

Captain: You know what you're doing]

[Zig readies to launch]

Captain: Move Zig!
For great justice

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Thus begins the game with you as the zig pilot attacking against Cat's base-owning ships. Your objective being to get all your base to belong to you, again :P

While the game was made way back in 1989, it didn't hit internet fad-dom until about Feb 2001. With clever photoshops of pictures sporting the catchphrase, it caught on quick, especially when "Invasion of the Gabber Robots" premeired, a clever song using the game's audio track (which is very good), the rendered photos, and the voice overs (mostly just keeps repeating "All your base, your base... base... base... all your base, your base... are belong to us") but it's very catchy :)

It soon became such a success that vandals began spreading it via graffiti anywhere clever (not un-encouraged by the photoshop pictures). It's right up there with "Kilroy was here".

Watch the "music video": http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/11940

chown -R us ./base