Top 15 Most Popular Phrases from Video Games

Some words are forgotten. Others are remembered. And only a very few gain a special status, entering ordinary speech. Let's see which ones have been the luckiest?

15. Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. "Mr. Salieri sends his regards"

Mr. Salieri sends his regards.

A phrase whose full power lies in context. It makes a grand statement in a beautiful story and, although it rarely comes up, it is undoubtedly etched in memory.

14. Bioshock. "Would you kindly..."

Would you kindly...

In the localization to Russian, this important story component was lost, so it is rather weakly represented in our language. When used correctly, it signifies a veiled command.

By the way, another quite popular quote from this same game is: "A man chooses; a slave obeys."

13. Portal. "The cake is a lie."

The cake is a lie.

The Portal series has quite a few memorable phrases, and the final songs are perhaps some of the most popular songs in video games, but the "calling card" became a phrase that, strangely enough, is never said in the game. Warnings that we should not believe the promised AI cake, left on the walls by the mysterious Ratman, have become more popular than any others, apparently due to their frequent repetition.

Clearly, it is used as a straightforward assertion that something should not be trusted.

12. Deus Ex: Human Revolution. "I never asked for this."

I never asked for this.

This is precisely what Adam replies when asked how he feels about his new body, full of implants. Thanks to the context, the tone used, and Jensen's overall charisma, this scene has become the source of many parodies.

It is sometimes used in its literal sense, but today it is more often encountered in comments to numerous articles on medical and cybernetic achievements.

11. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. "I used to be an adventurer like you, but then I took an arrow in the knee."

I used to be an adventurer like you, but then I took an arrow in the knee.

The TES series is famous for its scale and, unfortunately, the errors and shortcomings that inevitably follow. NPC dialogues are one of those. Passing by almost any guard in Skyrim, you'll learn that he too was not spared by this ubiquitous arrow...

The sentence may sometimes change (the arrow, knee, or profession may be substituted), but it is almost always used as an ironic way to express one's attitude towards a sudden change in circumstances or the status of something or someone.

10. Star Fox. "Do a barrel roll."

Do a barrel roll.

Today it is no longer such a popular tip, though it still retains its relevance. In the Star Fox series, executing a "barrel roll" made the aircraft invulnerable. One of the game characters suggested doing it so often that the phrase "do a barrel roll" became a universal answer to any question. Even Google is ready to do it.

9. Half-Life 2. "Rise and shine, Mister Freeman… Rise and shine… Not that I... wish to imply you have been sleeping on the job… No one is more deserving of a rest, and all the effort in the world would have gone to waste until… well, let's just say your hour has... come again. The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world. So, wake up, Mister Freeman… Wake up and smell the ashes..."

Rise and shine, Mister Freeman. Rise and... shine. Not that I... wish to imply you have been sleeping on the job. No one is more deserving of a rest, and all the effort in the world would have gone to waste until... well, let's just say your hour has... come again. The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world. So, wake up, Mister Freeman. Wake up and... smell the ashes...

Although the whole speech is quite well-known, only two of its elements are actually said: "Rise and shine, Mister Freeman" is used when mentioning Half-Life or Freeman himself, while "The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world" is, in principle, used as a common aphorism.

8. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. "Stop right there, criminal scum!"

Stop right there, criminal scum!

This is how almost all guards of Cyrodiil begin their speech upon seeing any criminal. It's no surprise that such an intrusive show of attention has become the subject of a huge number of parodies.

In a conversation, it can simply be used as an insistent, albeit somewhat joking, suggestion to cease further dialogue that has begun to take a dangerous turn.

7. Legend of Zelda. "It’s dangerous to go alone; take this!"

It’s dangerous to go alone; take this!

A rather silly-sounding phrase, regardless of the language, that players encounter at the beginning of their adventure. In the game, an old man gives the main character a sword, but now these words are used in relation to anything.

By the way, there’s another quite famous quote from Legend of Zelda. One of the deeply secondary characters in the game shares with the hero the opinion that "I am error." There’s nothing more to extract from him.

6. Heroes of Might and Magic. "Astrologers proclaim week of..."

Astrologers proclaim week of...

These words start the notifications at the beginning of every game week in every part of the Heroes of Might and Magic series. Astrologers proclaim a week, say, of wizards—"the number of wizards in all cities doubles." For reasons that defy rational explanation, this construction only gained popularity in Russian, but remarkably so.

Used as an ironic remark that something has become too abundant.

5. Zero Wing. "All your base are belong to us."

Used only in its English form, as an example of "good" translation. It is quite difficult to say the same in Russian, but it is something like "All your base belong to us." Zero Wing was poorly translated from Japanese to English, so this is far from the only strange moment, but this particular phrase struck the hearts of players.

Used as a hint of illiteracy of localizers, a conversation partner, or someone else.

4. StarCraft. "You require more minerals!"

In principle, both WarCraft and StarCraft have many similar notifications, and there’s not much difference between them, so depending on the context, one could use "Not enough wood!", "Need more gold!", or even "Need to build a ziggurat!"

Of course, it is used to point out a lack of anything.

3. Mortal Kombat. "Finish him!"

Finish him!

This phrase appears right before the winning player is prompted to perform a "fatality" — a special finishing move. Used in, essentially, similar situations.

From there, we also got "C-c-c-c-c-combo breaker!" — a special move that interrupts someone else’s lengthy attack. In reality, it is mentioned after a failure in a string of successes (or vice versa), the disruption of some commonly accepted norm, or a sharp change in the direction of the conversation by one of the interlocutors.

2. Super Mario Bros. "Thank you, Mario! But our Princess is in another castle!"

Thank you Mario! But our Princess is in another castle!

Of course, one of the world’s most famous games contains one of the most popular phrases. Mario's chronic misfortune regarding navigation has ultimately become proverbial. Usually, however, one employs another version of the phrase, tailoring it to the context: "Sorry, X, but your Y is in another Z."

1. Fallout. "War. War never changes."

War. War never changes.

These are the words that start each part of the series. It’s no surprise that they have become the "calling card" of the series and a simply popular aphorism. Sometimes, however, it is used as a blunt hint about the world of Fallout.

*The author’s opinion may not coincide with anyone else’s in general. However, this should not prevent you from expressing it in the comments :)