Memes are weird. One day you’re laughing at a cat, and the next, you’re stuck with a repetitive voice line from a 2017 JRPG echoing in your skull while you try to sleep. If you’ve spent any time in the gaming corner of the internet, you’ve probably run into the don't forget me meme. It’s loud. It’s annoying. It’s glorious.
It started with Xenoblade Chronicles 2.
When the game launched on the Nintendo Switch, players noticed something immediately. The enemy AI—specifically the Ardanian Soldiers—had a bit of a talking problem. They didn't just shout battle cries; they spammed them. Every three seconds. "Don't forget me!" "Think you can take me?!" "You're done!" It was a cacophony of Scottish-accented military aggression that turned serious tactical battles into a surrealist comedy sketch.
The Chaos of the Ardanian Soldier
Honestly, it’s hard to overstate how much this broke the immersion for early players. Imagine trying to enjoy a deep, emotional story about the fate of the world while five guys in heavy armor scream the same four words at you in a loop. It was a technical quirk. A bug? Maybe just a design choice that didn't account for how many soldiers would be on screen at once. Regardless, the don't forget me meme was born out of sheer repetition.
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The internet does what it does best: it obsessed.
Within days of the game's release, YouTube was flooded with "10 hours of Don't Forget Me" videos. It became a rite of passage for the Xenoblade community. You weren't a real fan unless you’d been mentally scarred by a group of soldiers in Mor Ardain. The phrase became a shorthand for the game's rougher edges, but also its undeniable charm. It’s that specific kind of "so bad it's good" energy that fuels the best parts of gaming culture.
Why It Hit Different
Usually, voice lines in games are background noise. You hear "I used to be an adventurer like you" and you move on. But the don't forget me meme worked because of the pitch and the cadence. It was desperate. It was insistent. The Ardanian soldiers weren't just fighting you; they were begging for relevance.
There's a psychological element here, too. We’re wired to notice patterns. When a pattern repeats that frequently, your brain stops processing it as language and starts seeing it as a rhythmic pulse. It becomes music. Aggressive, annoying music.
The Patch That Almost Killed the Fun
Monolith Soft, the developers, eventually caught wind of the madness. They released a patch (Version 1.2.0) that significantly reduced the frequency of these battle cries. They also lowered the volume. For some, it was a relief. The game was finally playable without a headache.
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But for others? It was a tragedy.
The community actually mourned the loss of the original, un-nerfed soldiers. It’s one of those rare moments where a "flaw" becomes a feature. Fans started sharing clips of the "pre-patch" glory days, reminiscing about the sheer wall of sound that greeted them in the streets of Alba Cavanich. It proves that gamers often find more joy in the glitches and quirks than in the polished, sterile perfection developers strive for.
Cultural Impact Beyond Xenoblade
You see the don't forget me meme pop up in the strangest places now. It’s used in Twitter threads about forgotten characters. It’s a recurring joke in Discord servers whenever someone feels ignored. It’s evolved past the game.
It shares DNA with other "repetitive dialogue" memes like "I'm "I'm Captain Basch!" from Final Fantasy XII or the "Enemy generic shouts" from the Dynasty Warriors series. But those feel dated. The Xenoblade version feels modern because it happened right as the Switch was exploding in popularity. It was a shared experience for millions of new RPG fans.
Real Talk: The Expert Perspective
I've talked to developers about this kind of "bark" logic in games. Usually, there's a "cooldown" timer on voice lines. If a soldier says a line, they shouldn't be able to say it again for another 15 to 30 seconds. In Xenoblade Chronicles 2, it felt like that timer was either non-existent or shared across all NPCs, meaning if you fought a group, they just took turns screaming.
It’s a masterclass in how small technical oversights create massive cultural moments.
Does it still matter?
Kinda. With Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and the Future Redeemed DLC, the developers have leaned into their own history. They know the fans love the memes. While they haven't quite reached the "Don't Forget Me" levels of insanity again, the self-awareness is there. The meme has become a badge of honor for the franchise. It’s a reminder that even big-budget games can have these weird, humanizing moments of total absurdity.
The don't forget me meme isn't just a joke; it's a testament to the relationship between players and the games they love. We take the broken parts and make them ours. We turn annoyance into a community anthem.
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Next Steps for the Meme-Curious
If you want to experience the legend for yourself, you can actually still find "Pre-Patch" gameplay videos on platforms like YouTube and Twitch. Look for footage from December 2017. If you're playing the game today on a modern patch, you can still hear the lines, but they’re much more polite.
To truly understand the chaos, try engaging a large group of Ardanian soldiers in the lower levels of Mor Ardain. Even with the patch, the spirit of the meme lives on in the voice acting. For the full "digital archeology" experience, check out the Xenoblade subreddit’s "Meme Friday" archives—the sheer volume of fan art dedicated to these nameless soldiers is a rabbit hole worth falling down.
Just don't say I didn't warn you when you're still hearing "Think you can take me?!" three days from now.