WALL OF TEXT EXPLAINED: What you're looking at is an episode of Countdown w/ Defunct Games published before 2006. As you can tell, something has gone horribly awry. I won't bore you with the technical details, but it has to do with the old layout being incompatible with the new. Eventually, we would like to retrofit these old episodes of Countdown, but that will require a significant amount of time. As Defunct Games has only a limited staff, we aren't sure when we'll have the chance to fix this article. If you absolutely need to know what this article said, get a hold of us on Twitter or leave a message in the comment section below. Sorry for the inconvenience. I hope you will enjoy the episodes created post-2006.

#10 Finally Opening and Playing Final Fantasy VII Being an old school role playing fan, I had kept pretty good tabs on the hype surrounding Square's Final Fantasy VII. I had read every magazine article and played through the demo a million times, but nothing could compare to the real thing. The moment I got that game home and opened it, I knew there was no turning back. This was just about the perfect game, and I can say that I have been changed since. To the critics that say, it's just a silly RPG, all I can reply is, haven't you played a game that changed you? If the answer is no, perhaps you aren't playing the right games. #9 Conventions In my time as a video game fan I have been to a bunch of conventions, but none are better than those during the mid 1990's. Nintendo was confident with their Super NES. Sega was always trying to find the Next Big Thing (be it their Sega CD, 32x, activator, etc.). NEC was completely confused, and didn't know what to do. And Sony didn't even want to be part of the video game area. Those were the days. But the best memory? Sega giving us unlimited gourmet croissant sandwiches while showing off the first playable Virtua Fighter 3 machine. Powerful. #8 My Genesis vs Super NES Debates I have always been a die hard Sega fan. Not because I believe in the company, but because I have been impressed with their wide array of quality titles. My friends, many of whom were die hard Nintendo fans because they didn't know any better, would argue that their system was better, even though it was clear to me that they were dead wrong. Even to this day I will argue that my Genesis is still more fun, and a better value than the Super NES, does anybody still care? Of course not. #7 Figuring Out How to Modify ___________ System! I leave it blank only because there is a special feeling in your heart when you figure something special out. And the feeling doesn't subside as I get older. I remember figuring out the trick on my Genesis, Super NES, Saturn, and even my PlayStation. Sure it made me angry that they would go to such trouble to keep me from the Japanese games, but I also knew that if it wasn't a challenge, then what fun is it? They keep trying to make it harder, too, but they never will keep people from the games they want. Period. #6 Finally Being Able to Practice Street Fighter II at Home After spending what must have been a small fortune in the arcade, when Street Fighter II was released for the Super NES I was first in line to pick it up. Did I play it as much as I did in the arcade? You bet. Did I do better in the arcade? Kind of. But there just aren't enough moments like that anymore. I am looking forward to Phantasy Star Online 2, but not like Street Fighter II. The only game that may come close to it is Metal Gear Solid 2. #5 Hearing the Music in WipeOut XL I had heard game music, even good game music, but nothing, and I do mean nothing, was ready to prepare me for how great this CD is. Every song on this wonderful soundtrack is by a well regarded Electronica band, and every song rocks!! And the game is great too. Seeing these two elements in one game finally made me change my mind about video game music. If all video games had a soundtrack like this, video games would be an even more serious medium. #4 Nintendo World Championships It's a little hazy now, but when Nintendo brought their championship around to my area (in this case Seattle, also the home of the U.S. division of Nintendo) it was more fun than I remember having at that age. It was perfectly riding the success of the Wizard, a two hour movie that doubled for a Mario 3 advertisement, as well as the anticipation of a new system (the Super NES had been rumored at the time, but not shown off). In that room (alright, stadium) I felt perfectly natural, and frankly, I wish I could do it again. If you asked anybody there who would be the leader of the game industry in ten years, all of them would have said Nintendo. Funny how things change. #3 Getting Drunk and Playing X Com for 20 Hour Straight My friends and I stayed up all day, all night, all afternoon, and basically all day break playing X Com when it first was released on the PlayStation. We named each of our characters early on, we took turns, we drank, and by the time we were passed out, we had cried over at least ten of the deaths in the game. At that point, and I don't think it was just the alcohol talking, I knew we had a special game. I play it all the time, but nothing like what I just explained. #2 Winning Metal Gear Solid Toys While Standing in Line For my PlayStation 2 While waiting in line for my prepaid PlayStation 2 the store I bought it from were raffling out prizes. Oh sure, I could have won a subscription to their exclusive club. I could even have won a poster. But no, instead I won the grand prize: two Metal Gear Solid action figures (one of Solid Snake and one of Meryl)! Would I have bought them? Nope, but I always feel good when I win something. Don't you? #1 The Moment I realized that there is more to Gaming than Nintendo During the hey day of the Nintendo Entertainment System I was like many other people my age. I was playing Mario, not even thinking that there may be more out there. Oh sure, I knew about the Atari products, heck, I even owned several of them, but Nintendo was all there was, or was it? One day I glanced through a game magazine and saw Shinobi for the Sega Master System. Weeks later I ended up playing Rambo for the same system, however at a Yard Birds. I was convinced, and planned on looking into this system. And then the Genesis, and before long, Nintendo was just another word, and not one that stood for video games. I can honestly say that my life has been changed since then, for the better. UNKNOWN SOLDIER Memorial Day isn't just about memory. Here at Defunct Games we have focused exclusively on the memories of lost heroes, but not all of them were from the war (or a war, for that matter). Sure, many of them went off into battle, often times to save the forest animals, sometimes to save the princess, and sometimes for even more selfish reasons. But most did not go off into a declared war. Why is that? Simple. The warriors in the War genre were often times better left without names. These nameless warriors (who almost always looked exactly the same as player two) would go in, blow the place to kingdom come, and then leave, it's not like they left their business cards, or yelled out their name on the way in. Who do you think they are? Superheroes? Games like MERCS and Nam 75 relied on the action, as opposed to the story line. And so many of our greatest game heroes have suffered similar fates. So, what is needed, from each game player out there, is a donation to the cause: a graveyard for the unknown soldiers in war games in far off countries. Thank you for your time.