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 Project Justice As sequels go this is a major disappointment, but as fighters go Project Justice has what it takes! The three on three action is fantastic, and the game has enough extras to keep you busy for awhile. Sure it's a little slow, but Project Justice plays like no other fighting game, 2D or 3D. This is on a level all by itself. #9 Mark of the Wolves SNK hit their mark when releasing this Fatal Fury tour de force. Instead of going back and using the same old engine, Mark of the Wolves is here to convince you that Fatal Fury wasn't a farce. Thankfully there's enough in this game to keep any SNK fan busy for more than a few days. #8 Rival Schools United By Fate What a strange, strange game, but then, High School was a strange, strange time. Rival Schools United By Fate brought us weird school kids with different talents using them to beat the crap out of their classmates, and cross town buddies. I remember the time when this would get you thrown in detention, but luckily in the Rival School world you can do it right in the gym. If school was like this, I would have begged for home schooling. #7 Last Blade II Last Blade II is the sequel Samurai Shodown III should have been. It's filled with interesting characters, great backgrounds, and tons of replay. The moves are easy to pull of, yet each character is filled with depth. Oh yeah, and the game is mighty difficult, too. It's a class act all around. #6 Super Street Fighter II Turbo Super Street Fighter II Turbo had every improvement, upgrade, and new move, but it's not the Street Fighter II game everybody's going to remember. The introduction of four new characters was nice, but did we really need a Jamaican named DeeJay and a Bruce Lee wannabe? Regardless, Super Street Fighter II Turbo is about as good as it gets, after the peak. #5 Darkstalkers 3 After two attempts, Capcom's Darkstalkers 3 is one of the best monster fighting games of all time. Though it never was as big as licensed fare (like the X-Men), Darkstalkers 3 did feature more than a few unique characters still used today. And how can you resist a naked cat girl? Purrrrrrfect. #4 Final Fight Going back and playing it now perhaps it seems a tad short, maybe even clich?, but Final Fight didn't steal its ideas, it created them. Maybe Final Fight isn't the first side scrolling beat-em-up, but it's the first to do it well. And besides, all three characters have been featured in side games, including Street Fighter Alpha and Saturday Night Slam Masters. #3 SNK vs. Capcom: Match of the Millennium By far the greatest handheld fighting game. But then, this is among the first fighting games that is any good on a portable. But if this is the high water mark, I can't wait to see what we'll see in another ten years. Filled with tons of characters, plus mini games galore. Hard to find now, but well worth buying no matter the price. #2 Samurai Shodown II Simply the greatest SNK fighter of all time. Samurai Shodown 2 features the greatest cast of characters, the best control, and the most interesting backgrounds of any Neo Geo game. Though this is the highlight of the series, it's odd that the game was never given justice on a home console (outside of the Neo Geo, of course). It's hard to resist this game, even if SNK seems to forget about it. #1 Street Fighter II Turbo What may have been Capcom's third attempt at greatness, was actually their greatest, and most refined, version of Street Fighter II. The speed was exact, the graphics were perfect, and the control was flawless. The ability to play as the bosses, pick eight different costumes, and still fight at lightning fast speeds wasn't matched until Super Street Fighter II Turbo, but by that time the theme had become stale. Question: Capcom and SNK aren't always perfect. I mean, they've made their fair share of crappy fighting games, right? Well, why not do a list of those games, and not just focus on the great games they've made?? You better believe Capcom and SNK have made terrible fighting games, not to mention a whole bunch of so-so dull fighters just using a formula. I mean, how many people remember JoJo's Bizarre Adventure? And how many people actually know the difference between Art of Fighting and Art of Fighting 2? There are just a lot of bad fighting games out there, and if we tried focusing on those we'd be in a rut for hours. So here's my recommendation, never, ever, ever, EVER play Killer Instinct or the sequel. They aren't Capcom or SNK, but it is about everything a fighter shouldn't be. Consider your self warned.