That thought on XCM and X8 with more stuff going on in a platformer had occurred to me. Still, I'm not so sure. X8 strikes me as a lack of effort on a few points. Okay, so palette-swapping the Neutral Armor made mix-and-match easy, but would it have been so hard for mugshots to reflect that? Or for more than one armored mugshot to exist in the first place? Also, with the models themselves, even their relative size wasn't given any thought. X's height is identical to Zero's, and the fact that X stands straighter makes him actually appear taller. I can see a technologically inferior system with a clear effort that they did everything in their power to make the game look and feel as it should (Xtreme2 and Legends 2 in particular come to mind). X8 just doesn't strike me as being in that category.
As for MM8, I never noticed it being particularly slow in terms of walking speed. But again, the NES style is rather sluggish as well so that might be why. The lack of emphasis on dodging is more a matter of larger character size to me, and even with that slight shift the game is still every bit as enjoyable. Sliding, perhaps, could stand to be faster, but there is a part for that. Stinks that you NEED a part for that, but at least it's there. Overall I feel that there's a lot more that 8 did right than wrong. The shop, Rush, and general game mechanics were all handled excellently, in addition to the more modern presentation. I don't even mean just visuals either, but audio as well. I appreciate the fact that bosses talk to you during battle, I think a touch like that is excellently suited to the lighter-hearted series such as Classic and Legends (in X I don't care as much, though it still has its moments).
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