2004 saw a good number of memorable releases across the various media. For instance, that year's three highest-grossing movies (Shrek 2, Spider-Man 2 and The Passion Of The Christ) all made it into the all-time top 10, though I'm sure at least one of them has been bumped off by now. It was also the year Lost, which developed quite a fanbase, myself not included, premiered on TV. And then, of course, there were the video games. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door absolutely improved on everything about the first game. Silent Hill 4: The Room delightfully deviated from the franchise's formula, though it was also the point at which said franchise hit a wall. Metroid: Zero Mission made everything the original game could've been a (virtual) reality. And then there was the launch of the Nintendo DS, though it wouldn't grow legs for a couple of years. But there's one release from that year, on this day, that truly stands out to me, not simply for being something I'd have loved regardless, but also for being years ahead of its time, marred only, to date, by its lack of a follow-up, despite the subsequent release of a certain two titles. I speak, of course, of the PlayStation 2 classic, Mega Man X8.

Featuring innovative mechanics and a story with some real kick to it, Mega Man X8 truly made my Christmas that year. Metals, Double Attacks, Guard Breaks, Desperation Moves, and the re-return of Vile (which I thought would've happened in X5) came together to put the luscious topping on would already have been, for me, the latest in a long line of rapturous gaming experiences. Incidentally, this is the only game in the series where I don't feel compelled to get absolutely everything; collecting Rare Metals just doesn't have the same sense of urgency as saving endangered Reploids whether they have anything or not. Also, it's such a shame that I didn't get around to playing as the navigators until last year.

With each passing Mega Man X9-less year, it's becoming increasingly apparent that the series truly did end the same way the Dr. Wily's Revenge series did ten years prior: By not having the main villain as the final boss. It has now been longer than the period between the western releases of Mega Man 8 and Mega Man & Bass. So if that does remain the case, then here's to you, Mega Man X8, for giving a great sendoff to a great series, my own personal insatiability notwithstanding.

The Zero series actually takes place in an alternate timeline, starting at Zero's ending in X6.