My favorites came from X1-X3.  Neon Tiger, Storm Eagle, Flame Stag, and Tunnel Rhino are some.

I liked the Golden Armor from X3 the most.  And if you got Zero's sabre later on, you couldn't be beat.

I want a game like X1-3.
Yes.

I do, too.  I miss those days.  The series started heading downhill when they moved to the PS1.  X4 and X5 were pretty good, but then it got really bad.  X8 was a major improvement over X7, but I didn't like how they designed some of the stages.  Just didn't feel like X.