One of Nintendo's greatest franchises to date, Metroid finally turns 30 years old, quite the milestone I think you'll agree regardless of how highly - or not - you regard the series, it's hard to deny its profound influence on the gaming landscape and how much it has broadened players perceptions of how immersive videogames can be.

It has even assisted in creating a sub-genre, its lasting impact remains to this day as a result of the series continued evolution through the 8-Bit era, right through to the seminal Super Metroid before going beyond its own established boundaries into the third dimension with the release of Metroid Prime on the Nintendo GameCube with its shift into primary first-person viewpoint, managing to flesh out the universe with its stunning environments and a scanning mechanic which transported the player into their role as the Bounty Hunter from behind the visor.

In recent years however, it's fair to say that the series hasn't had much of a celebration of any form or indeed any major releases since Metroid: Other M on the Wii, which is a shame because at N-E we feel that the series clearly deserves better than this, fans are clamouring for either another new entry in the series or even a remake as to date we haven't seen a new Metroid title on either the Wii U or the 3DS until recently.

At least Metroid Prime: Federation Force looks as if it will prove to be enjoyable entry in its own right, additionally there is the training counterpart Metroid Prime: Blast Ball as a free download on the Nintendo eShop and while this isn't perhaps what we were expecting, it's certainly an interesting way of at least bringing the Metroid name back into the spotlight.

Perhaps we might be looking forward to some kind of brand new Metroid game for the yet to be unveiled Nintendo NX? Of course we can only speculate but for now it seems as good a time as any to enjoy a title or two from the back-catalogue of classics the series has provided us with so far, especially as you can play most of them on your Wii U or 3DS. Personally I have a soft spot for Metroid Fusion but one of the titles I've enjoyed reviewing and playing recently has to be Metroid Zero Mission which you can read a review of in VC Weekly 335 if you're feeling nostalgic.

Do you have any plans for celebrating this special occasion? If so then please let us know in the comments section below or join in on our forum but for now, we'll leave you with a small tribute which has been lovingly - albeit very quickly - pieced together to wish the series a "Happy Birthday!" and to say that we didn't forget! Let's hope that Nintendo hasn't forgotten, with any luck sometime soon or at least within the anniversary year, we will hopefully be seeing Samus Aran next mission!