Editing Ridley

{{forfighter|SSBU=y}} ''For boss info, see [[Ridley (SSBB)]]. For his cybernetically-enhanced form, see [[Meta Ridley]]. For the Japanese smasher, see {{Sm|Ridley}}.''

|image = {{tabber|title1=Super Metroid|content1=[[File:Ridley sm Artwork.png|250px|Official artwork of Ridley from ''Super Metroid'', the basis of his appearance in most ''Super Smash Bros.'' games.]]|title2=Other M|content2=[[File:MOM Ridley Concept Art.png|250px|Concept art of Ridley's clone from ''Metroid: Other M'', the basis of his appearance in ''Super Smash Bros. for Wii U''.]]}}

|caption = [[File:MetroidSymbol.svg|50px|class=invert-dark]]<br>Official artwork of Ridley from ''[[Super Metroid]]'' and his clone from ''{{s|metroidwiki|Metroid: Other M}}''.

|lastappearance = ''{{iw|mariowiki|Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition}}'' (2024)

|homeworld = {{s|metroidwiki|Zebes}}<ref>Only in the original ''{{b|Metroid|game}}'' manual is Ridley described as a native of Zebes. This is not referenced again in later story materials, which depict Ridley and the Space Pirates as having conquered Zebes after it was originally inhabited by Chozo.</ref>

'''Ridley''' ({{ja|リドリー|Ridorī}}, ''Ridley'') is a character from the {{uv|Metroid}} series. He is a major antagonist throughout the majority of the games, in which he generally acts as a climactic boss. A draconic creature hailing from {{s|metroidwiki|Zebes}}, Ridley is a vicious and highly intelligent member of the {{s|metroidwiki|Space Pirate}}s, working as one of their most prominent leaders alongside [[Mother Brain]]. He is also the arch-nemesis of the ''Metroid'' series' protagonist, [[Samus Aran]].

 

Ridley made his debut in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'' as a [[boss]] in {{SSBB|Adventure Mode}}, returned as a stage hazard in {{forwiiu}}, and transitioned into a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''.

Ridley, also known by the identifier "Geoform 187" or his title "The Cunning God of Death", is a recurring antagonist in the ''Metroid'' series. His design varies across the series, but he is generally a large, winged alien that resembles a dragon or pterosaur. Despite his bestial appearance and fearsome mannerisms, he is by no means a mindless animal, but a high-ranking {{s|metroidwiki|Space Pirate}} that is sapient and, in some appearances, capable of speech.

Ridley is directly connected to [[Samus Aran]]'s past. In the ''{{s|metroidwiki|Metroid e-manga}}'', he led a Space Pirate ambush on an Afloraltite mining colony on {{s|metroidwiki|K-2L}}, where the young Samus lived. He inadvertently killed her mother {{s|metroidwiki|Virginia Aran}} when she attempted to save her daughter. {{s|metroidwiki|Rodney Aran}}, Samus' father, then sacrificed himself by detonating the Afloraltite to destroy the Space Pirates, momentarily defeating Ridley. A decade later, Ridley met a teenage Samus on her new home of planet {{s|metroidwiki|Zebes}}, murdering one of her adoptive {{s|metroidwiki|Chozo}} guardians, {{s|metroidwiki|Gray Voice}}, during the Space Pirate invasion.

In the original ''{{b|Metroid|game}}'', Ridley is a leader of the Space Pirates on planet Zebes. He, [[Mother Brain]], and the Pirates stole and cloned the eponymous {{b|Metroid|creature}}s for galactic domination. Ridley, however, was surprised to find the teenage girl from years ago, now a grown woman, had come to face and defeat him. In the game's remake ''{{s|metroidwiki|Metroid: Zero Mission}}'', he had also created a robot replica of himself called {{s|metroidwiki|Mecha Ridley}}. However, this robot was unfinished before Samus destroyed it.

Ridley returned in ''{{s|metroidwiki|Metroid Prime}}'', revived as the cyborg "[[Meta Ridley]]". In this new form, Ridley oversaw the experiments of {{s|metroidwiki|Phazon}} on the wildlife of {{s|metroidwiki|Tallon IV}} aboard the [[Frigate Orpheon]]. This backfired, as the creatures mutated into {{s|metroidwiki|Parasite Queen}}s that escaped captivity and ransacked the ship. Meta Ridley encountered Samus aboard the frigate, fleeing to Tallon IV below while she gave pursuit. They then clashed at the {{s|metroidwiki|Artifact Temple}}, where the Chozo architecture turned on Meta Ridley and struck him with several lasers to the chest, knocking him into the {{s|metroidwiki|Impact Crater}}.

Meta Ridley returned after [[Dark Samus]] took control of the Space Pirates in ''{{s|metroidwiki|Metroid Prime 3: Corruption}}''. He led the Pirate assault on {{s|metroidwiki|Norion}}, but was defeated by Samus. Upon retreating to the {{s|metroidwiki|Space Pirate Homeworld}}, Meta Ridley was exposed to massive amounts of Phazon inside the {{s|metroidwiki|Leviathan}}, mutating into "{{s|metroidwiki|Omega Ridley}}". This powered-up form became the Leviathan guardian and fought Samus, but he was again defeated and disappeared.

In ''{{s|metroidwiki|Metroid: Samus Returns}}'', Ridley arrived on planet SR388 just as Samus returned to her ship with the Baby Metroid in tow. Ridley's body was still partially healing with cybernetic prosthetics, now known as "{{s|metroidwiki|Proteus Ridley}}". After an arduous battle, Proteus Ridley was left incapacitated on the planet's surface as Samus fled for the Ceres Station to deliver the Baby Metroid.

In ''[[Super Metroid]]'', Ridley's body had completely healed, so he kidnapped the Baby Metroid from Ceres. Samus chased him back to planet Zebes, where there was a rebuilt Pirate base. Samus battled Ridley as one of the guardians to Tourian, defeating him a final time. When Mother Brain's death caused the destruction of Zebes, Ridley's remains were consumed in the blast, supposedly marking the true death of Samus's longstanding nemesis.

In ''{{s|metroidwiki|Metroid Fusion}}'', the husk of Ridley's clone appeared, cryogenically frozen, on the {{s|metroidwiki|Biologic Space Labs}} research station. Samus discovered it halfway through her mission, watching it shatter as an {{s|metroidwiki|X Parasite}} copied his DNA. Samus later encountered the X-mimic as the mutant "{{s|metroidwiki|Neo-Ridley}}" and defeated it, presumably ending Ridley for good.

[[File:RidleyMeleeCameo.png|thumb|Ridley makes a cameo appearance in ''Melee'' in a fight with Samus for a Metroid during the opening movie.]]

|image =[[File:RidleyBrawl.jpg|250px]]

|location = [[The Research Facility II]]

Ridley is the fifth boss in the Subspace Emissary. {{SSBB|Samus}} and {{SSBB|Pikachu}} must fight him at the end of [[The Research Facility II]]. In the cutscene prior to the battle, Ridley ambushes and grabs Samus, flying upward and scraping her along the walls. Pikachu breaks Samus free from Ridley's grasp using {{b|Thunder|Pokémon}}. In the first battle, Ridley has higher health and uses moves ranging from claw swipes to a move similar to [[Rayquaza]]'s ExtremeSpeed to a tail swipe across the entire stage. [[Meta Ridley]], his form in ''Metroid Prime'', later attacks {{SSBB|Donkey Kong}}, {{SSBB|Diddy Kong}}, {{SSBB|Captain Falcon}}, {{SSBB|Olimar}}, Samus, Pikachu and {{SSBB|R.O.B.}}

Ridley and his Meta Ridley form are later resurrected by [[Tabuu]] in [[The Great Maze]] to face down the heroes. Oddly enough, they are resurrected as separate beings.

 

Like all ''Brawl'' bosses, Ridley can be played as in [[Boss Battles]] through [[hacking]], which will assign debug controls to Player 3. The moveset assigned is notably quite incomplete, missing a few attacks and having glitches with others. Ergo, he is much weaker than in his true boss appearance.

| Blasting Roar || {{Button|GCN|A|s=32px}}/{{Button|GCN|B|s=32px}} || Ridley roars and flaps his wings violently, which causes the wind to appear that pushes the player back slightly. Damage can be taken by making contact with his head as this starts. || 2

| Flying Stomp || {{Button|GCN|A|s=32px}}+{{Button|GCN|D-Pad|U|s=32px}} || Ridley lands then jumps up, and then drops down, trying to stomp on the player. Because Ridley always drops down on the same spot the player was when Ridley jumped up, it can be dodged by running to the opposite end of the stage. Notably, this is the only aiming boss attack that will still aim for the player when the boss is controlled via hacks. || 3

| Claw Sweep || {{Button|GCN|A|s=32px}}+{{Button|GCN|D-Pad|D|s=32px}} || Ridley flies low and sweeps the stage with his claws. He screeches before this, unless being controlled by a human. || 2

| Fly Off || {{Button|GCN|A|s=32px}}+{{Button|GCN|D-Pad|L|s=32px}}/{{Button|GCN|D-Pad|R|s=32px}}<br>OR {{Button|GCN|B|s=32px}}+{{Button|GCN|D-Pad|L|s=32px}}/{{Button|GCN|D-Pad|R|s=32px}} || Ridley initiates Slamming Rush, but if he is controlled by a human, he can't complete it, being stuck off-stage. The move can be repeated to move further away from the stage. He can still return to the platform with moves like Flying Stomp and Background Ram.|| 1

| Background Ram || {{Button|GCN|B|s=32px}}+{{Button|GCN|D-Pad|U|s=32px}} || Ridley jumps up and then flies toward the player from the background, similar to Master Hand's jet attack, but with an erratic flight pattern. Unlike Master Hand's attack, Ridley will aim both horizontally and vertically, but it locks its target location considerably earlier, and so will usually miss if the player is continuously moving. || 3

| Tail Sweep || {{Button|GCN|B|s=32px}}+{{Button|GCN|D-Pad|D|s=32px}} || Ridley scrapes the stage with his tail. At low percentages, it covers half the stage. At higher percentages, it covers the whole stage, sometimes turning around at the end to double back. Sometimes he will use this attack twice in a row. It can be easily dodged by jumping over his tail. || 1 or 2

! Fighter(s)

[[File:Ridley SSB4.png|thumb|200px|The shadow of a dragon-like creature on [[Pyrosphere]], which was the first visible confirmation of Ridley's appearance.]]

When Sakurai first revealed the [[Pyrosphere]] stage for ''for Wii U'', he mentioned that a character from "Samus' past" may appear at any second. Furthermore, Ridley's shadow appeared on the stage in the April 2014 Nintendo Direct. Ridley was ultimately confirmed to appear as a stage hazard in the ''for Wii U'' 50-Fact Extravaganza, over a year after Pyrosphere was revealed.

Like Samus and Zero Suit Samus, Ridley matches his physical appearance from ''Metroid: Other M''. In battle, Ridley will appear and attack players. He will use attacks based on where opponents are standing. Damaging Ridley enough will cause him to fight alongside the fighter. Damaging him enough after he joins a player's side will KO him, adding another point to the player's KO total, even if he is on the player's side. Ridley may gather energy from the purple vats under the ledges, increasing his strength. Curiously, his stock icon (used in the KOs row of the results screen) is of his ''Brawl'' artwork.

''For Nintendo 3DS'' marks Ridley's only complete absence from a ''Super Smash Bros.'' title.

[[File:Ridley SSBU.png|thumb|Ridley, as he appears in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate''.]]

Much like Zero Suit Samus in both ''SSB4'' and ''Ultimate'', Ridley uses a composite design original to the ''Smash'' series; in his case, he is primarily based on his appearance in ''Super Metroid'', with some embellishments and elements that his clone in ''Metroid: Other M'' featured, resulting in a more realistic and detailed design compared to his design in ''Brawl''. Meta Ridley is also featured as an alternate costume for Ridley. An official Ridley [[amiibo]] was confirmed the same day as his reveal and launched alongside the game itself.

Ridley vs Samus NES.gif|Ridley's debut appearance in ''Metroid'', which inspired his depiction in ''Ultimate''<ref name=RidleyNES>{{cite web |url=https://www.eventhubs.com/news/2018/jul/23/masahiro-sakurai-designed-ridley-super-smash-bros-ultimate-based-his-appearance-original-metroid-nes/ |title=Masahiro Sakurai designed Ridley in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate based on his appearance in the original Metroid for the NES |accessdate=2018-10-26 |last=Gordon |first=Justin |date=2018-07-24 |publisher=EventHubs }}</ref>

Ridley Portrait (SSB4).png|Unused render from the files of ''Super Smash Bros. 4''.

*Ridley's tail is the only invulnerable part of Ridley's body in every ''Metroid'' game in the series following the first. However, in ''for Wii U'', his tail counts as part of his hurtboxes.

*Ridley had historically been a strong contender for the fan community's most-wanted playable character; an official survey on the Japanese version of ''Brawl''{{'}}s [[Smash Bros. DOJO!!]] featured Ridley receiving four separate requests from fans to be playable, with only [[King Dedede]] having more (with five).<ref>http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=71872</ref><ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20061107182538/www.smashbros.com/jp/toukou/index.html</ref> Requests for the character increased even further for ''SSB4'', leading to another boost to the character's popularity. A significant number of players, however, had opposed the inclusion of Ridley, primarily under the claim that including the character would require scaling him down to an unrealistic size; as a result, "[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ridley-is-too-big Ridley is too big]" had become an in-joke in the community, particularly in reference with other characters that would require significant scaling for ''Smash Bros.'' appearances.

*In ''Ultimate'', Ridley became the first [[boss]] in the series to become a playable character.