Editing Ridley

:''For fighter info, see [[Ridley (SSBU)]].''

|image = [[File:Ridley Spirit.png|250px|Ridley]]

|caption = [[File:MetroidSymbol.svg|50px]]<br>Official artwork of Ridley from ''{{s|metroidwiki|Metroid: Zero Mission}}''.

|firstgame = ''[[metroidwiki: Metroid (game)|Metroid]]'' (1986)

|games = ''[[SSB]]''<br>''[[Melee]]''<br>''[[Brawl]]''<br>''[[SSB for Wii U]]''<br>''[[Ultimate]]''

|lastappearance = ''{{s|metroidwiki|Metroid: Samus Returns}}'' (2017)

|species = Space Dragon

|homeworld = {{s|metroidwiki|Zebes}}

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

==Character description==

Ridley, also known by the identifier '''Geoform 187''', is one of the main antagonists of the ''Metroid'' series, the other being [[Mother Brain]]. In spite of his bestial appearance and fearsome mannerisms, he is by no means a mindless animal, but a high-ranking [[Space Pirate]] general that is sapient and, as shown in the comics, capable of speech.

Ridley is directly connected to [[Samus Aran]]'s past and present. In the ''{{s|metroidwiki|Metroid e-manga}}'', he gained enough favor with the Space Pirates that he became one of their figures of highest authority. As such, he attacked and devastated three-year-old Samus's homeworld of {{s|metroidwiki|K-2L}} in a raid for fuel and resources, and personally killed [[metroidwiki:Virginia Aran|Samus's mother]] when she jumped in to protect her daughter. Unwittingly, he created his own worst enemy in Samus through this.

In ''{{b|Metroid|game}}'' and ''[[Metroid: Zero Mission]]'', he appears as the military leader of the Space Pirates and as a boss in the area with his name, and in ''Zero Mission'', the final boss is a robot in his likeness. He, his counterpart [[Kraid]], and all the Space Pirates desired to capture and clone the eponymous [[Metroid (creature)|Metroid creatures]] for use in galactic domination. Ridley, however, was surprised to find the little girl from years ago, now a grown woman, having come to fight and kill him.

However, he was revived as a cyborg called "'''[[Meta Ridley]]'''" and was a major antagonist in ''[[Metroid Prime]]''. He also gained a new, Phazon-enhanced form called "'''{{s|metroidwiki|Omega Ridley}}'''" in ''{{s|metroidwiki|Metroid Prime 3: Corruption}}''.

In ''{{s|metroidwiki|Metroid: Samus Returns}}'', Ridley arrives on Planet SR388 as Samus returns to her gunship with the lone Baby Metroid in tow. Here, Ridley’s body has partially healed and he is known as "'''{{s|metroidwiki|Proteus Ridley}}'''". After a long and hard-fought battle, Proteus Ridley is ultimately left incapacitated on the planet’s surface as Samus and the Baby Metroid leave for the Ceres Station to deliver the Baby Metroid.

In ''[[Super Metroid]]'', his body has completely healed and he successfully kidnaps the baby Metroid that Samus found in ''Metroid: Samus Returns''. Driven by intense rage, Samus chases him back to planet {{s|metroidwiki|Zebes}}, the Pirate base in ''Metroid'' and ''Zero Mission'', and in the process of rescuing the baby, Samus battles Ridley and the other Space Pirate leaders again, ultimately escaping the destruction of Zebes, which marked the final and true death of Samus' longstanding nemesis.

In ''[[Metroid: Other M]]'', Ridley is unintentionally cloned via a DNA sample found on Samus' armor after the events of ''Super Metroid''. The result is initially a small white owl-like creature dubbed "[[metroidwiki:Little Birdie|little birdie]]", which Samus later encounters on the {{s|metroidwiki|Bottle Ship}}. Later on, it evolves into a [[metroidwiki:Mystery Creature|quadrupedal lizard]] and eventually assaults Samus on sight after being assailed by Galactic Federation soldiers. After escaping the attack, the mysterious creature evolves its final and most recognizable form. Samus then re-encounters this reborn Ridley inside the Geothermal Power Plant in the Pyrosphere area of the Bottle Ship. Having thought she had eliminated him for good at the destruction of Zebes, his presence drives such a shock into her that she is becomes unable to speak or move, until {{s|metroidwiki|Anthony Higgs}} supposedly sacrifices himself trying to protect her. Enraged by the loss of her friend, Samus attempts to kill Ridley once more. Having suffered heavy injuries from the battle, Ridley flies away. He is later attacked by the reincarnated {{s|metroidwiki|Queen Metroid}}, being left as a lifeless husk.

In ''[[Metroid Fusion]]'', the body of Ridley's clone, cryogenically frozen, reappears on the {{s|metroidwiki|Biologic Space Labs}} research station, which Samus encounters halfway through her mission there, to witness it shatter, while an {{s|metroidwiki|X Parasite}} mimicking him exits the body. Samus later encounters the X-mimic becoming "'''{{s|metroidwiki|Neo-Ridley}}'''" and defeats him, presumably for the final time.

[[File:SSB Ridley.jpg|thumb|Ridley in ''Super Smash Bros.'']]

Ridley appeared on [[Planet Zebes]], flying in the background. His appearance is based off of his ''Super Metroid'' sprite.

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

*''Metroid'' (1989)

{{clear}}

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

|boss = ''SSBB''<br>''SSB for Wii U''

|caption = [[File:MetroidSymbol.svg|50px]]

|console = Nintendo Entertainment System

A remix of Ridley's theme from ''Super Metroid'' and Meta Ridley's theme from ''Metroid Prime'' both appear in ''Brawl''. In addition, Ridley's lair in the ''Metroid'' series, [[Norfair]], is featured as a stage.

Hacking of ''Brawl'''s reveals incomplete [[Assist Trophy]] data for Ridley, though he is not available as such. Presumably, Ridley was initially planned as an Assist Trophy, but was instead included as a boss.

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 resurrected by [[Tabuu]], their true leader, in [[The Great Maze]] to face down the heroes. Oddly enough, they are resurrected as separate beings.

===Moveset===

Ridley spends most of his time in the air over the abyss. Characters with strong aerials have an easier time, but in a pinch up-smashes can be used. Most of his attacks are either relatively slow or well telegraphed, thus staying alert can help the player avoid a lot of damage. The hardest attacks to dodge are his claw sweep (not his tail sweep) and loop-de-loop, but by paying attention to his attack order they can be predicted.

On higher difficulties of Subspace Emissary, defeating Ridley usually earns something valuable.

Like all bosses Ridley can controlled with hacks in [[Boss Battles Mode]]. The start button will like all bosses self-destruct him.

| Blasting Roar || A or B || Ridley roars and flaps his wings violently, which kicks up wind that pushes the player back slightly. Damage can be taken by making contact with his head as this starts. || 2

| Flying Stomp || A^ || Ridley lands on the floor, jumps up, and then drops down, trying to stomp on the player. Because Ridley always drops down on the same spot he landed before jumping, it can be dodged by running to the opposite end of the stage. || 3

| Claw Sweep || Av || Ridley flies low and sweeps the stage with his claws. He screeches before this, unless being controlled by a human. || 2

| Fly Off || A<, A>, B<, or B> || Ridley initiates Slamming Rush, but controlled by a human, he can't do it, if being controlled by a human he can return to the platform with moves like Claw Sweep (Av).|| 1

| Background Ram || B^ || Ridley jumps up and then flies toward the player from the background, similar to Master Hand's punch, but with an erratic flight pattern. It will only hit the player if they are on or very close to the ground, so it can be dodged easily by jumping over it. || 3

| Tail Sweep || Bv || 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

====Origin of Attacks====

Most of his attacks are completely made up for ''Brawl''; however, there are a couple attacks that are somewhat retained: The attack that Ridley does when he flies to the background of the stage and tries to ram into the player looks very similar to how Ridley flew away in the beginning of ''Super Metroid''. Also in ''Super Metroid'', Ridley will often use his tail as a weapon by whipping it at Samus. In ''Brawl'', Ridley does use his tail as a weapon, but not as a whip.

!HP Values!!colspan=3|[[Image:EasyDifficulty.png|32px|link=Difficulty|Lowest difficulty]]!!colspan=3|[[Image:NormalDifficulty.png|32px|link=Difficulty|Below-middle difficulty]]!!colspan=3|[[Image:HardDifficulty.png|32px|link=Difficulty|Middle difficulty]]!!colspan=3|[[Image:VeryHardDifficulty.png|32px|link=Difficulty|Above-middle difficulty]]!!colspan=3|[[Image:IntenseDifficulty.png|32px|link=Difficulty|Highest difficulty]]

|-

|'''Round'''||'''1-3'''||'''4-6'''||'''7-9'''||'''1-3'''||'''4-6'''||'''7-9'''||'''1-3'''||'''4-6'''||'''7-9'''||'''1-3'''||'''4-6'''||'''7-9'''||'''1-3'''||'''4-6'''||'''7-9'''

Like all bosses in ''Brawl'', Ridley gains an additional ×0.6 damage resistance modifier when fought in co-op mode, effectively gaining 67% more health. This modifier is applied whenever the second player is in-game, and is no longer applied if the second player loses all their [[stock]]s.

===Trophy description===

[[Image:Ridley - Brawl Trophy.png|thumb|left|150px|Ridley's trophy in ''Brawl''.]]

''The leader of the Space Pirates. He looks like a pterosaur but has high intelligence and a brutal nature. He plans to steal the baby Metroid from Samus for his own use. Ridley utilizes wings for a full range of flight and attacks with fireballs from his mouth and whips of his tail. As the culprit behind the murder of Samus's parents, the connections with Samus run deep.''

! Characters

| {{SortKey|Ganondorf}}{{Head|Ganondorf|g=SSBB|s=16px|link=Ganondorf (SSBB)}}

==In ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''==

[[File:Ridley SSB4.png|thumb|right|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 {{forwiiu}}, 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, in the section which discussed the [[Yellow Devil]]'s role as a stage boss on [[Wily Castle]]. Ridley was ultimately confirmed to appear as a unique stage boss in the {{forwiiu}} 50-Fact Extravaganza, over a year after the 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. Unlike other stage bosses, however, 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.

{{ImageCaption|image1=Image:RidleyHeadSSB4-U.png|image2=Image:MetaRidleyHeadSSB4-U.png|width1=64px|width2=64px|caption='''Left:''' Ridley's head icon in SSB4.<br/>'''Right:''' Unused Meta Ridley variant.}}

{{for3ds}} marks Ridley's first complete absence from a ''Super Smash Bros.'' title.

*Shoots his tail through the stage while clinging through the ledge. Ridley can do this up to three times. Only uses this after increasing strength. 25%

===Trophy description===

:{{Flag|ntsc}} ''Samus's long-standing rival in battle. In this game, he's a common foe to all the fighters in the Pyrosphere stage. However, if you manage to launch him or knock him over, he'll become an ally to whoever dealt the last blow. Defeating him in a timed battle nets you +1 KO.''

:{{Flag|pal}} ''Samus's long-standing rival in battle. In this game, he's a common foe to all the fighters in the Pyrosphere stage. However, if you manage to launch him or knock him over, he'll become an ally to whoever dealt the last blow. If you can defeat him during a timed battle, you'll get +1 KO out of it!''

:{{Trophy games|console1=NES|game1=Metroid (08/1987)|console2=SNES|game2=Super Metroid (04/1994)}}

:{{Flag|ntsc}} ''It may be hard to believe, but this is a younger version of the infamous Space Pirate Ridley. No matter how cute he is, don't think that you can love him and take him home--his next form is lizard-like with a sharp tail, and he has no problem turning his caring owner into a tasty snack!''

:{{Flag|pal}} ''Everyone knows Ridley as a terrifying evil space dragon, but would you have guessed he looked like this as a baby? He's kind of cute and creepy at the same time. Don't let his innocent act fool you into thinking he'd make a nice pet, though - once he sheds his skin and enters his reptile phase, you'll just become his next meal!''

:{{Trophy games|console1=Wii|game1=Metroid: Other M (08/2010)}}

:{{Flag|ntsc}} ''What once was a cute little bird has changed into a lizard-like creature. It still has some white feathers from its previous form, but that's where the similarities end. Is there something in its blood that drives it to confront Samus whenever possible? Her parents were Ridley's victims, after all.''

:{{Flag|pal}} ''If Little Birdie is Ridley's cute baby years, this must be his awkward teenage phase. The feathers on his back are the only real clue that it's the same creature. Is there something in Ridley's genes that make him hate Samus so much? The original Ridley killed her parents, and now this one is out to get her too!''

:{{Trophy games|console1=Wii|game1=Metroid: Other M (08/2010)}}

RidleyTrophyWiiU.png|Ridley

LittleBirdieTrophyWiiU.png|Little Birdie

MysteryCreatureTrophyWiiU.png|Mystery Creature

==In ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''==

{{Main|Ridley (SSBU)}}

[[File:Ridley SSBU.png|thumb|right|Official artwork of Ridley in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate''.]]

After many years appearing only as a boss, Ridley finally makes his debut as an unlockable newcomer, being revealed during the Nintendo E3 Direct on June 12, 2018. Much like Zero Suit Samus in both ''Ultimate'' and its predecessor, Ridley uses a composite design original to the ''Smash'' series; in this case, he is primarily based on ''Super Metroid'', with some embellishments and elements from ''Metroid: Other M'', resulting in a more realistic and detailed design than his ''Brawl'' boss appearance. Meta Ridley<!--Not Proteus Ridley. Note that Proteus's jaw, neck, chest, right arm, and wings are much more organic compared to this costume.--> is featured as an alternate costume for Ridley. An official Ridley amiibo was confirmed the same day.

{{clr}}

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 boss portrait from ''Super Smash Bros. for Wii U''.

*Ridley's tail is the only invulnerable part of Ridley's body in every ''Metroid'' game in the series following the first. However, in {{forwiiu}}, 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 the first game'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 before the release of both ''Melee'' and ''Brawl'', with the significant hype behind ''Smash 4'' 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.  

**[[Masahiro Sakurai]] himself has commented on the popularity of Ridley as a playable character. In an interview with the gaming magazine ''{{s|wikipedia|Nintendo Power}}'', Sakurai said the following on ''Brawl's'' finalised roster:

:*Ridley's character trailer tagline in ''Ultimate'', "Ridley Hits the Big Time!", is likely a jab at the long-standing meme regarding Ridley's size.

:*In his home series, Ridley was at his smallest in the original NES game ''Metroid'', where his hunched posture makes him only slightly taller than Samus. According to senior localization manager Nate Bihldorff, this was a major inspiration for Masahiro Sakurai when Ridley was scaled down for ''Ultimate''.<ref name=RidleyNES/>

*In ''Smash 4'', Ridley is the only non-playable character to have a unique stock icon in the final build of the game. Strangely, the icon derives from his ''Brawl'' design.

*In ''Brawl'', Ridley hangs motionless in the air once his death animation completes. Normally, the animation finishes far below the bottom of the screen, so this cannot be seen. However, it is possible to defeat him while he's very high up during some attacks with moves such as {{b|Thunder|Pokémon}}, which results in the animation not reaching the bottom of the screen and leaving him to float onscreen as the stage fades out.

*In ''Brawl'', he is unable to shoot fireballs as he did as an attack in past ''Metroid'' games. The fireball attacks were used by Meta Ridley.

*In ''Ultimate'', Ridley became the second boss in the series to become a playable character, after [[Giga Bowser]].

**However, Ridley is the first boss in the series to be a fully playable character as opposed to Giga Bowser who's only playable via [[Final Smash]].

*Ridley, the dog from [[Duck Hunt]], [[Palutena]], [[Dark Samus]], [[Piranha Plant]], and [[Wii Fit Trainer]] are the only playable characters in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series that do not have a playable appearance in any other video game. If the Mystery Mushroom costumes from ''Super Mario Maker'' are counted, however, Ridley, Dark Samus, and Piranha Plant are the only characters in the series to hold this distinction.

**By default, this makes the ''Metroid'' universe the only universe that has two characters with this distinction.

*Due to him finally being playable in ''Ultimate'', Ridley is currently the tallest playable character to date, overtaking his nemesis Samus in ''Smash 64'', and Bowser since ''Melee''.

*In the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, Ridley is the only playable ''Metroid'' character not to be a variation of Samus (as well as the only one not to have Samus in his name), be male, and not have a [[grab aerial]] in any game.

[[Category:Ridley]]

[[Category:Metroid universe]]