Editing Ridley (SSBU)

|image = {{tabber|title1=Normal|content1=[[File:Ridley SSBU.png|x250px]]|title2=Meta Ridley|content2=[[File:Ridley-Alt1 SSBU.png|x250px]]}}

{{cquote|''Ridley Hits the Big Time!''|cite=Introduction tagline}}

'''Ridley''' ({{ja|リドリー|Ridorī}}, ''Ridley'') is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''. He was revealed as a [[newcomer]] alongside {{SSBU|Inkling}} and {{SSBU|Daisy}} during [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L93H7YC-83o Nintendo's 2018 E3 press conference] on June 12th, 2018. Ridley is classified as [[Fighter number|Fighter #65]].

Like in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'', ''[[Super Smash Bros. for Wii U]]'', and the {{uv|Metroid}} series, Ridley's voice clips consist of computer-generated but realistic roars and screeches.

 

Ridley is ranked 64th out of 82 on the current [[tier list]], placing him in the C- tier. Ridley’s greatest strength lies in his powerful offensive game: Ridley’s neutral game is quite good, thanks to a combination of excellent mobility, multiple midair jumps, and many of his moves has excellent disjointed range and power, such as his Forward Tilt, which combined with his frame data being better than most heavyweights, and a long distanced command grab with Space Pirate Rush, allows Ridley to pressure opponents very effectively. His advantage state is also excellent as a result, with several effective combo starters such as Neutral Aerial, Up Tilt and Down Tilt able lead into many into his damaging attacks. Finally, Ridley’s edge guarding abilities are among the best: Plasma Breath is excellent at gimping with him being able to fire up to 5 fireballs at once, his Forward Aerial being capable of performing the Wall of Pain technique due to his extra midair jump, and his Wing Blitz consisting of a long lasting Meteor Smash when angled downwards.

 

However, Ridley’s disadvantage state is severe enough to cripple his overall effectiveness. Ridley’s hurtbox is not only among the largest in the game, he’s also surprisingly light for a heavyweight, all while not having an effective way to break out of combos. As a result, not only is Ridley among the most susceptible to combos and juggling, he doesn’t share the same advantage as other heavyweights of being able to survive up to very high percents. Ridley’s recovery is also surprisingly limited despite having an extra midair jump, due to Space Pirate Rush having rather high startup and ending lag, as well as Wing Blitz having limited angles that makes it difficult for him to recover safely. Due to this, his endurance is quite poor, and opponents can keep Ridley in disadvantage just as long as how Ridley is able to keep them in disadvantage. Finally, Ridley suffers from a weak grab game, having no reliable KO throws until very high percents, and his Down Throw being greatly affected by Directional Influence, limiting its combos.

 

Overall, Ridley is considered to be the glass cannon among the heavyweights. His quick speed, large hitboxes and strong power allows him to easily overpower opponents once he wins neutral, dealing heavy damage or even take stocks early. At the same time, Ridley’s undesirable combination of large hurtbox and light weight results in opponents being able to exploit him the same way, trapping him in disadvantage for a long time. Ridley’s representation has been below average throughout Ultimate’s lifespan due to his flaws making him too risky, though he has seen good success nevertheless thanks to players such as Nair^, proving that he does offer plenty of reward in spite of his shortcomings.

*Clear {{SSBU|Classic Mode}} with {{SSBU|Yoshi}} or any character in his unlock tree, being the 6th character unlocked after {{SSBU|Lucina}}.

With the exception of the third method, Ridley must then be defeated on [[Norfair]]. In World of Light, he is fought on the [[Ω form]] of [[Brinstar Depths]].

Ridley is a [[weight|heavyweight]] character and the tallest fighter in the game, tied for the 13th heaviest character, and possesses the third lowest [[traction]]. Ridley has overall good mobility, especially compared to most heavyweights: with two midair jumps, slightly above average [[walk]] speed, tied with {{SSBU|Charizard}} for the 10th fastest [[dash]]ing speed, average [[air speed]], [[air acceleration]] and [[gravity]], and the 18th fastest [[falling speed]]. Ridley also boasts faster frame data than most heavyweights, further setting him apart from them. Ridley's most defining trait is his potent and varied [[punishment|punish]] game and aerial pressure. With remarkably long range, high power, and decent speed throughout his moveset, as well as a [[projectile]], Ridley is a serious threat once he gets the advantage; with opponents often overwhelmed and/or find it difficult to get in.

His key strength is his strong air game. Boasting overall quick, powerful, long-ranged aerials, and decent air mobility give Ridley overall excellent air pressure potential. Thanks to his additional jump and relatively high fast fall speed, he has superb vertical flexibility, and can use additional jumps or surprise fastfalls to fake out and punish his opponents with his far-reaching aerials. His [[neutral aerial]] is arguably his most effective aerial, having low all-around lag, good range, and average knockback. It is a good combo, spacing, and [[edge-guarding]] tool, while also being fast enough to break out opposing pressure if positioned correctly, making it among his most commonly used moves. [[Forward aerial]] has the highest damage output of Ridley's aerials when all hits are sweetspotted, but it doesn't have the KO power of his other aerials, though this allows it to perform a [[wall of pain]] at low percentages. [[Back aerial]] is decently quick and has consistently high damage and knockback, making it a deadly KO move especially if used off-stage for edge-guarding. [[Up aerial]] is a decent juggling move with decent startup and good KO potential when sweetspotted, but requires opponents to be very close to or above Ridley to land and the hitboxes don't last long. Lastly, [[down aerial]] is a stall-and-fall that powerfully [[meteor smash]]es opponents when sweetspotted while still having good KO potential when sourspotted, though he is stuck falling for a while and has a lot of landing lag.

Ridley's grounded game is also noteworthy in terms of utility. His [[neutral attack]] is his fastest attack (with a 4 frame startup), leading into either a [[rapid jab]] with a finisher or a [[gentleman]] jab. His [[forward tilt]] has good range and low lag overall, while dealing high knockback if sweetspotted, with the low angled version being a reliable two-framing option. Meanwhile, his [[up tilt|up]] and [[down tilt]]s offer varied potential, with up tilt being a great anti-air that can chain into itself, most aerials, and even up smash, whereas down tilt allows Ridley to combo off from a safe distance and set up punishes or juggles. His [[dash attack]] is one of the few to lack a sourspot and has respectable power, however it is only active for 2 frames and has a lot of ending lag. [[Forward smash]] has below-average startup and is short ranged, but good damage and knockback and is fast enough to punish whiffs, landings, or be a more situational follow up like off a late hit of a landing neutral aerial. [[Down smash]] has slow start up and less raw power, but is disjointed, covers a very large area, hits both sides simultaneously, and physically moves Ridley upwards, making it very useful to punish rolls and slow ledge attacks or to avoid grabs and low-to-the-ground attacks. It is also a notoriously effective punishment option after a successful Skewer sweetspot as it can cover most get-up options. [[Up smash]] is Ridley's fastest and most reliable smash attack, being an effective KO move despite being the weakest of his smash attacks, and serves as a very effective anti-air as Ridley's foot is granted invulnerability.

Ridley's special moveset offers a variety options. [[Plasma Breath]] is Ridley's projectile: it fires a small, bouncing ball of fire, and can be charged to fire up to five, dealing substantial damage when fully charged and all fireballs connect. The fireballs can also fall when sent off-stage, making them an effective on-stage edgegaurding or gimping tool. However, landing a hit on Ridley's mouth during the move will cause it to deal damage to himself and stun him for a significant amount of time. [[Skewer]] is a "high risk, high reward" punishment move that, when sweetspotted, deals extremely high damage and crumples enemies; while situational due to the high difficulty on sweetspotting the move, it puts the opponent in a dangerous position where Ridley can read their reaction. [[Space Pirate Rush]] is a command grab with some unique perks: on land, Ridley drags the opponent on the ground, dealing damage in the process; in the air, it causes both Ridley and the opponent to quickly fall similar to {{SSBU|Ganondorf}}'s [[Flame Choke]]; it can be cancelled into a throw at any time that puts both Ridley and the opponent into the air; it can cancel itself into a throw upon reaching the edge of the platform; and the aerial version will transition into the grounded version if it reaches the ground. The grounded version has decent KO power at high percents, while the airborne version is weaker and is better suited to sending recovering opponents further from the stage without removing Ridley's own recovery options, or be used as a [[sacrificial KO]] like the aforementioned Flame Choke. Lastly, [[Wing Blitz]] is Ridley's primary recovery move. It can be aimed in four directions, with the forward input traveling at a slight downwards angle, the backward variant traveling at a slight upward one, and the down variant traveling at a slight diagonal angle in front of Ridley. All Wing Blitz variants have a large ledge sweetspot and have high knockback, with the down input having a meteor smash sweetspot; the down input is also unique in that it can be used at the edge of the stage and grab the ledge as long as the down direction is not inputted for longer, which can let Ridley potentially ledge trump an unsuspecting opponent or send them straight down, depending on their position.

Due to the variety of his kit, Ridley is a jack-of-all-trades. His disjoints are effective against characters with poor range or grab-centric playstyles; his command grab is effective against highly defensive characters; and his projectile is effective against characters lacking projectiles themselves or taking out characters with lackluster recoveries. He hangs very low from the ledge, letting him avoid attacks notable for hitting hanging characters, such as Marth and Lucina's forward smash. Despite so many unique attributes, he has several attributes that fight against him.

While Ridley has many strengths, he also has some critical and exploitable weaknesses. The most notable weakness is his size: Ridley has among the largest, most awkward hurtboxes out of the cast which, combined with his heavy weight and fast falling speed, makes him very easy to combo, juggle, and hit in general. This combined with his lower weight compared to similarly sized super-heavyweight characters negatively affects his survivability, as he is often at a considerably higher risk of dying. Ridley's frame data, although good for a heavyweight, is still poor. He has below average startup and above average ending lag overall on his toolkit and lacks a tool fast enough to break combos effectively; this makes him one of the most affected characters by average combo strings and he is rather easy to KO. Ridley's options against projectile users and zoning are virtually nonexistent and he is unable to counter-zone as his own projectile is laggy, travels slowly, are useless against more powerful projectiles, and could even backfire and leave him open to punish if an opponent's projectile hits his mouth. Another major weakness his is recovery, which primarily consists of two, long-startup, predictable moves: Space Pirate Rush and Wing Blitz. The latter only has a couple useful angles and has active hitboxes while in motion, making it very easy to land an off-stage counterattack.

Another critical flaw to Ridley is how drastically his moves vary in quality, which can lead to Ridley becoming quite predictable. While he has plenty of moves offering varying amounts of utility, some of them still have significant flaws; these can range from slow startup (Plasma Breath and down smash), absurd blindspots (up tilt and up smash on some occasions), overly situational and/or strict (Skewer), to being downright unreliable (down aerial). On the other side of the spectrum, some of Ridley's moves like neutral aerial, up smash, down tilt, and Plasma Breath, depending on the match-up, is so favorable that it becomes easy to over-centralize on their use, a detriment to a character that finds the most success in being unpredictable. This, combined with his aforementioned trouble at dealing with fast and/or zoning characters, and with recovering under pressure, makes Ridley one of the most susceptible characters to pressure, as Ridley's disadvantage state makes him easy to overwhelm, and failure to overwhelm or control aggression could force him to take heavy damage or even be KOed outright. His grab game is also poor, with down throw serving as both a combo starter at low to mid percents to a KO through at higher percents. Forward and back throw lack reasonable kill power, even with ideal positioning, and up throw, while being his most damaging throw and a passable kill throw with low ceiling stages, sends opponents too high for any true conversions. Despite down throw being one of his better throws, it is easily affected by opponent's [[directional influence]], further limiting his grab options.

Lastly, Ridley's advantage state, unarguably being very oppressive, is greatly held back by his middling airspeed. Despite possessing an additional mid-air jump and impressive aerials, Ridley has a surprisingly difficult time staying airborne. He generally needs to gain some distance while grounded to approach with his aerials, and while his dash speed is very impressive, it's restrictive regardless, and Ridley lacks the number of jumps that characters like {{SSBU|King Dedede}} and {{SSBU|Pit}} have to help circumvent their airspeed issues. Various combos are usually unable to extend in the air for long thanks to this, as his aerials may deal too much knockback to follow up after one or two attacks. This is further shown in his recovery, as Wing Blitz and Space Pirate Rush are usually options he must use to recover, even if Ridley isn't that far from the stage. While Ridley's airspeed is definitely better than most other fellow characters with multiple jumps, it's still merely average compared to the whole cast, which tones down his overall effectiveness in the air, and this is further exacerbated by him being a fast-faller. Ridley’s recovery can also be rather vulnerable to edgeguarding due to the slow startup of Space Pirate Rush and Wing Blitz, and the high damage and large hitbox of the latter makes counterattacks a particularly devastating option against it if he has to use it to recover, resulting in him having to use his resources carefully when returning to the stage.

Overall, Ridley is a character of extremes with a relatively high learning curve. Similarly to what {{SSBU|Mewtwo}} is among lightweight characters, Ridley fills in the position of being a glass cannon heavyweight. He has excellent damage, pressure, and edge-guarding potential with a broad arsenal of powerful moves and tools to gain and sustain advantage, gradually poke and pressure from a fair distance away, and punish whiffs or what would normally be an inconsequential slip-up. This allows Ridley to easily make comebacks or greatly widen his lead with minimal set up should an opponent make a single error in considering Ridley's approach. However, despite possessing a powerful and highly versatile moveset, Ridley lacks strong options out of disadvantage and generally struggles to oppose pressure from opponents due to his size and the frame data on his aerials and grounded attacks. This makes top tier matchups like Snake and Palutena difficult for Ridley, as they are well-equipped to combat Ridley through oppressive walls of projectiles or strong aerial combos respectively. As such, mix-up heavy playstyles are heavily encouraged when playing Ridley to prevent opponents from capitalising on his own susceptibility as much as possible.

Ridley received a mix of buffs, nerfs and glitch fixes via game updates, but was buffed overall. Update {{SSBU|1.1.0}} adjusted the mobility attributes of both [[Space Pirate Rush]] and [[Wing Blitz]] to varying degrees. However, the only remotely useful buffs among these changes were Ridley incurring less landing lag after jumping out of Space Pirate Rush, and his faster traveling speed during the beginning of Wing Blitz's forward and backward flights. Update {{SSBU|2.0.0}} was also uneventful for Ridley, since it negligibly buffed neutral, forward and down aerials by slightly decreasing their edge lockout times. Update {{SSBU|3.0.0}} marked Ridley's first nerf, in which [[Plasma Breath]]'s [[shield damage]] output was decreased as part of a near-universal nerf to [[projectile]]s.

However, update {{SSBU|4.0.0}} marked a noteworthy turnaround for Ridley. Most notably, Wing Blitz has less start-up lag, propels him faster, and covers more distance to the point that it now allows Ridley to recover from the [[magnifying glass]] range of the bottom blast line when it is angled upward. Ridley's inconsistent KO potential was also improved noticeably: up smash, back aerial and Space Pirate Rush's edge throw were strengthened, and up aerial's sweetspot became much easier to land thanks to it being enlarged and out-prioritizing the sourspot. Aside from these buffs, up smash became more reliable as an anti-air attack and [[out of shield]] option thanks to its additional active frame, and Ridley incurs less ending lag after jumping out of Space Pirate Rush.

Following this, update {{SSBU|7.0.0}} adjusted Ridley's posture while he is shielding himself. On a related note, a portion of Ridley's wings now possess [[intangibility]] when he activates and deactivates his shield, while a portion of his tail also possesses intangibility when he deactivates his shield. While these buffs are minor compared to the ones Ridley received in update 4.0.0, they nevertheless benefit him quite noticeably; Ridley's status as the tallest character in ''Ultimate'' previously resulted in him being very susceptible to [[shield stab]]bing, even with a full shield.

Update {{SSBU|8.0.0}} granted [[Skewer]] a buff and a nerf, although the former is outweighed significantly by the latter. Its sweetspot deals more damage, making it far more rewarding if successfully landed. However, if Skewer hits an opponent who has grab immunity, it inflicts minimal knockback instead of [[crumpling]] them. In addition to making it unsafe as a follow-up from down throw, this change removes Skewer's infamous infinite combo in doubles matches when paired with a character that has a [[bury]]ing throw.

Update {{SSBU|9.0.0}} improved the consistency of Wing Blitz's downward angled landing hitbox and, as part of a near-universal buff, granted [[transcendent priority]] to neutral infinite and its finisher. Update {{SSBU|13.0.0}} would then buff Space Pirate Rush by shortening the amount of time between its slamming and dragging animations and when a jump can be inputted. Lastly, update {{SSBU|13.0.1}} improved dash attack's KO potential by increasing its damage output at the negligible cost of its knockback scaling being decreased slightly.

Overall, Ridley fares better than he did at the launch of ''Ultimate'', thanks to his buffs improving his KO potential, recovery and, to a much lesser degree, his defense.

*Ridley can perform [[Double jump#Multiple double jumps|2 double jumps]].

|neutralname=Scratch ({{ja|スクラッチ|Sukuratchi}}) / Counter Scratch ({{ja|カウンタースクラッチ|Kauntā Sukuratchi}}) / Bite Off ({{ja|バイトオフ|Baito Ofu}}) / Thousand Needle ({{ja|サウザンドニードル|Sauzan Nīdoru}}) / Tail Finish ({{ja|テイルフィニッシュ|Teiru Finisshu}})

|neutraldesc=An alternating pair of claw swipes followed by a tearing bite. Alternatively, if the attack button is pressed quickly for each hit, the second hit transitions into a rapid-fire tail stab that ends with a swing. The first and second hits are particularly low-hitting [[jab lock]]s, while the third hit is relatively strong for a neutral attack, KOing middleweights under 200% from the center of {{SSBU|Final Destination}}. Conversely, the neutral infinite's finisher has high base knockback, but very low knockback scaling, being unable to KO under 500% from center stage.

|ftiltname=Tail Spear ({{ja|テイルスピアー|Teiru Supiā}})

|ftiltdesc=Grabs his tail and thrusts it forward. Can be [[angle]]d, and the tip of Ridley's tail acts as a [[sweetspot]]. The up-angled version can act as a low altitude anti-air with respectable horizontal reach, while the downward-angled version can act as a ledge pressuring tool, with the sweetspot reaching low enough to catch any opponent in a [[2 frame punish]], a ledge re-grab, or a missed ledge sweetspot. Has long range and moderately low ending lag, making it a powerful [[spacing]] tool. The sweetspot KOs at around 155% from center stage.

|utiltname=Wing Slicer ({{ja|ウイングスライサー|Uingu Suraisā}})

|utiltdesc=Swings one wing in an overhead arcing motion, starting from behind. Has its sweetspot along the upper edge and renders Ridley's wing [[intangible]] while the hitboxes are active, which along with its coverage allows it to function as an effective anti-air. Its moderate speed also allows it to combo into itself at low to mid percents, and into any aerial attack at mid to high percents. Has blind spots beside Ridley.

|dtiltname=Tail Bash ({{ja|テイルバッシュ|Teiru Basshu}})

|dtiltdesc=Swings his tail across the ground. Has its sweetspot on the tip of the tail with slightly longer range than his forward tilt, and launches opponents upward, allowing it to combo into aerial attacks at a wide range of percents, as well as an up-angled forward tilt, dash attack, or up tilt (against larger characters) at low percents.

|dashname=Dash Bite ({{ja|ダッシュバイト|Dasshu Baito}})

|dashdmg=13.5%

|dashdesc=A lunging bite. A powerful dash attack especially near edges, KOing at around 100% at the edge of Final Destination, and at around 145% from the center. Resembles [[Meta Ridley]]'s lunging attack in ''{{iw|metroidwiki|Metroid Prime}}''.

|fsmashname=Bark Explosion ({{ja|バークエクスプロージョン|Bāku Ekusupurōjon}})

|fsmashdesc=Rears back and then expels a [[flame|fiery]] explosion from his mouth. Has slow startup and short range (covering less horizontal distance than his forward tilt), but deals very high damage and knockback, KOing under 80% from center stage.

|usmashname=Air Kick ({{ja|エアキック|Ea Kikku}})

|usmashdesc=An outside crescent kick. It covers Ridley entirely overhead and, unlike most up smashes of its kind, its hitbox starts from behind, making it more effective for covering Ridley's back if used [[out of shield]]. Has moderate startup and ending lag, but has a large overall hitbox and grants intangibility on Ridley's leg while the hitboxes are active, making it a powerful anti-air similarly to his up tilt. Has blind spots directly in front and behind Ridley, though it may hit taller characters directly on either side. Can KO at around 105% from ground level.

|dsmashname=Wing Press ({{ja|ウイングプレス|Uingu Puresu}})

|nairname=Ridley Spin ({{ja|リドリースピン|Ridorī Supin}})

|nairdmg={{ShortHopDmgSSBU|9}} (clean tail), {{ShortHopDmgSSBU|12}} (clean tip), {{ShortHopDmgSSBU|5}} (late)

|nairdesc=Backflips and swings his tail around himself, similarly to {{SSBU|Charizard}}'s neutral aerial albeit backwards instead of forwards. Has the lowest startup, ending lag and landing lag out of Ridley's aerials, as well as a long duration and a large hitbox, making it widely considered one of his most viable approach options. Upon landing, it can also combo into a jab, forward tilt, down tilt or grab at low percents, and another neutral aerial or a forward aerial at mid percents, especially if the sourspot is landed.

|fairname=Triple Thrust ({{ja|トリプルスラスト|Toripuru Surasuto}})

|fairdesc=Thrusts his tail forward three times in quick succession. Deals the most damage out of Ridley's aerials if all hits are sweetspotted (17% total); however, it is also his weakest aerial knockback-wise, while its hitboxes are small compared to his other moves. Has moderate landing lag, albeit the first hit can set up into a neutral attack.

|bairname=Sobat ({{ja|ソバット|Sobatto}})

|uairname=Wing Stab ({{ja|ウイングスタッブ|Uingu Sutabbu}})

|dairname=Heel Dive ({{ja|ヒールダイブ|Hīru Daibu}})

|dairdmg={{ShortHopDmgSSBU|14}} (clean feet), {{ShortHopDmgSSBU|12}} (clean legs, late)

|dairdesc=A double foot stomp. A [[stall-then-fall]] with a sweetspot on its clean hit that [[meteor smash]]es opponents. Unlike most other moves of its kind, Ridley can also recover from it offstage if initiated at least at some height above the stage. However, it has very high landing lag, leaving it unsafe as a landing option and preventing any followups out of its meteor smash onstage. It resembles a move Meta Ridley uses in ''Metroid Prime''.

|grabname=Grab ({{ja|つかみ|Tsukami}})

|grabdesc=Reaches out with his right hand. Despite his size, Ridley's grab only has average range. It is also somewhat slow, although it has low ending lag to compensate.

|pummelname=Grab Tail Needle ({{ja|つかみテイルニードル|Tsukami Teiru Nīdoru}})

|pummeldesc=Stabs his opponent with his tail. Slow but strong, although its lower hitlag makes it marginally faster than other similar pummels.

|fthrowname=Front Throw ({{ja|フロントスルー|Furonto Surū}})

|bthrowname=Strike Throw ({{ja|ストライクスルー|Sutoraiku Surū}})

|uthrowname=Backbone Breaker ({{ja|バックボーンブレイカー|Bakkubōn Bureikā}})

|dthrowname=Head Fling ({{ja|ヘッドフリング|Heddo Furingu}})

|nsdmg=4.5%-5.6682692% (clean), 3.5%-4.4086542% (late)

|nsdesc=Expels a fireball from his mouth, which bounces forward along the ground. It can be charged to have Ridley launch a maximum of five fireballs, which also increase in size and damage, dealing up to 28.341346% if all of them connect. When charged, it is fairly effective for camping and edgeguarding due to its low ending lag and sheer amount of projectiles, and can rack up damage quickly if uninterrupted. However, it has rather high startup, and hitting Ridley's mouth while he is charging the move causes [[recoil damage]] to him depending on how much it had been charged. The recoil animation lasts 56 frames.

|ssdmg=4% (slam), 2% (drag loop), 7% (ledge/jump/aerial throw), 12% (wall throw)

|ssdesc=Rushes forward to grab an opponent, functioning as a [[command grab]]. If successful, Ridley slams them onto the ground and drags them forward along it, dealing continuous damage, then throws them either upon reaching an edge or if the special move button is held. After frame 22 (just after Ridley starts sliding), he gains [[damage-based armor]] that withstand up to 8%. The move deals more damage the more distance the opponent is dragged along the ground, dealing 17% minimum when throwing manually, and can rack up a lot of damage in a short span of time. However, they can [[mash]] out of the move before Ridley throws them, with how fast they can escape depending on the difference between their percent and Ridley's. In midair, it doesn't incur [[helpless]]ness, allowing it to extend Ridley's recovery, and grabbing an opponent causes him to fall down with them until landing or throwing them manually, allowing it to be used for a [[sacrificial KO]]. However, it has some startup lag, and the aerial version causes Ridley to drop downwards after its horizontal momentum ends, making it possible to mistime a recovery.

|usdmg=18% (up), 16% (forward, backward), 15% (down), 5% (down, landing)

|usdesc=Propels himself in any of four possible directions: straight up by default; forward and slightly down; backward and slightly up; and down and slightly forward. The move travels a long distance, does not lose power while traveling, has a wide ledge grabbing range throughout, and lets Ridley drift significantly when done. It is also noticeably powerful: the forward and upward tackles KO under 130% from center stage, whereas the diving stomp meteor smashes aerial targets while also allowing Ridley to save himself by grabbing an edge, making it potentially deadly for [[edgeguard]]ing. However, the move has very slow startup, and its few angles limit the positions from which Ridley can safely recover with it. Hitting a wall or ceiling with any angle will cause Ridley to bump away foregoing [[helplessness]].

|dsdesc=Rears his tail back as it sparks briefly, then thrusts it forward powerfully. If hit near the tip of the tail, it causes [[Special Zoom]] and deals extremely high damage (55% total) and causes opponents to crumple if landed on the ground, akin to a fully charged [[Focus Attack]]; both the sweetspot and the sourspot deal minimal shield damage, however. It has a very slow startup of half a second (30 [[frame]]s), and conversely deals low damage and knockback if any other part of Ridley's tail hits, making it significantly hard to land especially in one-on-one battles. Additionally, the sweetspotted attack only allows Ridley to move after the opponent gets up again, making followup attacks based on reading the opponent's getup option. If Skewer lands on an airborne opponent, they will instead be sent away with weak diagonal knockback.

|fsdesc=Roars and then dashes forward. Upon hitting an opponent, a cinematic sequence begins with Ridley headbutting them onto {{SSBU|Samus}}' [[metroidwiki:Samus Aran's Gunship|gunship]]; as the gunship flies off, he expels an energy beam from his mouth that engulfs both the ship and the target in an explosion. After the cutscene ends, the opponent is meteor smashed and the gunship can be seen crashing in the background of the stage. This Final Smash is an [[instant KO]] on opponents at 100% or higher before the cutscene ends.

 

*Swoops down at an angle before landing and then roars briefly.

SSBURidleyIdle1.gif|Ridley's first idle pose.

SSBURidleyIdle2.gif|Ridley's second idle pose.

|[[File:Ridley Cheer English SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Ridley Cheer Japanese SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Ridley Cheer Italian SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Ridley Cheer Dutch SSBU.ogg|center]]||{{NTSC}} [[File:Ridley Cheer French NTSC SSBU.ogg|center]] <br> {{PAL}} [[File:Ridley Cheer French PAL SSBU.ogg|center]]

|[[File:Ridley Cheer German SSBU.ogg|center]]||{{NTSC}} [[File:Ridley Cheer Spanish NTSC SSBU.ogg|center]] <br> {{PAL}} [[File:Ridley Cheer Spanish PAL SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Ridley Cheer Russian SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:Ridley Cheer Korean SSBU.ogg|center]]

*'''Left:''' Flies into the scene, lands and drifts to a stop.

*'''Up:''' Flies in from the background then roars immediately before performing a somersaulting claw swipe as he lands.

*'''Right:''' Claws at the ground repeatedly and bites once afterward. He then turns toward the camera and grins. The way the camera is angled makes it appear as if Ridley is supposedly ravaging a downed opponent, but in Team Battles, it clearly shows that he is scratching at the bare ground.

[[File:RidleyDarkSamusVictoryThemeUltimate.ogg|thumb|A sinister remix of the theme that plays when [[Samus Aran]] obtains a power-up for her {{iw|metroidwiki|Power Suit}}.]]

==In [[competitive play]]==

<!--This character has a ten player limit for this section. Before adding and/or removing a player, read these guidelines: https://www.ssbwiki.com/SmashWiki:Notability#%22Most_historically_significant_players%22_guidelines -->

''See also: [[:Category:Ridley players (SSBU)]]''

*{{Sm|Mezcaul|France}} - The best Ridley player of all-time who has been the best since the post-pandemic metagame. He is the only Ridley player ranked top 100 on a globaly ranking, ranking 88th on the [[OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse]], and has regularly been ranked top 150 since. He has some of the best Ridley major performances, most notably placing 13th at {{Trn|Temple: Hermès Edition}} and {{Trn|King Of Fields 95 3}}. In addition, he has defeated many of Europe's best players, including {{Sm|Glutonny}} at {{Trn|WANTED S4 C3 - Saint Valentin Edition}} and {{Sm|Sisqui}} at {{Trn|DOSE2SUCRE - 2023.01}}.

*{{Sm|KORINKU1219|Japan}} - One of the best Ridley players in Japan since 2024. He first broke out onto the scene with two major upsets on top players at back-to-back events, defeating {{Sm|Snow|p=Japan}} to place 25th at {{Trn|Maesuma'U22}} and {{Sm|Doramigi}} to place 2nd at {{Trn|Kamisuma 23}}. His attendance remains scarce, and as such he was only ranked as an honorable mention to the [[LumiRank 2024.1]]'s top 100.

*{{Sm|momon|p=Japan|Japan}} - One of the best Ridley players in Japan. He is especially known for his results in 2022, where he not only took a set off {{Sm|acola}} at [https://www.start.gg/tournament/hit-25-maesumahit-25/details MaesumaHIT #25], but had several noteworthy performances at superregionals and majors, including placing 5th at {{Trn|Kamisuma 13}}, 13th at {{Trn|Sumabato SP 30}} and {{Trn|Sumabato SP 32}}, and 25th at {{Trn|Kagaribi 6}}. Although he became increasingly less consistent as time went on, he has still put up some great results, including placing 25th at {{Trn|Sumabato SP 51}} defeating {{Sm|Ron}}.

*{{Sm|Nair^|Mexico}} - The best Ridley player in the world in the early metagame. He was the most successful Ridley player at [[PGRU]] events during this time, notably defeating {{Sm|Dark Wizzy}} at {{Trn|Mexican Gaming Championship}}, placing 2nd overall, and placing 5th at {{Trn|Smash Fest to the Sky}}. He picked up {{SSBU|Hero}} as a co-main during the online metagame and gradually began using him more than Ridley, however he remains one of the best Ridley players in North America, most notably defeating {{Sm|Sparg0}} with solo-Ridley at {{Trn|SWT: Central America Ultimate Regional Finals}}.

*{{Sm|smub|USA}} - One of the best Ridley players in North America in the post-pandemic metagame and the most successful American Ridley player. Despite inconsistent major performances, he holds one of the best major placements for a Ridley player at a major, having placed 9th at {{Trn|Patchwork 2024}} defeating {{Sm|Candle}} and {{Sm|Wildz}}. In addition, he is also known for placing 13th at {{Trn|Glitch - Regen}} and defeating {{Sm|MuteAce}} at {{Trn|Set Count 2-1}}.

===Tier placement and history===

Being a widely requested character, there was a lot of hype when Ridley was first announced to be playable. However, initial opinions of Ridley's viability in the E3 demo build were very negative. Due to him having one of the largest hurtboxes in the game while not being a super heavyweight like similarly large characters, along with his attacks suffering from poor frame data, many people claimed that Ridley's disadvantage state was too risky for him to make a significant impact towards the meta. This perception remained in the early metagame, and although Ridley saw some success in the early months after a brief stint from {{Sm|Tweek}}, who placed 5th at {{Trn|Collision 2019}} with Ridley, many agreed that Ridley was at best a low tier character.

As time went on, dedicated mains were able to see sparks of success with the character. During the early metagame, {{Sm|Nair^}} notably defeated {{Sm|Dark Wizzy}} at {{Trn|Mexican Gaming Championship}} and was ultimately ranked top 10 in Mexico. Even after the online metagame, in which Nair^ picked up {{SSBU|Hero}}, he continued to garner solid results with Ridley, including a win over {{Sm|Sparg0}} at {{Trn|SWT: Central America Ultimate Regional Finals}}. In addition, the post-pandemic metagame saw the rise of many other Ridley players, including {{Sm|momon|p=Japan}} and {{Sm|smub}}, players who saw great success at superregionals and respectable placements at majors. Most notably, {{Sm|Mezcaul}} became a regular threat at European events, and has been regularly ranked in the top 150 globally since 2021. Furthermore, players began taking more note on Ridley's strengths, specifically his excellent advantage state, which allows Ridley to utilize his range, speed, and power to provide him with a strong and versatile neutral game. These positive developments improved Ridley's perception, leading the community to reassess Ridley as a mid tier. This is reflected in Ridley's tier list placements, as he was ranked 60th on the first tier list as a lower-mid tier character, then ranked 64th on the second tier list in the C-tier; Ridley's drop on the second tier list is mostly attributed to the rise of {{SSBU|Incineroar}} and {{SSBU|Lucario}} in the metagame.

{{clr}}

Ridley's default fighter spirit can be obtained by completing {{SSBU|Classic Mode}}. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Ridley has been unlocked. Unlocking Ridley in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. His Meta Ridley outfit has a fighter spirit of its own, available through the shop, or by completing a challenge (Smash: ''Use Ridley's down special, Skewer, for a critical hit on an opponent 4 times within a single battle''). Each fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in ''Ultimate''.

==In Spirit Battles==

|Aparoid Fortuna

|Medeus (Shadow Dragon form)

| Gigantamaxed Corviknight (Giant Ridley)

|{{SpiritTableName|Ender Dragon|customname=[https://minecraft.wiki/w/Ender_Dragon Ender Dragon]|size=64}}

|{{iw|mariowiki|Red|WarioWare series}}

Ridley amiibo.png|Ridley's [[amiibo]].

SSBUWebsiteRidley1.jpg|Preparing to use [[Plasma Breath]] on [[Mario Galaxy]].

SSBUWebsiteRidley6.jpg|As [[Meta Ridley]]<!--Not Proteus Ridley. Note that Proteus's jaw, neck, chest, right arm, and wings are much more organic compared to this costume.--> alongside {{SSBU|Samus}} on [[Castle Siege]].

Meta ridley costume.jpg|Performing his [[on-screen appearance]] as Meta Ridley on [[Coliseum]].

SSBUWebsiteMarth4.jpg|Using Plasma Breath as {{SSBU|Marth}} [[spot dodge]]s it on [[3D Land]].

===Fighter Showcase Video===

*Due to his debut in August 1986, Ridley is the oldest newcomer in the base version of ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]'', beating out {{SSBU|Simon}} by one month.

**With DLC included, he is beaten by {{SSBU|Piranha Plant}}.

*Ridley's model appears to be based on his ''Super Metroid'' sprite with additional details and embellishments, some of which loosely resemble his clone's design in ''{{iw|metroidwiki|Metroid: Other M}}''. His size is significantly reduced to that of his appearance in the original ''Metroid'' for the NES, where his hunched posture is only slightly taller than [[Samus Aran]].

**[[Masahiro Sakurai]] was reported to have heavily based Ridley on his depiction in the original ''Metroid'', specifically how his sprite appeared hunched over even while flying.<ref>https://www.eventhubs.com/news/2018/jul/23/masahiro-sakurai-designed-ridley-super-smash-bros-ultimate-based-his-appearance-original-metroid-nes/</ref>

*Ridley's fighter tagline, "Ridley Hits the Big Time!", likely references his exclusion in previous games due to Sakurai's prior perception of him being too large to implement as a fighter.

**Sakurai stated in a Nintendo Dream Magazine interview that Ridley was added because of his popularity on the Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20190124011353/http://www.japanesenintendo.com/post/182181277319/</ref>

*''Ultimate'' marks Ridley's debut as a playable character in any capacity.

*Ridley's pose in his official artwork resembles {{SSB4|Bowser}}'s pose in his official art for ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'', albeit mirrored.

*His animated reveal trailer is the first time since Ridley's role in the ''Metroid'' manga where Ridley has displayed a sense of humor, playfully twirling the hat of a defeated {{SSBU|Mario}} when revealing himself to {{SSBU|Samus}} while grinning.

**The way Ridley twirls Mario's hat is a callback to [[Mario]] doing the same in the beginning of ''{{iw|mariowiki|Super Mario Odyssey}}''{{'}}s reveal trailer.

**The part where a {{b|Metroid|creature}} attacks Ridley while he is near a [[stun]]ned {{SSBU|Pikachu}} resembles a pivotal point in his boss fight in ''{{iw|metroidwiki|Metroid: Samus Returns}}'' in which the Baby Metroid saves Samus from Ridley by leeching some of his energy. On an extended note, Pikachu and Samus teamed up to fight Ridley in [[The Subspace Emissary]].

*The moment Ridley appears in his introductory trailer resembles his appearance in ''{{iw|metroidwiki|Metroid: Zero Mission}}'' just before Samus fights him. This includes the way Samus looks at the screen, Ridley's reflection in her visor, his entrance animation, and the music's timing.

**On a similar note, the zoom-in on Samus' eyes during this scene shows her irises jittering in a state of panic, indirectly referencing the scene where Samus ends up freezing up from PTSD at the sight of Ridley's clone at the end of Chapter 17 of ''Metroid: Other M'', and to a lesser extent, a similar reaction from Samus regarding Ridley himself in the Magazine Z prequel manga to ''Metroid: Zero Mission''.

*Ridley (and by extension, Meta Ridley) is the second ''Super Smash Bros.'' boss character to become playable in the series after [[Giga Bowser]], and the only boss character to be playable at all times, as Giga Bowser is limited to [[Giga Bowser (Final Smash)|Bowser's Final Smash]]. He is also one of the only two [[stage hazard]]s to become playable in the series, the other being {{SSBU|Piranha Plant}}.

*There was an error on Ridley's page on the Latin American and Canadian French versions of the ''Super Smash Bros.'' website. The reveal trailer videos were unavailable, with the Latin American version mistakenly linking to a Japanese ''{{iw|mariowiki|Mario Tennis Aces}}'' video. This has since been corrected.

*Ridley is the only playable character from the {{uv|Metroid}} series whose animations are mirrored.

*Masahiro Sakurai stated in an interview that Ridley's down taunt is among his favorite taunts in ''Ultimate''.<ref>https://nintendoeverything.com/sakurai-on-smash-bros-ultimate-tempo-items-changes-and-additions-choosing-taunts-much-more/2/</ref>

*Due to his eyes being yellow by default, Ridley is the only character in ''Ultimate'' to not receive a significant eye color change after obtaining a Smash Ball or upon [[perfect shield]]ing.

**Although {{SSBU|Meta Knight}}'s default eye color is also yellow, his eyes turn red in these circumstances.

*Strangely, Ridley has code for [[gliding]], despite the mechanic not returning from ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'' and Ridley himself not being playable or cloned from a playable character in ''Brawl''.

**Upon further inspection, the code is identical to {{SSBU|Charizard}}'s, which has been carried over since ''Brawl''. This suggests that Charizard was used as a template for some aspects of Ridley's implementation as a fighter.

*Ridley is the one of few characters who has only two knockback voice clips (with the others being the {{SSBU|Ice Climbers}} and {{SSBU|Duck Hunt}}) and one blast KO voice clip (with the others being {{SSBU|Jigglypuff}} in the international versions, {{SSBU|Mewtwo}}, {{SSBU|Roy}}, the {{SSBU|Mii Fighter}}s, {{SSBU|Bayonetta}}, and {{SSBU|Sephiroth}}).

*When Ridley receives damage, he may assume a pose similar to {{iw|metroidwiki|Neo-Ridley}}'s flying pose.<ref>[https://imgur.com/a/OgQem6N]</ref>

**When counting ally spirits, he appears in the most Legend-rank spirit battles, at a total of six.

*Ridley and {{SSBU|Daisy}} are the only newcomers who were not shown being added to the panoramic group artwork. This does not include {{SSBU|Inkling}}, who was featured on the artwork when it debuted.

*An unused spirit battle associated with the Meta Ridley fighter spirit implies that he originally was not planned to be an alternate costume. While all fighter spirits have battles associated with them, being either the [[World of Light]] unlock battles or also being unused, Meta Ridley's is the only one that is set to have the spirit displayed by the CPU's HUD, a trait that is otherwise only used for normal spirit battles.