Wing Blitz

Wing Blitz
Ridley using Wing Blitz.
User	Ridley
Universe	Metroid

Wing Blitz (リドリーチャージ, Ridley Charge) is Ridley's up special move.

Overview

Ridley charges his energy whilst cloaked in a purple aura before flying straight upward. Unlike similar moves which can be freely angled, Wing Blitz has a total of four possible trajectories, which are dependent on the direction inputted: slightly downward when angled forward, slightly upwards when angled backward, straight up if left alone or held up, and diagonally downwards if angled downward (which meteor smashes opponents). Because of its uniquely fixed angles, Wing Blitz can take some time to learn, especially if the player is accustomed to recoveries like Fire Fox. The move deals damage to enemies along the way, with the entire move acting as an unchanging hitbox, and the tackle doing excellent knockback throughout. If Ridley hits a wall while flying upwards, forwards, or backwards, he will rebound with some vertical momentum before becoming helpless. Colliding with the ground while flying downward will instead produce a weak impact hitbox slightly wider than Ridley himself. It has minimal knockback and damage, but can potentially disrupt punishes.

Ridley's wings are intangible during Wing Blitz and, thanks to the attack's high damage, will typically beat attempts to challenge it. This makes Ridley's recovery surprisingly well-guarded and even capable of sniping the ledge from below, making Ridley decent at ledge camping. The wing intangibility can also be used to force Ridley's way through weak projectiles and attacks that lack disjointed hitboxes, such as Mario's Fireballs or Ryu's grounded attacks. Due to a lack of armor on the move, though, it is risky and requires some precision to use effectively. Additionally, stale-move negation will make this tactic worse with repeated use.

Wing Blitz can be used as an edgeguard by jumping and aiming downward at the edge, letting Ridley hit the opponent before grabbing the ledge and meteor smashing them. However, down should be released right as Ridley starts the attack, or he will miss the ledge and SD.

Instructional quote

Move List

Charges up and rises into the air with force. The path can be adjusted with directional input.

Origin

Omega Ridley charging at Samus in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption.

Throughout the Metroid series, Ridley has never used his wings to directly attack. Rather, this move references his flying capabilities without breaking the mold of Smash, similar to Fly.

This move also resembles an attack used by Meta Ridley in Metroid Prime and Omega Ridley in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, in which he charges at Samus at high speeds after spreading his wings, while the down-angled version is reminiscent of Meta Ridley and Omega Ridley's diving kick attacks from the same games.

It shares similarities with Samus' Shinespark in 2D games. When activated, Samus would hover momentarily, then fly in a chosen cardinal direction at high speeds, destroying and pushing through anything she hit. Wing Blitz's startup mimics that of the Shinespark, as well as being able to fly in the same directions.

Gallery

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  Wing Blitz as shown by the Move List in Ultimate.

Names in other languages

Language	Name
Japanese	リドリーチャージ, Ridley Charge
English	Wing Blitz
French	Envol propulsé
German	Schwingenlanze
Spanish	Embestida aérea
Italian	Scatto alato
Chinese (Simplified)	利德雷冲锋
Chinese (Traditional)	利德雷衝鋒
Korean	리들리 차지, Ridley Charge
Dutch	Kruissprong
Russian	Крылатая вспышка

Ridley's special moves

Neutral special	Plasma Breath
Side special	Space Pirate Rush
Up special	Wing Blitz
Down special	Skewer
Final Smash	Plasma Scream