Ridley (SSBU)

Ridley in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
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Universe	Metroid
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Plasma Scream

“	Ridley Hits the Big Time!	”
—Introduction Tagline

“	Joining the battle from the storied Metroid series, Ridley's long tail and sharp claws let him unleash a torrent of devastating attacks. His Final Smash is a powerful stream of plasma breath intense enough to bring down Samus's starship.	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Ridley (リドリー, Ridley) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was revealed as a newcomer alongside Inkling and Daisy from Nintendo's 2018 E3 press conference, on June 12th, 2018, with an animated trailer. Ridley is classified as fighter #65.

Similar to Bowser and Donkey Kong, Ridley has no voice actor and instead roars and screeches, similarly to his sounds in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and all of his appearances in the Metroid series.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Ridley being the 25th character unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Yoshi or anyone in his unlock tree, being the 6th character unlocked after Lucina.
• Have Ridley join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Ridley must then be defeated on Norfair.

Attributes

Ridley, unsurprisingly for being a large character with powerful attacks, is a heavyweight character, although his attributes compared to other archetypal heavyweights are noticeably different. Ridley is tied for the twelfth heaviest character, weighing much less than a super heavyweight like Bowser despite his similar size to them. Ridley also has overall good mobility, especially compared to most of his fellow heavyweights: with two midair jumps, slightly above average walk speed, the tenth fastest dashing speed, average air speed, air acceleration and gravity, and the 17th fastest falling speed. However, he has the third lowest traction. Ridley also boasts a faster frame data than most heavyweights (with a few exceptions like Banjo & Kazooie, Donkey Kong and Incineroar), further setting him apart from them.

Ridley's most defining trait is his potent and very varied punish game. With overall remarkable range, power and decent speed throughout his moveset, as well as a projectile, Ridley poses a huge threat once he gets the advantage, as making the right plays can give the opponent very little chance to come back from disadvantage; those unaware of Ridley's danger factor can find themselves being quickly and heavily overwhelmed and/or find it difficult to get in. The most notable point about his moveset is his dominant air game. Boasting overall quick, powerful, and long-ranged aerials, having two midair jumps, 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 unarguably his most effective aerial, due to having low all-around lag, good range, and average knockback. It is a good comboing, spacing, and edge-guarding tool, while also being fast enough to break out opposing pressure if positioned correctly; these traits make it one of Ridley's most commonly used moves. Forward aerial, while having merely average power, has the highest damage output of Ridley's aerials when all hits are sweetspotted, and is infamous for being able to perform a wall of pain at low percentages, especially due to Ridley's aforementioned two midair jumps. Back aerial is decently quick, long-ranged and has consistently high damage and knockback, which makes it a deadly KO move, especially if used off-stage for edge-guarding. Up aerial is a good, disjointed juggling move with decent startup and good KO potential when sweetspotted, but requires opponents to be very close to or above Ridley to land. Lastly, down aerial is a stall-and-fall that powerfully meteor smashes opponents when sweetspotted, and can potentially be recovered from if initiated slightly above the ground. Even when sourspotted, it has high KO potential, similar to Bowser's own down aerial.

Ridley also has an abundance of powerful moves like his fellow heavyweights, with his tail-based moves having higher power if sweetspotted with the bladed end of his tail. His power also leads into one of his other primary strengths: his edge-guarding ability. His aforementioned powerful air game gives him the innate ability to edge-guard offstage effectively, as many of his attacks have great KO or gimping potential, while his long-distanced recovery makes coming back to the stage a non-issue. His aforementioned neutral aerial has decent range and is powerful when sweetspotted at the tip. Forward aerial boasts great wall of pain potential with enough reach and a long enough duration to effectively gimp most recovering opponents. Finally, as mentioned before, his back aerial has the strongest and most consistent knockback of his aerials. Ridley also has easy ways to set up edge-guards; his down tilt and down throw are both reliable combo starters that launch at favorable angles, and he has plenty of other attacks that deal high horizontal knockback, such as forward tilt and dash attack.

Ridley's grounded game is also noteworthy in terms of utility. His neutral attack is his fastest attack, and has both great damage potential thanks to its infinite, and surprising power due to the regular third hit. His forward tilt has good range and low lag overall, while dealing high knockback if the tip conntects. Meanwhile, his up and down tilts offer varied combo potential, with up tilt chaining into itself and then up aerial or up smash afterwards, whereas down tilt allowing Ridley to extend horizontally and likely set up an edge-guard. His dash attack is one of the few to have no sourspots throughout, and has respectable power. Forward smash has below-average startup (around the same as Mr. Game & Watch and Palutena) and is short ranged, but is one of the strongest of its kind in both damage and knockback, and is just fast enough to punish whiffs, landings, or be a situational follow-up option, like a late hit of a landing neutral aerial. Down smash has slow start up and less raw power, but has very large, mostly disjointed range as it makes use of the invulnerable parts of Ridley's wings. It also has the added trait of Ridley hopping high during the start-up; this can allow Ridley to completely dodge attacks, even sometimes those with center aim, making it especially effective in fields like punishing a get up attack or punishing grab whiffs. It is also a notoriously effective punishment option after a successful Skewer sweetspot, as the short hop itself can cover most get-up options. Finally, up smash is Ridley's fastest and most reliable smash attack; while not having the sheer power of the other two, it is still powerful in its own right, and is also a very effective anti-air as it makes Ridley's foot invulnerable. Overall, each of Ridley's grounded moves have different attributes that make them useful, while still giving him the typical great power of a heavyweight.

Additionally, his special moveset offers interesting options. Plasma Breath is Ridley's projectile; it fires a small, bouncing ball of fire, and can be charged to fire from two to five; when fully charged, it can deal substantial damage if it hits with every projectile. These traits make it a useful damage-racking, combo-starting, and on-stage edgeguarding and gimping tool. However, the move also possesses a hurtbox on Ridley's mouth that damages and stuns him if he is hit there, and while sometimes the recoil can serve as a niche defensive option due to Ridley not suffering any knockback from it, especially when offstage, this is still very risky. 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; it can be cancelled into a throw at any time that puts both Ridley and the opponent into the air. On land, Ridley drags the opponent on the ground, dealing high damage when performed from one ledge to another, and launching opponents offstage when Ridley reaches the edge of a floor, with the launch being capable of KOing at high percentages. In the air, it makes Ridley drop down to the floor until he lands, which can allow for easy gimps offstage as Ridley can drag opponents closer to a blast zone, potentially leaving them too far to recover. 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 up 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 meteor smashing opponents; 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.

Another notable aspect of Ridley's kit is his impressive, long-distanced recovery. As a multi-jumper with decent air speed, air acceleration and gravity, Ridley can naturally reposition himself to adapt to the situation. Space Pirate Rush can offer Ridley some horizontal gain, as well as threaten the opponent with a moving command grab that can put them in a very uncomfortable position, and has the benefit of not leaving Ridley helpless. Wing Blitz, however, provides a lot of unique properties. The intangible tips can prevent many attacks with the right aim, including but not limited to Villager's forward smash and Mega Man's down aerial. The attack itself is also quite strong, giving it impressive guard-breaking potential, and covers a long distance relatively quickly, with the startup time being mitigated by how far Ridley can recover from. This can discourage the opponent from trying to edge-guard Ridley at all, especially if he has his extra jump in reserve. Lastly, his aerial moves can mitigate some of the vulnerability in his recovery due to their low lag. All in all, despite being rigid and potentially exploitable, Ridley's recovery has attributes and options that are both unique and valuable for a heavyweight.

Ridley's large frame also gives him remarkable range. Many of Ridley's moves have large, disjointed hitboxes, some even eclipsing sword users like Marth and Ike. Ridley's disjoints can even challenge and beat out incoming projectiles when timed right, and can even sometimes break him out of disadvantage. This is all on top of the aforementioned projectile he has. Finally, and thanks to his range, Ridley possesses a surprisingly dangerous combo game. His down throw, up tilt, down tilt, neutral aerial, and Plasma Breath can lead into various strings and combos that can rack up huge damage with only a few hits, with some even leading to kill confirms (such as Plasma Breath to dash attack, late hit neutral aerial to forward smash, and up tilt into up aerial since update 4.0.0). Combined with the aforementioned power and utility on his moves, this allows Ridley to pile up damage as quickly as his fellow heavyweights, and also makes it risky for opponents to regain the advantage, as Ridley's ability to start combos and break a defense even while in a disadvantage forces the opponent to be cautious of Ridley's options. All of Ridley's traits make him a strangely varied fighter for his weight and size, allowing him to play differently depending on the situation.

While Ridley has amazing strengths, he also has some critical and easy-to-exploit weaknesses. The most notable of them is his size; Ridley has the largest hurtbox out of all characters, which combined with his heavy weight and fast falling speed makes him very easy to combo, juggle, and hit in general, and while Ridley's frame data is decent, especially for a heavyweight, he still has below average startup and above average ending lag overall on his toolkit, so he lacks tools to break combos effectively; this makes him one of the most affected characters by long combo strings, and he is rather easy to finish off to add to this. Ridley’s options against projectile users and zoning are also lacking despite having a projectile himself; Plasma Breath is laggy and its projectiles travel slowly, while the move's recoil property on Ridley's mouth can easily open up opportunities for more attacks against him that would end a stock, even if said recoil would prevent knockback especially on emergency situations like being at KO percent. Ridley's disjointed moves are capable of beating out projectiles, and he has a few moves that boast enough range to challenge zoners, but these options usually require a great deal of effort to execute right compared to what they're challenging, which can quickly lead to Ridley being cornered into a worse situation. All of this is further worsened with how tricky it can be to land with Ridley, despite being a fast-faller.

Adding to the above is Ridley's recovery, which is still exploitable despite its long distance. Both of his recovery specials, Space Pirate Rush and Wing Blitz, have high startup and the latter, despite its appearance and its impressive distance, has only four angled travel routes, which means that Ridley has to properly get into a good position to recover, giving the opponent more than enough time to react. While Wing Blitz has some minor defenses while active, that being invulnerability on the spiked tips of his wings along with dealing heavy knockback on contact, it does not have a charging hitbox while his body remains vulnerable throughout the move, so it can be quite easy to aim for. This is worse when a character has a counterattack or heavily disjointed attacks, as they can safely challenge the move at any state of its animation. Without his midair jumps, Ridley can also have a lot of trouble recovering from below, and any low-sending attack like a semi-spike can put Ridley into an unrecoverable position. As a result, Ridley's overall endurance is poor for a large heavyweight, and while his survivability isn't as poor as other lighter characters, it is unimpressive for a heavyweight and for his size.

Another critical flaw to Ridley is how drastically his moves vary in quality, which can lead to Ridley becoming quite predictable to even the most unaware player. While he has plenty of amazing moves, some of them still have significant flaws; these can range from slow startup (Plasma Breath), to absurd blindspots (up tilt), overly situational and/or strict (Skewer), or being overall unreliable (down aerial). On the other side of spectrum, some of Ridley's moves like neutral aerial are so favorable that it becomes easy to over-centralize on their use. Ridley is a character that finds the most success in being unpredictable, which can be difficult when a player subconsciously checks off using so many moves. 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 is not only torturous to endure, but easy to slip into, and failure to overwhelm or control aggression can be a death sentence.

A notable downside of Ridley's kit is his mediocre grab game. His grab range is somewhat short for his size to begin with, and a character like him can greatly suffer from whiffing it. While down throw functions as a strong and reliable combo tool from low to mid percentages, and at very high percentages (around 150%) is capable of KOing middleweights, none of Ridley's other throws provide much usage beyond repositioning the opponent. Forward and back throws don't KO at reasonable percentages, even with ideal positioning, and up throw, while being his most damaging throw and a passable kill throw with low ceiling stages, is best as a mediocre set up for juggling the opponent. Even Ridley's down throw doesn't combo into entirely unique strings, and his down tilt can sometimes service some of the same use while being much safer to execute, though down throw into forward tilt is a noteworthy string by itself and can lead into some of Ridley's most dangerous combos and frame traps. The existence of Space Pirate Rush somewhat mitigates his lack of a strong throw due to its ability to KO at the ledge at high percentages, but overall, Ridley's grab game is almost entirely centralized by his down throw's utility, with his other throws being situational at best and a complete waste of risky effort at worst.

Lastly, while Ridley's advantage state is unarguably very oppressive, one key attribute holding this back is his middling air speed. For his additional midair jump and impressive aerials, their full potential is greatly held back by Ridley's surprising difficulty in 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 King Dedede and Pit have to help circumvent their air speed issues. Various combos usually are 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 air speed 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.

Overall, Ridley is a character of extremes, with a relatively high learning curve and an even higher cerebral curve. Similarly to what Mewtwo is among its fellow lightweight characters, Ridley fills in the position of being a glass cannon among his fellow heavyweights. 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, allowing 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, his moveset is so heavily lopsided towards accumulating damage, netting kills, and sustaining advantage that he lacks tools to break combos and combat opposing pressure, meaning that one mistake from Ridley himself can devastate him worse than most other characters. Due to his varied amount of tools, Ridley has many playstyles applicable, but players should be able to switch said playstyles in a whim; if played recklessly or predictably, Ridley can be easily punished with a slew of combos, walls of projectiles, and general pressure he isn't built to handle, so players should be constantly aware of when and how to use Ridley's tools to take full advantage of them, while playing unpredictably to prevent the opponent from capitalizing on Ridley’s own susceptibility.

Ridley's competitive potential is subject for debate. Some professional players like ZeRo consider him a lower mid-tier character due to his disadvantage state, while others like Leffen, Dabuz, and ESAM argue that he's surprisingly impressive in high level play thanks to the sheer effectiveness of his advantage state, ludicrous benefits from playing unpredictable, and his high damage output that complements his many kill moves. This can be further expressed by his tournament presence; Ridley is a relatively unpopular pick, yet displays very respectable results wherever he does show, with smashers like Locus, Trela, and especially Vreyvus netting results. Because of this and update 4.0.0's helpful buffs to his inconsistencies and recovery, Ridley is considered a relatively viable character, but to what extent he is viable at top-level play remains unknown. In casual fields, Ridley is notorious for how exploitable his weaknesses can be and the many pitfalls that beginners can fall into, especially with poor routing of Wing Blitz leading to awkward and anti-climactic finishes, proving his high learning curve for his size class.

Update history

Ridley has been noticeably buffed via game updates. He initially only received bugfixes and very minor buffs, as well reduced shield damage on Plasma Breath in 3.0.0 as part of the general nerfs to projectiles in said update. However, update 4.0.0 helped address his KO inconsistency and recovery issues: his up smash, back aerial, and Space Pirate Rush throw at the edge received more knockback, while up aerial's sweetspot became much easier to land, and most notably, Wing Blitz is faster and covers more distance, now allowing Ridley to recover from the bottom magnifying glass when angled up. Up smash also has a longer hitbox duration that increases its frontal range, making it slightly more effective as an anti-air and out of shield option.

1.1.0

• Space Pirate Rush has three additional animations.

2.0.0

• Ridley can grab the ledge earlier after using his neutral (65 frames → 64), forward (67 frames → 66), and down aerials.
• The Final Smash Meter version of Plasma Scream has a higher knockback multiplier (0.62× → 0.71×).
• Fixed a glitch causing Space Pirate Rush to instantly drag Sonic to the left blast line and KO him if used in a 2D stage (such as Dream Land GB).

3.0.0

• Plasma Breath deals less shield damage.
• A successful Plasma Scream has less ending lag, allowing Ridley to act before opponents can.

4.0.0

• Up smash has a longer hitbox duration (frames 12-16 → 12-17), increasing its range in front of Ridley.
• Up smash has more knockback scaling (76 → 78).
• Back aerial deals more damage (15% → 16%) with no compensation on knockback.
• Up aerial's sweetspot is bigger (4.5u → 5.5u) and takes priority over the sourspot.
• Down aerial no longer has its downward movement disabled when used out of hitstun.
• Space Pirate Rush has less ending lag when jumping after grabbing an opponent (FAF 42 → 39).
• Space Pirate Rush has more knockback scaling when throwing the opponent at an edge (83 → 90).
• Fixed an issue that resulted in Space Pirate Rush launching floaty characters much higher when used in a Sacrificial KO.
• Wing Blitz has less startup lag (frame 37 → 34 (up), 39 → 36 (forward/back), 40 → 37 (down)), travels faster and covers more distance.

Moveset

• Ridley can perform two midair jumps.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2%	A double claw swipe followed by a 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 third hit is relatively strong for a neutral attack, KOing middleweights under 200% from the center of 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.
			1.5%
			5%
			0.7% (loop), 2% (end)
Forward tilt			10% (tail), 13% (tip)	Grabs his tail and thrusts it forward. Can be angled, and the tip of Ridley's tail acts as a sweetspot. Has long range and moderately low ending lag, making it a powerful spacing tool. The sweetspot KOs at around 155% from center stage.
Up tilt			7% (wing), 9% (tip)	Swipes one wing in an arc above himself, starting from behind. 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.
Down tilt			6% (tail), 9% (tip)	A low tail swipe. Has long range like 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.
Dash attack			12%	A leaning bite. A powerful dash attack especially near edges, KOing at around 100% at the edge of Final Destination, and at around 160% from the center. Resembles Meta Ridley's lunging attack in Metroid Prime.
Forward smash			20%	Rears back, then generates a fiery explosion from his mouth in front of himself. 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.
Up smash			17%	A frontflip kick, covering Ridley's entire overhead. 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. Can KO at around 105% from ground level.
Down smash			16%	Leaps and slams his open wings onto the ground. Hits Ridley's both sides simultaneously with large coverage, allowing it to punish tech rolls in certain instances. The leap during startup can allow him to dodge some ground attacks if timed right (especially floor attacks that may be used after hitting with Skewer, or ledge attacks), while the edges of the attack utilize the intangible half of Ridley's wings. However, it has the slowest startup out of Ridley's smash attacks, and deals the least damage, while being only slightly stronger than his up smash. Launches opponents upward, KOing at around 100%.
Neutral aerial			9% (clean, tail), 12% (clean, tip), 5% (late)	Backflips and swings his tail around himself, similar to Charizard's neutral aerial except 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 one of his main 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.
Forward aerial			3% (hits 1-2, tail), 5% (hits 1-2, tip; hit 3, tail), 7% (hit 3, tip)	Stabs with 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 a jab.
Back aerial			16%	A roundhouse kick behind himself, similar to Samus's back aerial. Ridley's strongest aerial, KOing at around 130% from center stage. Its horizontal range and high damage also make it a relatively safe approach option, despite its moderate landing lag.
Up aerial			12% (wings), 14% (tip)	Thrusts both wings upward while closed. Has a sweetspot at the tip of the wings, which can KO at around 120% in the air. Its moderate startup and landing lag alongside Ridley's speed make it effective for juggling. On landing, it can also combo into an up tilt or up smash at low percents, as well as any aerial (except down aerial) up to high percents, including a sweetspotted up aerial as a potential KO setup.
Down aerial			14% (clean, feet), 12% (clean, legs; late)	Plummets down stomping with both feet. A stall-then-fall with a sweetspot on its clean hit that meteor smashes 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.
Grab			—	Reaches out with his right hand.
Pummel			1.6%	Thrusts his tail into the opponent.
Forward throw			9%	Tosses the opponent forward with one arm.
Back throw			11%	Turns around and performs an underhanded toss with one arm. Can KO at around 150% near the ledge.
Up throw			8% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Sets the opponent overhead and stabs them with his tail. Ridley's most damaging throw. Can combo into an up aerial at mid percents if the opponent does not air dodge, and otherwise lead into a frame trap by landing and punishing their air dodge landing lag.
Down throw			7%	Slams the opponent onto the ground. Has low ending lag, allowing it to combo into an up-angled forward tilt or down tilt at low percents, and a neutral, forward, back aerial or run-canceled up tilt at low to mid percents. Surprisingly, this is also Ridley's strongest throw, being able to KO at around 160%.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Performs a claw swipe around himself while getting up, starting from the front.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Swings his tail forward, then backward while getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Swipes an arm backward, then kicks forward.
Edge attack Edge getups			10%	Climbs up and performs a claw swipe.
Neutral special		Plasma Breath	4.5%-5.66% (clean), 3.5%-4.4% (late)	Spits a fireball from his mouth forward, which bounces along the ground. It can be charged to have Ridley spit up to a maximum of five fireballs, which also increase in size and damage, dealing up to 28.3% 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.
Side special		Space Pirate Rush	4% (slam), 2% (drag loop), 7% (throw)	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. 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 helplessness, 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.
Up special		Wing Blitz	18% (up), 16% (forward/back), 15% (down), 5% (down, landing)	Charges up, then performs a flying tackle 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 and is noticeably powerful, with the forward and up tackles KOing under 130% from center stage. The down tackle also meteor smashes aerial targets, while allowing Ridley to save himself by grabbing an edge, making it potentially deadly for edgeguarding. However, the move has very slow startup, and its few angles limit the positions from which Ridley can safely recover with it.
Down special		Skewer	5% (tail), 40% (tip, hit 1), 10% (tip, hit 2)	Brings his tail back as it glows briefly, then stabs forward with it. If hit near the tip of the tail, it deals extremely high damage (50% total) and causes opponents to crumple, 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 frames), 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.
Final Smash		Plasma Scream	15% (dash), 40% (cutscene), 15% (release)	Lets out a roar and dashes forward. Upon hitting an opponent, a cinematic sequence begins with Ridley headbutting them onto Samus's gunship; as the gunship flies off, he shoots it down with a laser 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% damage or higher before the cutscene ends.

On-screen appearance

Swoops down at an angle, before landing and letting out a roar.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Roars and strikes a menacing pose, flapping his wings rapidly.
• Side taunt: Spins in a circle, finishing in a celebrating pose.
• Down taunt: Straightens up his body as if noticing something, before easing up while slightly smiling. His body lets out a noticeable crackle as he stands upright.

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  Ridley's up taunt.

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  Ridley's side taunt.

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  Ridley's down taunt.

Idle poses

• Spreads his wings out and shakes his body a little.
• Caresses his chin with his claw and licks the edge of his mouth while audibly snarling.

• 

  Ridley's first idle pose

• 

  Ridley's second idle pose

Victory poses

• Left: Flies into the scene, lands, and drifts to a stop.
• Up: Somersaults and screeches, then lands with a slash.
• Right: Claws at the ground repeatedly and bites once afterwards. 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.

An intense and sinister variation of the Metroid victory theme.

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In competitive play

Notable players

Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the Spring 2019 PGRU, which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate from February 1st, 2019 to July 7th, 2019.

Active

•  Gemini - Placed 13th at Full Bloom 5 and 17th at Midwest Mayhem Ultimate.
•  Iota - One of the best Ridley players in the United States. Placed 2nd at Just Roll With It! 10 and 17th at Just Roll With It! 11. Has taken a set off of Mekos.
•  Kvothe - One of the best Ridley players in the United States. Placed 9th at Don't Park on the Grass 2018. Ranked 5th on the Oregon Ultimate Power Rankings.
•  Locus - Mains Ken with Dr. Mario and Ridley being his primary secondaries. He is considered best Ridley player in Canada and one of the best ones in the world. Placed 9th at both The Pinnacle 2018 and Battle of BC 3, and 13th at Don't Park on the Grass 2018.
•  Plup - Uses Ridley as a secondary. Placed 49th at Super Smash Con 2019 with solo Ridley.
•  Venom - One of the best Ridley players in Canada. Placed 2nd at LAN ETS 2019 while defeating SuperGirlKels, Darkwolf and Fwed, also placed 2nd at Polybash 2019 and 25th at Get On My Level 2019 using Ridley as one of his characters.
•  Vreyvus - Co-mains Bowser and Ridley and is considered the best Ridley player in Europe. Placed 2nd at Valhalla II and 4th at Phoenix Blue 2.
•  Zackray (#12) - Placed 2nd at Umebura SP 5 using Ridley as one of his characters.

Inactive

•  Trela - One of the best Ridley players in the world before switching to Hero. Placed 1st at Ultimate Shockwave 2, Ultimate Shockwave 14 and TGC Returns. Ranked 3rd on the Texas Ultimate Power Rankings.
•  Tweek (#2) - One of the best Ridley players in the world. Placed 5th at Collision 2019 using mostly Ridley.

Classic Mode: It Can't Be! Space Pirates!

Ridley's congratulations screen.

Ridley fights characters who pilot their own spaceships.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Samus	Norfair	Title Theme - Metroid
2	Fox and Falco	Venom	Break: Through the Ice
3	Olimar	Distant Planet	Fragment of Hope
4	Rosalina & Luma , Mario , and Peach	Mario Galaxy	Fated Battle
5	Meta Knight	Halberd	Dangerous Dinner
6	Zero Suit Samus	Frigate Orpheon	Vs. Ridley
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand	Final Destination	Master Hand (Less than 7.0 intensity) Master Hand / Crazy Hand (Intensity 7.0 or higher)	On intensity 7.0 and higher, Crazy Hand fights alongside Master Hand.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Ridley has Nemesis Ridley accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding Ridley in World of Light

Although Ridley does not appear in the World of Light opening cutscene, he was vaporized and later imprisoned alongside the rest of the fighters (sans Kirby) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.

Ridley was one of the many fighters that fell under Dharkon's control upon Galeem's first defeat. He is in the Dracula's Castle sub-area, appearing on the map in the subterranean section, once the player defeats The Creature & Flea Man spirit.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
65		Ridley	Attack	10,600	Brinstar Depths (Ω form)	Vs. Ridley (Brawl)

Spirits

Ridley's Fighter Spirits can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. They are also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Ridley in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As Fighter Spirits, they cannot be used in Spirit Battles and are purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.

Additionally, other forms of Ridley make an appearance in a few Primary and Support Spirits.

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  267. Ridley

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  268. Meta Ridley

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  289. Little Birdie

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  291. Omega Ridley

In Spirit battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music
255		Vaati	The Legend of Zelda series	•Ridley		10,000	Hyrule Castle	•Hazard: Heavy Wind	•Dangerously high winds are in effect after a little while •The enemy starts the battle with an Ore Club	Dark World (Brawl)
277		Metroid	Metroid series	•Ridley		9,700	Brinstar (Battlefield form)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Metroid) •Hazard: Sticky Floor	•The floor is sticky •Hostile assist trophies will appear •The enemy's melee blows will heal them when they hit	Title Theme - Metroid
287		Mecha Ridley	Metroid series	•Giant Ridley		4,100	Norfair (Ω form)	•Move Speed ↓	•The enemy's smash attacks have increased power •Stamina battle •The enemy is giant	Vs. Meta Ridley
289		Little Birdie	Metroid series	•Tiny Ridley		3,700	Distant Planet	•Defense ↑ •Attack Power ↑ •Giant	•The enemy is giant after a little while •The enemy has increased attack power after a little while •The enemy has increased defense after a little while	Vs. Ridley
291		Omega Ridley	Metroid series	•Metal Ridley		13,900	Norfair	•Curry-Filled	•Stamina battle •The enemy breathes fire •The enemy is metal	Vs. Meta Ridley
292		Parasite Queen	Metroid series	•Giant Ridley		4,000	Frigate Orpheon	•Attack Power ↑	•The enemy has increased attack power •The enemy shields often •The enemy is giant	Vs. Parasite Queen
371	File:Bugzzy Spirit.png	Bugzzy	Kirby series	•Ridley		3,700	Green Greens	•Item: Beetle	•The enemy's side special has increased power •The enemy has increased attack power	Forest/Nature Area
403	File:Aparoid Fortuna.png	Aparoid	Star Fox series	•Metal Ridley		4,100	Venom	•Hazard: High Gravity	•Your jumping power decreases •The enemy is metal •The enemy has increased jump power	Space Battleground
426	File:Arbok.png	Arbok	Pokémon series	•Ridley		2,200	Yoshi's Island	•Attack Power ↓ •Hazard: Poison Floor	•The floor is poisonous •You have reduced attack power	Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (Brawl)
454		Pinsir	Pokémon series	•Ridley		3,700	Garden of Hope	•Item: Beetle	•The enemy's side special has increased power •The enemy favors side specials	Road to Viridian City - Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue
456	File:Gyarados.png	Gyarados	Pokémon series	•Giant Ridley		4,100	Kongo Falls (Battlefield form)	•Attack Power ↓	•You have reduced attack power •The enemy is giant	Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (Brawl)
471		Sudowoodo	Pokémon series	•Ridley (x3) (,x2)		1,400	Green Greens (hazards off)	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy is weak to water attacks •The enemy favors smash attacks	Pokémon Gold / Pokémon Silver Medley
475		Steelix	Pokémon series	•Metal Ridley		4,300	Kalos Pokémon League (Ironworks Chamber only)	N/A	•Stamina battle •The enemy is metal	Pokémon Gold / Pokémon Silver Medley
490	File:Flygon.png	Flygon	Pokémon series	•Ridley		3,800	Gerudo Valley (Battlefield form)	•Earthquake	•Periodic earthquakes will shake the stage	Victory Road - Pokémon Ruby / Pokémon Sapphire
500		Rayquaza	Pokémon series	•Ridley		10,000	Kalos Pokémon League	•Hazard: Heavy Wind	•Dangerously high winds are in effect after a while	Battle! (Lorekeeper Zinnia)
558		Lunala	Pokémon series	•Gold Ridley		9,400	Luigi's Mansion (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Stamina battle •Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Lunala)	Battle! (Elite Four) / Battle! (Solgaleo/Lunala)
607	File:Condor Spirit.png	Condor	Ice Climber series	•Ridley •Ice Climbers		4,500	Summit (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Ice Floor	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The floor is frozen •Timed Stamina battle	Ice Climber (Brawl)
635		Medeus	Fire Emblem series	•Ridley		3,600	Castle Siege (Underground Cavern)	•Giant	•The enemy is giant after a while •Stamina battle	Lords-Showdown
713	File:Hewdraw.png	Hewdraw	Kid Icarus series	•Ridley (×3) ()		3,500	Skyworld	N/A	•The enemy favors neutral specials	Boss Fight 1 - Kid Icarus: Uprising
820		Peckish Aristocrab	Pikmin series	•Giant Ridley		3,800	Garden of Hope	N/A	•Stamina battle •The enemy favors side specials •The enemy is giant	Garden of Hope (Remix)
1,081		Dark Emperor	StreetPass Mii Plaza series	•Giant Ridley		13,600	Find Mii	N/A	•The enemy has super armor and is hard to launch or make flinch •The enemy is giant	Dark Lord
1,102		Master Beast	Super Smash Bros. series	•Giant Ridley		9,600	Final Destination	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Chain Chomp)	•Stamina battle •Hostile assist trophies will appear after a little while •The enemy deals damage when falling	Master Core
1,118		Tamagon	Devil World	•Tiny Ridley •Richter		1,500	Mario Bros.	•Item: Throwing Types	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy favors neutral specials •The enemy is invisible	Clu Clu Land
1,119		Devil	Devil World	•Ridley •Kirby (×2)		3,900	75m (Battlefield form)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Devil)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear	25m Theme
1,345	File:Buzzbomb Spirit.png	Buzzbomb	Banjo-Kazooie Series	•Ridley (x3)		2,000	Garden of Hope	N/A	•Stamina battle •The enemy favors up specials in the air •The enemy falls slowly	Spiral Mountain

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
656		Lyon	Fire Emblem series	•Robin •Giant Ridley		3,700	Unova Pokémon League	N/A	•Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd •The enemy is giant	Preparing to Advance	Fomortiis
739	File:Ashley.png	Ashley	WarioWare series	•Mii Swordfighter (Moveset 1322, Ashley Wig, Ashley Outfit) •Tiny Ridley		13,700	WarioWare, Inc.	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Ashley) •Hazard: Left Is Right, Right Is Left	•Left and right controls will suddenly reverse •Hostile assist trophies will appear •Magic attacks aren't as effective against the enemy	Ashley's Song	Red
1,063	File:Hector (CV).png	Hector (Castlevania)	Castlevania series	•Robin •Ridley		3,700	The Great Cave Offensive (Battlefield form)	•Item: Battering Types	•Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Lament of Innocence	Innocent Devil: Devil-Type
1,148		Satoru	Trade & Battle: Card Hero series	•Shulk •Mewtwo •Ridley •Bowser		1,700	Pokémon Stadium 2	•Move Speed ↓	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy's melee weapons have increased power •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Worthy Rival Battle
1,232	File:Fossilhunters.png	Nibbles	Fossil Fighters series	•Yoshi •Charizard •Ridley •Bowser		1,800	Arena Ferox	•Item: Pitfall	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Battle Start - Fossil Fighters: Frontier	Chompsaurus
1,271	File:Allenn.png	Allen	Culdcept series	•Shulk •King K. Rool •Ridley		3,500	Arena Ferox	•Item: Assist Trophy	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Worthy Rival Battle
1,307	File:IgorP5.png	Igor	Persona series	•Robin •Ridley (x3)		10,600	Kalos Pokémon League	•Health Recovery •Item: Assist Trophy	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Start with 300% damage •You are healed significantly after a little while	Aria of the Soul
1,350	File:High Line.png	High Line (Guns Empress)	DAEMON X MACHINA	•Zero Suit Samus •Ridley		4,200	Halberd	•Move Speed ↑ •Assist Trophy Enemies (Jeff) •Item: Shooting Types	•Stamina battle •Hostile assist trophies will appear •The enemy starts the battle with a Killing Edge	Metalopod

Alternate costumes

Ridley had two palettes in demo versions of Ultimate that are not available in the final game: a dark, charcoal colored one with orange wings, and a light gray one with green wings, claws, teeth and protrusions. Each corresponds with the colors of Meta Ridley and Mecha Ridley, respectively.

Ridley's cut palettes.

Gallery

• Ridley SSBU Banner.png

  Ridley’s Banner Artwork

• 

  Ridley's splash art.

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  Ridley’s amiibo.

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  Ridley's fighter card.

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  Using Plasma Breath on Mario Galaxy.

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  Jumping on Wrecking Crew.

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  Using Wing Blitz on Midgar.

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  Using a Hammer on Wrecking Crew.

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  Using Skewer against Fox on Battlefield.

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  In his Meta Ridley costume with Samus on Castle Siege.

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  Ridley attempting to burn Marth with his neutral special on 3D Land.

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  Ridley about to be hit by Zero's Genmu Zero on Midgar.

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  Ridley, Jigglypuff, Ice Climbers, and Zelda on Summit.

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  Taunting on Wily Castle.

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  With Kirby, Mario, Link, Inkling, Marth, Pit and Villager on Battlefield.

• RidleySmiles.png

  Ridley smiles.

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  Using Space Pirate Rush on Sonic on Castle Siege.

• RidleySmashDebut.gif

  Ridley Hits the Big Time.

• 

  Ridley attacking with Skewer.

Trivia

• Ridley’s model appears to be based on his Super Metroid sprite with additional details and embellishments, some of which loosely resemble his design in 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.
  • Sakurai was reported to have heavily based Ridley on his depiction in the original Metroid, specifically how the sprite appeared hunched over even while flying.
• Previously, Sakurai did not want to include Ridley in Super Smash Bros. as a playable fighter due to various reasons, including believing that reducing his power to playable levels will undermine his presentation and, more infamously, his size being too big to properly integrate into the universe, the latter to the point that it has widely been considered an internet meme.
  • In fact, as of the current version of the game, Ridley has the largest character model of all playable characters, with even his hunched over posture being taller than the likes of Bowser and Donkey Kong, his head alone being taller than Mario, and his total wingspan being far longer than most character's entire height. This is most noticeable during his down taunt, where his straightened back demonstrates how much taller he is than other characters.
  • His fighter tagline, "Ridley Hits the Big Time!", likely references the size debacle.
  • According to Sakurai from a Nintendo Dream Magazine interview, Ridley was added in due to the Smash Bros Fighter Ballot.
• Since this is his playable Smash Bros. debut, this also marks Ridley’s debut as a playable character in any game
• Ridley's pose in his official artwork resembles the pose Bowser makes in his official art for SSB4, only 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 Mario when revealing himself to Samus while flashing an inhuman grin.
  • The way Ridley twirls Mario's hat is a throwback to Mario in the beginning of the reveal trailer of Super Mario Odyssey.
  • The part where a Metroid attacks Ridley before a stunned Pikachu is likely a reference to the ending of Super Metroid when the Baby Metroid protects Samus from Mother Brain.
    • It also resembles a pivotal point in his boss fight in Metroid: Samus Returns, where the Baby Metroid saves Samus from Ridley by leeching some of his energy.
    • The fact that it is Pikachu might also be a call back to their previous encounter during the Subspace Emissary.
      • Coincidentally, both Pikachu and the baby Metroid save Samus in a similar manner in their respective games, with Ridley in both instances briefly clutching his head and then roaring with rage.
    • Interestingly, Pikachu also appears on Pyrosphere in the 2014 Smash Bros. Direct when Ridley's appearance as a boss character on that stage was first teased.
• The moment Ridley appears in his introductory trailer resembles his appearance in Metroid: Zero Mission, just before his fight. This includes the way Samus looks at the screen, Ridley's entrance animation, and music timing.
• Ridley (and by extension, Meta Ridley) is the second 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 Bowser's Final Smash. He is also one of the only two stage hazards to become playable in the series, the other being Piranha Plant.
• There is an error on Ridley's page on the Latin American and Canadian French version of the Smash Bros. website. The reveal trailer videos are unavailable, with the Latin American version mistakenly linking to a Japanese Mario Tennis Aces video.
• Ridley is the first and only playable character from the Metroid universe:
  • Who does not have "Samus" in their name.
  • Who is male rather than female.
  • Whose animations are mirrored.
  • Who cannot wall jump and lacks a tether.
• Masahiro Sakurai has stated in an interview that Ridley's down taunt is among his favorite taunts in the game.
• Although Ridley is fought as a giant in half the amount of Classic Mode routes he appears in (appearing in 12 routes total), Dark Samus, Rosalina, King K. Rool, & Piranha Plant are the only characters who face a normal-sized default Ridley.
  • For Classic Mode routes, Diddy Kong and Bayonetta are the only characters who fight Ridley in an alternate costume.
• Ridley is one of two newcomers (the other being Inkling) to be in a veteran's gallery on the official website, specifically Marth's.
• Ridley has the fastest running speed out of all the newcomers, running at the same speed as Charizard.
  • If his side special is used on an opponent, Ridley moves faster than Sonic's running speed.
• Ridley is unlocked through Yoshi's unlock column, referencing the fact that both characters are reptiles and have the ability to breath fire.
  • Ridley also appears as an opponent in Yoshi's Classic Mode, Jurassic Journey.
  • Yoshi's unlock column also features Marth, Lucina and Chrom, all of which have faced a giant malevolent dragon (much like Ridley) as their arch-enemy. Ridley is also fought in Marth's Classic Mode route, A Kingdom of Dragons.
  • Also, Ridley's pose in his official art is almost similar to Yoshi's, but only mirrored.
  • Along with Yoshi, Rathalos appears in Ridley's Classic Mode congratulations screen image, referencing the fact that both of them are winged dragons.
  • Ridley, Yoshi, and Charizard (whom Ridley has the same running speed as) have also been fought as opponents in Wii U's Co-Op event Robots vs. Dragons for Mega Man & R.O.B.
• Ridley is the only character in Ultimate to not receive a significant eye color change after obtaining a Smash Ball or during a perfect shield animation due to his eyes already being yellow.
  • Meta Knight's default eye color is also yellow, though his eyes do change into a crimson color in these circumstances.
• When zooming in behind Meta Ridley's wings, his right wing does not fully connect to his back.
• Ridley's damage meter portrait protrudes downward the most out of every fighter.
• Of non-DLC characters introduced in Ultimate, Ridley has the earliest non-Smash debut.
• If Skewer's sweetspot hitbox is countered, it will actually one-hit KO Ridley.