Ridley

“Ridley Hits the Big Time!”

—Introduction, "A Piercing Screech" Trailer for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Ridley is a high-ranking member of the Space Pirates, and one of the main villains in the Metroid series of video games. He is directly responsible for the murder of Samus Aran's mother and partially responsible for the death of her father. In several instances, Ridley appears as an upgraded cybernetic version of himself called Meta Ridley. In addition to the Metroid series, Ridley has made an appearance in all games in the Super Smash Bros. series (aside from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS), as well as in Nintendo Land in animatronic form.

History

Captain N: The Game Master

Ridley's appearance from Captain N: The Game Master.

Ridley makes a cameo in the episode, "Gameboy" in Captain N: The Game Master, depicted as a large orange being. He also makes appearances in the Valiant adaptation of the series released for the Nintendo Comics System, where he looks more like his American artwork for Metroid, being a blue, multi-eyed, pteranodon-like alien.

Super Smash Bros. series

Super Smash Bros.

In Super Smash Bros., Ridley can occasionally be seen flying in the background of the Planet Zebes arena.

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Ridley fighting Samus Aran, in the opening cinematic of Super Smash Bros. Melee

Ridley also makes a brief appearance in the opening cinematic of Super Smash Bros. Melee, where he can be seen battling his archenemy, Samus Aran. A trophy of Ridley can also be obtained in this game.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Ridley fighting Samus, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Ridley is fought twice in the Subspace Emissary.

The first time he is encountered, he is fought by Samus and Pikachu. As the two reach the exit to The Research Facility, where her Power Suit had been held, Ridley appears without warning and snatches up Samus. Roaring, he slams her into a wall and drags her along it. Pikachu comes to Samus's rescue, hitting the space dragon with a Thunder attack, after which the battle begins. Ridley fights similarly to Master Hand, using many brutal physical attacks. When he is defeated, he falls off the arena.

Meta Ridley fighting Diddy Kong.

He later reappears as Meta Ridley, attacking a group including Captain Falcon, Captain Olimar, R.O.B., Samus Aran, Pikachu, Diddy Kong, and Donkey Kong as they try to escape the floating Isle of the Ancients before it is engulfed in subspace.

As this battle is fought while trying to escape an island, there is a set time limit of two minutes that the player has to defeat Meta Ridley, who is more difficult to beat than Ridley was. Additionally, there is the added difficulty of the battle taking place on top of Captain Falcon's ship, the Falcon Flyer, so it is possible for the player to fall off the edge and lose.

Meta Ridley uses some of the same attacks as Ridley did, such as scraping his tail across the top of the Flyer and firing fireballs, but also shows additional ones that involve grabbing the Falcon Flyer and lowering it down with his weight, sometimes even lowering it off of the screen. Fortunately, most of Meta Ridley's attacks can be avoided by jumping off the Falcon Flyer at the right time. Meta Ridley's fireballs can also be reflected right back at him.

If the player manages to defeat Meta Ridley, a cutscene is shown, and the Falcon Flyer escapes while the island is engulfed into subspace.

Both fights are reprised in The Great Maze with any characters that have been rescued throughout the Subspace Emissary. He is also fought in the Boss Battles game mode. There is no time limit when fighting Meta Ridley in either The Great Maze or in Boss Battles mode.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Zero Suit Samus and Ridley, in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Ridley is a stage hazard boss on the Pyrosphere stage. His physical appearance, like Samus's, is based on his appearance from Metroid: Other M. Once attacked enough by a player, Ridley allies with that player, and attacks the other players. He can also transform into Meta Ridley by absorbing enough energy. He can be defeated, and, as if he was a character, defeating him rewards the player with a K.O. point; he can be defeated by his own ally as well.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

This section is referring to a subject in an upcoming or recently released game. When the game is released, or more information about this subject is found, this section may need major rewriting. This notice should be removed after a month has passed since the game was first released.

SmashWiki article: Ridley (SSBU)

Ridley in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Meta Ridley variant

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Ridley is a playable character for the first time, announced during the E3 2018 Nintendo Direct. His appearance in this game seems to be based off of that in Super Metroid. His Final Smash involves him destroying Samus's Gunship.

In addition, he appears in the trailer "A Piercing Screech" which revealed his playable status in the game. In the trailer, as Mario, Mega Man, and Samus Aran are traversing through a mechanical room on a walkway, Ridley stealthily takes Mega Man and Mario out by impaling the former with his tail and crushing the latter's head. Samus eventually senses something amiss and points her arm cannon behind her, only to find Mario's discarded hat. Suddenly, the walkway quakes with Ridley bursting out from underneath and knocking a shocked Samus off her feet. Ridley then proceeds to roar before giving an inhuman smirk as he twirls Mario's hat around his finger. In the ending of the trailer, Ridley, after presumably causing a blaze to kill Samus, is flapping his wings only to glare in slight irritation when Zero Suit Samus uses her jet boots to leap from the blaze and descend down to attack him.

Nintendo Land

The animatronic Ridley, from Nintendo Land

In Nintendo Land, an animatronic Ridley appears as a recurring antagonist in the Metroid Blast attraction. Ice Ridley, a version of Ridley unique to this game, also appears.

Trophies

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Name	Image	Game	Description
Ridley	File:Trophy232.PNG	Metroid 8/89	The head of the Space Pirates on Zebes, Ridley soars through space on wicked wings. Ridley may look like a mindless monster, but he's actually quite intelligent. After the SR-388 incident, where Samus captured the infant Metroid, Ridley took the Space Academy by storm, annihilating the complex and taking the Metroid back.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Name	Image	Game	Description
Ridley		NES Metroid	The leader of the Space Pirates. He looks like a pterosaur but has high intelligence and a brutal nature. He plans to steal the baby Metroid from Samus for his own use. Ridley utilizes wings for a full range of flight and attacks with fireballs from his mouth and whips of his tail. As the culprit behind the murder of Samus's parents, the connections with Samus run deep.
Meta Ridley		GCN Metroid Prime	The meta form of Ridley, revived using the Space Pirates' genetic engineering and cybernetic technologies. His thin chest plate--and weak point--is protected by a highly resistant membrane. Meta Ridley is highly mobile and features a multimissile system, a bomb launcher, and powerful wings. Ice attacks are particularly effective in dealing damage to him.

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

Name	Image	Appears In	NTSC-U Description	PAL Description
Ridley		NES Metroid (08/1987) SNES Super Metroid (04/1994)	Samus's long-standing rival in battle. In this game, he's a common foe to all the fighters in the Pyrosphere stage. However, if you manage to launch him or knock him over, he'll become an ally to whoever dealt the last blow. Defeating him in a timed battle nets you +1 KO.	Samus's long-standing rival in battle. In this game, he's a common foe to all the fighters in the Pyrosphere stage. However, if you manage to launch him or knock him over, he'll become an ally to whoever dealt the last blow. If you can defeat him during a timed battle, you'll get +1 KO out of it!
Little Birdie		Wii Metroid: Other M (08/2010)	It may be hard to believe, but this is a younger version of the infamous Space Pirate Ridley. No matter how cute he is, don't think that you can love him and take him home--his next form is lizard-like with a sharp tail, and he has no problem turning his caring owner into a tasty snack!	Everyone knows Ridley as a terrifying evil space dragon, but would you have guessed he looked like this as a baby? He's kind of cute and creepy at the same time. Don't let his innocent act fool you into thinking he'd make a nice pet, though - once he sheds his skin and enters his reptile phase, you'll just become his next meal!
Mystery Creature		Wii Metroid: Other M (08/2010)	What once was a cute little bird has changed into a lizard-like creature. It still has some white feathers from its previous form, but that's where the similarities end. Is there something in its blood that drives it to confront Samus whenever possible? Her parents were Ridley's victims, after all.	If Little Birdie is Ridley's cute baby years, this must be his awkward teenage phase. The feathers on his back are the only real clue that it's the same creature. Is there something in Ridley's genes that make him hate Samus so much? The original Ridley killed her parents, and now this one is out to get her too!

Names in other languages

Ridley

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	リドリー Ridorī	Ridley (named after Ridley Scott, director of Alien)
Chinese	利德雷 Lìdéléi	Ridley
Russian	Ридли Ridli	Ridley

Meta Ridley

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	メタリドリー Meta Ridorī	Meta Ridley

Trivia

• Ridley appears in Nintendo Monopoly, in which he takes the place of Tennessee Avenue. He costs $180.
• Ridley's trophies in Melee and Brawl both state that he is the head of the Space Pirates on Zebes. This is false, however, with the real head being Mother Brain.
• Due to the time limit that is given during the Meta Ridley battle, Trophy Stands will appear more frequently, especially on the easier skill levels.
• Ridley's stock icon for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U uses his appearance from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, instead of his Metroid: Other M appearance.
• Ridley's stock artwork in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate resembles Bowser's stock artwork from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U.
• Ridley's splash screen introduction in his Super Smash Bros. Ultimate reveal trailer; "Ridley Hits the Big Time!", may be a reference to "Ridley is Too Big", an internet meme originating from arguments against Ridley being a playable character in the Super Smash Bros. series.