Ridley (SSBU)

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Ridley in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
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.

Ridley's voice clips are comprised of dinosaur-like screeches, which are very similar to his screeches as a boss in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and in various Metroid games.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Ridley being the 25th character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Yoshi or anyone in his unlock tree, being the sixth character unlocked after Lucina.
• Have Ridley join the player's party in World of Light, in the World of Dark in Dracula's Castle, after defeating the Frankenstien and Fleaman spirit.

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

Attributes

• Ridley is a heavyweight, though with a noticeably lower weight than other characters of his size like Bowser and Charizard. However, he also possesses an outstanding mobility, with fast grounded movement, an average air speed, and a fast falling speed.
• Ridley's whip-like tail has a spiked tip that acts as a sweetspot on attacks involving it.
• The later half of Ridley's tail and the outer half of his wings lack hurtboxes entirely, and thus are disjointed in moves involving them.

Moveset

• Ridley can perform two midair jumps.

The following damage values were calculated without the 1.2× damage multiplier that is active during one-on-one fights.

For aerial attacks, full hop damage values are shown. Hovering over them shows the short hop damage values (aerial attacks performed during a short hop have a 0.85× damage multiplier). 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. 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.
Forward smash			20%	Rears back, then generates an 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 both of Ridley's sides simultaneously with large coverage, and the leap during startup can allow him to dodge some ground attacks if timed right. 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			15%	A roundhouse kick behind himself, similar to his archnemesis 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.
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.
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.
Floor attack (front)			7%	Performs a claw swipe around himself while getting up, starting from the front.
Floor attack (back)			7%	Swings his tail forward, then backward while getting up.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Swipes an arm backward, then kicks forward.
Edge attack			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 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.
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, allowing for exorbitantly powerful punishes. 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.
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

File:RidleyOnScreenAppearanceUltimate.jpg

Ridley's 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.

Idle poses

• Spreads his wings out and shakes his body a little.
• Grips his claw over his jaws and snarls audibly.

Victory poses

• Faces away from the screen while clawing at the ground forcefully, before glancing back towards the camera with a smirk.
• Skids into frame, then turns around and does a pose.
• Flies off of the ground, does a somersault while roaring, and then lands back on the ground striking a pose. [3]

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

Ridley fights characters who pilot their own spaceships.

Round	Opponent	Stage
1	Samus	Norfair
2	Fox and Falco	Venom
3	Olimar	Distant Planet
4	Rosalina & Luma, Mario, and Peach	Mario Galaxy
5	Meta Knight	Halberd
6	Zero Suit Samus	Frigate Orpheon
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand	Final Destination

Role 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.

Alternate costumes

Ridley had two palettes in demo versions of Ultimate that are not available in the final game. Each corresponds to the colors of a Meta Ridley palette.

Ridley's cut palettes.

Reveal trailer

<youtube>aisZuQxMZZc</youtube>

Gallery

• 

  Ridley's splash art.

• 

  Official render of Ridley's Meta Ridley costume.

• 

  Ridley’s amiibo.

• 

  Ridley's fighter card.

• 

  Using Plasma Breath on Mario Galaxy.

• 

  Jumping on Wrecking Crew.

• 

  Using Wing Blitz on Midgar.

• 

  Using a Hammer on Wrecking Crew.

• 

  Using Skewer against Fox on Battlefield.

• 

  In his Meta Ridley costume with Samus on Castle Siege.

• 

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

• 

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

• 

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

• 

  Taunting on Wily Castle.

• 

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

• RidleySmiles.png

  Ridley smiles.

• 

  Using Space Pirate Rush on Sonic on Castle Siege.

Character Showcase Video

<youtube>EDi1Zf_vJsY</youtube>

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 NES Game Metroid, 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.
  • His fighter tagline, "Ridley Hits the Big Time!", likely references the size debacle.
• Since this is his playable Smash Bros. debut, this also marks the first time Ridley has been made playable in any Nintendo 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 bears a striking resemblance 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 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.
• 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 playable character from the Metroid universe to not be a variation of Samus Aran.
  • As such, he's the only Metroid fighter to be male, and not have "Samus" as part of his name.
• Masahiro Sakurai has stated in an interview that Ridley's down taunt is among his favorite taunts in the game.
• 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.