Newcomer: Ridley

Decided to do Ridley, the best video game villain of all time. No, Mother Brain is not the villain of Metroid, no matter how many times canon tells you different. Samus and company don't know any better. Ridley is the true villain. If you want to debate this, please note me--I don't want to cram my comments with such... comments.

Also for 's contest ([link], this is Ridley. I'm sure most of you know him, and you're wondering why he looks so different.

For those who haven't played any Metroid game out of the Prime sub-series may believe Ridley was always cybernetic. This is not the case. He was organic more times than he was cybernetic. The coloration you see him in the picture is the same coloration from Super Metroid (this time, the colors were directly taken from his sprites). I wanted to do his Zero Mission coloration (much cooler), but it ended up looking weird.

In this scene, Ridley is using his forward Grab move, and Kirby is the victim. Since the terrain is metallic, sparks fly out as he drags Kirby along. This move was inspired by the famous Ridley scene in Brawl--where Ridley shoves Samus against a wall and drags her along it. This move is also present in his repertoire of attacks when you battle him in Metroid: Other M.

Mr. Game & Watch is flying away in the background to his death, and Mother Brain sits as the main attraction to the Tourian stage.

Of course, I had to downsize Ridley, as I had to do with the Omega Metroid and as the devs had to do with Bowser.

I'd post a video to give you an idea of how Ridley would move and such, but Ridley has so many variations--in the second and third dimension--that individually have such unique characteristics, it'd be hard to specify. Let's just say he moves around like a maniac, really fast (how he behaves in Zero Mission).

Oh, and many of his moves were inspired by actual attacks he uses in the canon Metroid games. Throughout the moveset are Wikipedia-esque notations (bold and italicized numbers in italics) which you can use to match that attack with the index provided beneath the moveset to see where the move came from in canon! Not all moves came from canon, though.

Why Ridley?:

1. He's the villain of Metroid, and even if you argue that he isn't (which would be a wrong opinion), you can't deny that he's built more for this kind of thing than Mother Brain.


2. He's been with Metroid since the very beginning, and has appeared in all games in some form except Metroid Prime: Hunters, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and Metroid 2: Return of Samus.


3. Anyone who knows Metroid will know Ridley after they know Samus.


4. Sakurai, the dude who makes the SSB games, actually planned Ridley to be playable in Melee, but his tail physics were too difficult to work out. But this was on the GameCube. This game will be on the Wii U and the 3DS. He didn't include Ridley in Brawl because by that point Ridley was depicted as large. Then he realized fan demand, but it was too late.

Please comment if you like or want to add your two cents!

Character: Ridley
Universe: Metroid
Home Stage: Tourian (featured in picture)
Victory Theme: Short clip of his signature theme
Unlocking Requirements:

None. Ridley is available from the start.

Involvement in Story Mode: Ridley serves as one of the main villains, fighting alongside Bowser, Ganondorf, and any other villain that may make it into the next game. Ridley has complete control over all non-character technology in the game, replacing Ganondorf's role in the last game's Story Mode. Ridley also has his Space Pirate minions (including Kraid and Draygon) at his disposal, as well as Metroids (including one Omega Metroid, which is also unlockable as a playable character [link] ) and Nightmare (a boss from Other M and Fusion). The Space Pirate Mothership also serves as an area for several levels in the game, similar to the previous game's use of the Halberd. Ridley is also the last villain in the Story Mode to join your team.

Stats
Weight: Slightly Heavy (about the same as Ike)
Speed: Above Average (average being Mario)
Power: Strong
Aerial: Excellent
Priority: Slightly below average
Recovery: Excellent (but can be suicidal)
Special Strengths: Fire damage and energy damage does lower damage and doesn't launch Ridley as far as normal.
Special Weaknesses: Explosives of any sort will launch Ridley further than normal. (due to his weakness to missiles in the 2-D Metroid games)

Special Character Quirk: His tail is relatively long, thus logically making him a larger target, however his tail is invulnerable to damage. This makes playing as him not annoying whilst at the same time paying homage to pretty much all Metroid games he appeared in, in most of which his tail could endure or deflect Super Missiles without any severe repercussions.
---Unlike in the canon games, however, hitting his tail does not negate your attack, your attack will simply ignore the tail.

Double Jump: Ridley can flap his wings up to five times in mid-air, akin to Pit, Charizard, and Meta Knight. His ability to jump high is no better than the aforementioned characters, however he has an excellent recovery move that is probably the best in the game, balanced out by the fact that it can be suicidal in the right circumstances (Bombing Dive). He can also glide.

Snake Codec
Snake: Colonel, who's that dragon flying around with the wavy tail?
Colonel: That's Ridley, Snake. Leader of the Space Pirates.
Snake: Are the Space Pirates insane like him?
Colonel: I suppose you can say that. Ridley looks as though he may be insane, and truly, he is, but he is a ton more intelligent than you may think at first glance. His intelligence could match that of a Chozo!
Snake: Wow... his smarts must all be in his tail there, because it moves like it has a mind of its own.
Colonel: No, Snake. Ridley just favors using his tail when administering melee combat. You shouldn't underestimate its power; it is his most damaging weapon.
Snake: Is he any good with ranging?
Colonel: Yes. Ridley is lethal in both projectile and melee combat.
Snake: I see. Well, I'd better start focusing on the fight again... huh?
*silhouette shaped like Ridley's head with yellow eyes replaces Colonel's mugshot*: *growls*
Snake: What is this?
*same silhouette*: *Ridley's trademark scream as the silhouette seemingly opens its mouth* *silhouette mugshot goes static-y*
Snake: Colonel? COLONEL? COLONNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEL!!!!!!!!!!!!

Moveset
A - Ridley swings his wing in front of him (4-5%)
AA - Ridley swings the other wing (5%)
AAA - Ridley flaps both wings, sending a weak but damaging wind ahead of himself (2-4%)
Side A - Ridley swings his tail out in front of him (5%)
Up A - Ridley bites upward like a gator in a gator pit (7-12%)
Down A - Ridley performs a powerful kick (9%)
Dash A - Ridley pauses, pulls back a claw, then flings himself forward with the claw out (7%) ^[1]
Side Smash - Ridley bends his neck back, and shoves the tip of his beak forward (12-30%)
Up Smash - Ridley flies upward, damaging opponents from below. The height of this attack is about equivalent to the average jump (13-25%)
Down Smash - Ridley spins, with his tail lashed out (8-28%)
Aerial A - Ridley twirls around, causing weak winds to blow outward (2-7%)
Side Aerial A - Ridley swipes with his claw (10%)
Back Aerial A - Ridley waves his tail in that direction; this attack is capable of multiple hits (3-23%)
Up Aerial A - Ridley backflips with his tail lashing upward (12%)
Down Aerial A - Ridley pauses mid-air for a split second, readying his tail, then flings it straight downward (can be done up to three times consecutively, with the "recharge" window being about 3 seconds; Ridley can also move horizontally whilst performing the move, but his maneuverability in this state is particularly poor) (12% each) ^[2]
Glide A - Ridley swoops in at a high speed to hit the enemy (14%) ^[3]

Grab A - Ridley hits the foe with his tail (6%)
Forward Grab (featured in picture) - Ridley flies forward viciously, dragging the victim along the ground, causing dirt, dust, or sparks to fly out, depending on the terrain (21%) ^[4]
Back Grab - Ridley leans back, holding the foe behind him, then rapidly starts cutting the foe with his tail (19%)
Up Grab - Ridley throws the foe upward, then swings at it with his tail (15%)
Down Grab - Ridley throws the foe down, punches it, then hits the foe with his tail (very similar to Mewtwo's down throw) (20%)

Hanging Attack (0%-99%) - Ridley flies upward and quickly forward-flips with his wings lashed out; this attack takes place in a split second (6-10%)

Hanging Attack (100%-299%) - Ridley climbs up and swipes a claw (5-7%)

Hanging Attack (300%-999%) - After a second and a half of lag, Ridley forward flips with his feet outward (4-5%)

Special: Dark Nova - If held down, Ridley breathes fire like a dragon; if tapped, Ridley will unleash three fireballs (6%/sec if held, decreasing by 1% every two seconds until 2% is the damage it deals; each fireball does 9%) ^[5]

Side Special: Victim's Capture - Ridley swipes his claw; if an enemy is caught, he will begin to tear at the enemy for up to five seconds (10-18%) ^[6]

Up Special: Bombing Dive - Ridley will fly upward, spinning horizontally with his wings covering him; if an enemy is caught, Ridley dives down at near-lighting speed with the enemy in his claws (one of the best recovery moves in the game, balanced out by its potentially suicidal nature) (25%-death) ^[7]

Down Special: Gale - Ridley flaps his wings with amazing force, sending powerful and damaging winds ahead of himself (6%/1.5 sec + enemy blowback) ^[8]

Final Smash: Pirate Mothership - When activated, Ridley punches a code into his arm, and then the Space Pirate Mothership appears to the side of the stage and begins to unleash a barrage of various attacks: Space Pirate shock troopers (identical to Space Pirate spawns in the Story Mode) (7-12% each hit), a flurry of missiles (15% each missile), Bombus (7% each electric strike), and lastly, a giant red laser not unlike Samus's Zero Laser (with less knockback and smaller duration) (25-56%). After the giant laser, the ship exits the stage. Note that not every attack mentioned is used every time; only the laser is guaranteed a use. There is also a possibility for a very rare occurrence to happen, in which Phantoon or the Omega Pirate appear and attack with their respective fighting styles when the Mothership is present (15-36% for each Omega Pirate attack; 12-40% for each Phantoon attack). This occurrence is extremely rare for either of them (about a 1/100 chance; they are also mutually exclusive, as in if one appears, the other will not), and they only barrage the stage for UP TO ten seconds ^[9]

Entrance: Ridley flies about in the background, then crashes onto the surface gracefully with a shockwave

Shield Pose: Ridley wraps himself in his wings ^[10]

Shield Overload Pose: Ridley stands on all fours, low, panting heavily ^[11]

Selection Pose: Ridley looks at you from an angle

Wiimote Selection: Ridley's scream (from his Zero Mission incarnation)

Flyaway sound (what he sounds like as he hurtles into the background towards his death): A long stream of his trademark screams, suppressed accordingly.

Stall 1: Ridley pulls out an Atomic and plays with it like a ball
Stall 2: Ridley looks off into the distance, and then tweaks something nearby where his ear would be

Up Taunt: Ridley roars his trademark girlish scream
Side Taunt: Ridley tosses around a small container with the baby Metroid in it
Down Taunt: Ridley flaps his wings and starts hovering above the surface, wiggling his tail rapidly

Victory Pose 1: Ridley screams his girlish scream while flexing
Victory Pose 2: Ridley tosses around the baby Metroid's case, accidentally shattering it and causing the Metroid to flutter around him like a bee
Victory Pose 3: Ridley flips multiple times, then lands bent over with his fist on the ground
Losing Pose: Ridley has his back turned to you, with his head half-way turned around, looking behind himself slightly

Available costumes/colors: Super Metroid/Other M Ridley (default); Zero Mission Ridley (green team); Meta Ridley (Prime 1); Red concept art Ridley (red team); Blue SSBBrawl Ridley (blue team)

Move Appearances in games

^[1]This was one of Meta Ridley's attacks in Metroid Prime 1. He was fond of using it to stall if Samus happened to be charging her beam.

^[2]Ridley has demonstrated the forceful tail-stabbing move in all of his 2-D game appearances since Super Metroid, and has demonstrated it in Metroid: Other M as well as Super Smash Brothers Brawl (as Ridley, not Meta Ridley).

^[3]Ridley uses a variation of this particular attack in all of his 3-D game appearances (Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 3 [second fight], Metroid: Other M) as well as in Super Smash Brothers Brawl.

^[4]As explained in the paragraphs prior to the moveset, this move, also featured in the picture, originated as a move Ridley used on Samus in a cutscene in Super Smash Brothers Brawl. In the actual in-game fight, it is absent. However, the attack returns as a part of his repertoire of attacks during his battle in Metroid: Other M.

^[5]Though never truly called "Dark Nova", Ridley has used a variation of a fire-breathing attack in every single one of his canon appearances. Across all games he appeared in, he demonstrated breathing fire by spitting several fire-balls at once to go in different directions, as well as in a traditional dragon-like stream of flame. This move for his Smash moveset fuses the two attacks.

^[6]There are countless occasions in which Ridley grips Samus and tortures her, the first of which being Super Metroid (though there are no animations for hitting her whilst he holds her), and later, Metroid Fusion. The Meta Ridley fight in Metroid Prime 3 also has him gripping onto you. He also uses a few variations of this attack in Metroid: Other M.

^[7]The "upward" animation would resemble that of Meta Ridley in Metroid Prime 1, when he flies over the edge of the Elder Cathedral hanging over the Impact Crater. He does this often. The move also never offered the opportunity for Ridley to slam his opponent into the ground or abyss below.

^[8]Ridley displays this attack in Super Smash Brothers Brawl.

^[9]The Space Pirate Mothership does appear in Metroid: Zero Mission as an accessible area for Samus (whilst in Zero Suit). It does hold Space Pirate troopers (too many to count) and has Atomics/Bombus in it at one point or another. However, Ridley never used the Mothership as an offensive force against Samus during battle, and neither the Omega Pirate nor Phantoon appeared on the Mothership in any game thus far (debatable in Phantoon's case, as the Wrecked Ship may have been a Space Pirate vessel of importance).

^[10]Ridley uses this tactic to shield himself from attack throughout the Prime games (mostly as Omega Ridley in Prime 3) and does it in Metroid: Other M.

^[11]Ridley takes on this pose occasionally in the Prime games, but he also did this prior to his... incapacitation in Metroid: Other M, during a later cutscene.