Ridley inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Metroid
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Plasma Scream
Tier	C- (62)

Ridley (リドリー,Ridley) is a playable character inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was revealed as anewcomer alongsideInkling andDaisy duringNintendo's 2018 E3 press conference on June 12th, 2018. Ridley is classified asFighter #65.

Like inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl,Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and theMetroid series, Ridley's voice clips consist of computer-generated but realistic roars and screeches.

Ridley is ranked 62nd out of 82 on the currenttier list, placing him towards the top of the C- tier. Ridley’s greatest strength lies in his powerful offensive game: Ridley’s neutral game is quite good, thanks to a combination of excellent mobility, multiple midair jumps, and many of his moves having excellent disjointed range and power, such as his forward tilt, which combined with his frame data being better than most heavyweights, and a long distanced command grab with Space Pirate Rush, allows Ridley to pressure opponents very effectively. His advantage state is also excellent as a result, with several effective combo starters such as neutral air, up tilt and down tilt being able lead into many of his damaging attacks. Finally, Ridley’s edge guarding abilities are among the best in the game: Plasma Breath is excellent at gimping with him being able to fire up to five fireballs at once, his forward air being capable of performing the Wall of Pain technique due to his extra midair jump, and his Wing Blitz consisting of a long lasting meteor smash when angled downwards.

However, Ridley’s disadvantage state is severe enough to cripple his overall effectiveness. Ridley’s hurtbox is not only among the largest in the game, he’s also surprisingly light for a heavyweight, all while not having an effective way to break out of combos. As a result, not only is Ridley among the most susceptible to combos and juggling, he doesn’t share the same advantage as other heavyweights of being able to survive up to very high percents. Ridley’s recovery is also surprisingly limited despite having an extra midair jump, due to Space Pirate Rush having rather high startup and ending lag, as well as Wing Blitz having limited angles that makes it difficult for him to recover safely. Due to this, his endurance is quite poor, and opponents can keep Ridley in disadvantage just as long as how Ridley is able to keep them in disadvantage. Finally, Ridley suffers from a weak grab game, having no reliable KO throws until very high percents, and his down throw being greatly affected by DI, limiting its combos.

Overall, Ridley is considered to be the glass cannon among the heavyweights. His quick speed, large hitboxes and high power allow him to easily overpower opponents once he wins neutral, dealing heavy damage or even take stocks early. At the same time, Ridley’s undesirable combination of a large hurtbox and disproportionately low weight results in opponents being able to exploit him the same way, trapping him in disadvantage for a long time. Ridley’s representation has been below average throughout Ultimate’s lifespan due to his flaws making him too risky, although he has seen success nevertheless thanks to players such asMezcaul andNair^, proving that he does offer plenty of reward in spite of his shortcomings.

How to unlock[edit]

Complete one of the following:

• PlayVS. matches, with Ridley being the 25th character unlocked.
• ClearClassic Mode withYoshi or any character in his unlock tree, being the 6th character unlocked afterLucina.
• Have Ridley join the player's party inWorld of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Ridley must then be defeated onNorfair. In World of Light, he is fought on theΩ form ofBrinstar Depths.

Attributes[edit]

Ridley is aheavyweight character and the tallest fighter in the game, tied for the 13th heaviest character, and possesses the third lowesttraction. Ridley has overall good mobility, especially compared to most heavyweights: with two midair jumps, slightly above averagewalk speed, tied withCharizard for the 10th fastestdashing speed, averageair speed,air acceleration andgravity, and the 18th fastestfalling speed. Ridley also boasts faster frame data than most heavyweights, further setting him apart from them. Ridley's most defining trait is his potent and variedpunish game and aerial pressure. With remarkably long range, high power, and decent speed throughout his moveset, as well as aprojectile, Ridley is a serious threat once he gets the advantage; with opponents often overwhelmed and/or find it difficult to get in.

His key strength is his strong air game. Boasting overall quick, powerful, long-ranged aerials, 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. Hisneutral aerial is arguably his most effective aerial, having low all-around lag, good range, and average knockback. It is a good combo, spacing, andedge-guarding tool, while also being fast enough to break out opposing pressure if positioned correctly, making it among his most commonly used moves.Forward aerial has the highest damage output of Ridley's aerials when all hits are sweetspotted, but it doesn't have the KO power of his other aerials, though this allows it to perform awall of pain at low percentages.Back aerial is decently quick and has consistently high damage and knockback, making it a deadly KO move especially if used off-stage for edge-guarding.Up aerial is a decent juggling move with decent startup and good KO potential when sweetspotted, but requires opponents to be very close to or above Ridley to land and the hitboxes don't last long. Lastly,down aerial is a stall-and-fall that powerfullymeteor smashes opponents when sweetspotted while still having good KO potential when sourspotted, though he is stuck falling for a while and has a lot of landing lag.

Ridley's grounded game is also noteworthy in terms of utility. Hisneutral attack is his fastest attack (with a 4 frame startup), leading into either arapid jab with a finisher or agentleman jab. Hisforward tilt has good range and low lag overall, while dealing high knockback if sweetspotted, with the low angled version being a reliable two-framing option. Meanwhile, hisup anddown tilts offer varied potential, with up tilt being a great anti-air that can chain into itself, most aerials, and even up smash, whereas down tilt allows Ridley to combo off from a safe distance and set up punishes or juggles. Hisdash attack is one of the few to lack a sourspot and has respectable power, however it is only active for 2 frames and has a lot of ending lag.Forward smash has below-average startup and is short ranged horizontally, but is large enough to hit the whole cast on ledge if spaced correctly (excludingGanondorf, who has the lowest ledge hang of all the playable characters). It has good damage and knockback and is fast enough to punish whiffs, landings, or be a more situational follow up like off a late hit of a landing neutral aerial.Down smash is his weakest and slowest smash attack, but is disjointed, covers a very large area, hits both sides simultaneously, and physically moves Ridley upwards, making it very useful to punish rolls and slow ledge attacks or to avoid grabs and low-to-the-ground attacks. It is also a notoriously effective punishment option after a successful Skewer sweetspot as it can cover most get-up options.Up smash is Ridley's fastest and most reliable smash attack, being an effective KO move, and serves as a very effective anti-air as Ridley's foot is granted invulnerability. It struggles to hit small characters when grounded and other low hitboxes, however.

Ridley's special moveset offers a variety of options.Plasma Breath is Ridley's projectile: it fires a small, bouncing ball of fire, and can be charged to fire up to five, each traveling slightly farther and dealing substantial damage when all five fireballs connect. It can combo into dash attack at low to mid percents for extra damage, and sometimes this combo can kill. The fireballs can also fall when sent off-stage, making them an effective on-stage edgegaurding or gimping tool. However, landing a hit on Ridley's mouth during the charging animation of this move will cause it to deal damage to himself and stun him for a significant amount of time (the stun has a set amount of knockback, meaning any move that hit him in this way will never kill).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: on land, Ridley drags the opponent on the ground, dealing damage in the process; in the air, it causes both Ridley and the opponent to quickly fall similar toGanondorf'sFlame Choke; it can be cancelled into a throw at any time that puts both Ridley and the opponent into the air; it can cancel itself into a throw upon reaching the edge of the platform; and the aerial version will transition into the grounded version if it reaches the ground. The grounded version has decent KO power at high percents, while the airborne version is weaker and is better suited for sending recovering opponents further from the stage without removing Ridley's own recovery options, stage spiking them, or as asacrificial KO like the aforementioned Flame Choke. 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 backward 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 grab box and have high knockback, with the down input having a meteor smash sweetspot; 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.

Thanks to the variety of moves in his kit, Ridley is a jack-of-all-trades. His disjoints are effective against characters with poor range or grab-centric playstyles; his command grab is effective against highly defensive characters; and his projectile is effective against characters lacking projectiles themselves or taking out characters with lackluster recoveries. He hangs very low from the ledge, letting him avoid attacks notable for hitting hanging characters, such as Marth and Lucina's forward smash.

While Ridley has many strengths, he also has some critical and exploitable weaknesses, the most noticeable one being his size: Ridley has among the largest, most awkward hurtboxes out of the cast which, combined with his heavy weight and fast falling speed, makes him very easy to combo, juggle, and hit in general. This combined with his lower weight compared to similarly sized super-heavyweight characters negatively affects his survivability, as he is often at a considerably higher risk of dying. Ridley's frame data, although good for a heavyweight, is still poor. He has below average startup and above average ending lag overall on his toolkit and lacks a tool fast enough to break combos effectively; this makes him one of the most affected characters by average combo strings, and he is rather easy to KO. Ridley's options against projectile users and zoning (other then Wing Blitz, which, even considering how it clashes and plows through almost any projectile, is too slow and punishable to practically use as a counter in this situation) are virtually nonexistent and he is unable to counter-zone; his own projectile is laggy, travels slowly, and is useless against more powerful projectiles. Whats more, it could even backfire and leave him open to punishment if an opponent's projectile hits his mouth. Another major weakness is his recovery, which primarily consists of two, long-startup, predictable moves: Space Pirate Rush and Wing Blitz. The latter only has 4 useful angles and has active hitboxes while in motion, making it very easy to land an off-stage counterattack.

Another critical flaw to Ridley is how drastically his moves vary in quality, which can lead to Ridley becoming quite predictable. While he has plenty of moves that offer varying amounts of utility, some of them still have significant flaws: these can range from slow startup (Plasma Breath and down smash), absurd blindspots (up tilt and up smash on some occasions), overly situational and/or strict situations (Skewer), to being downright unreliable (down aerial). On the other side of the spectrum, some of Ridley's moves like neutral aerial, up smash, down tilt, and Plasma Breath, depending on the match-up, are so favorable that it becomes easy to over-centralize on their use, a detriment to a character that finds the most success in being unpredictable. 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 makes him easy to overwhelm, and failure to overwhelm or control aggression could force him to take heavy damage or even be KOed outright. His grab game is also poor, with down throw serving as both a combo starter at low to mid percents or a KO throw at higher percents. Forward and back throw lack reasonable kill power, even with ideal positioning, and up throw, while being his most damaging throw and a passable kill throw with low ceiling stages, has too much endlag for any true conversions. Despite down throw being one of his better throws, it is easily affected by the opponent'sdirectional influence, further limiting his grab options.

Lastly, Ridley's advantage state, unarguably being very oppressive, is greatly held back by his middling airspeed. Despite possessing an additional mid-air jump and impressive aerials, Ridley has a surprisingly difficult time staying airborne. He generally needs to gain some distance while grounded to approach with his aerials, and while his dash speed is impressive, it's restrictive regardless, and Ridley lacks the number of jumps that characters likeKing Dedede andPit have to help circumvent their airspeed issues. Various combos are usually 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 airspeed 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. Ridley’s recovery can also be rather vulnerable to edgeguarding due to the slow startup of Space Pirate Rush and Wing Blitz, and the high damage and large hitbox of the latter makes counterattacks a particularly devastating option against it if he has to use it to recover, resulting in him having to use his resources carefully when returning to the stage.

Overall, Ridley is a character of extremes with a relatively high learning curve. Similarly to whatMewtwo is among lightweight characters, Ridley fills in the position of being a glass cannon heavyweight. 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. This allows 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, despite possessing a powerful and highly versatile moveset, Ridley lacks strong options out of disadvantage and generally struggles to oppose pressure from opponents due to his size and the frame data on his aerials and grounded attacks. This makes top tier matchups like Snake and Palutena difficult for Ridley, as they are well-equipped to combat Ridley through oppressive walls of projectiles or strong aerial combos respectively. As such, mix-up heavy playstyles are heavily encouraged when playing Ridley to prevent opponents from capitalising on his own susceptibility as much as possible.

Update history[edit]

Ridley received a mix of buffs, nerfs and glitch fixes via game updates, but was buffed overall. Update1.1.0 adjusted the mobility attributes of bothSpace Pirate Rush andWing Blitz to varying degrees. However, the only remotely useful buffs among these changes were Ridley incurring less landing lag after jumping out of Space Pirate Rush, and his faster traveling speed during the beginning of Wing Blitz's forward and backward flights. Update2.0.0 was also uneventful for Ridley, since it negligibly buffed neutral, forward and down aerials by slightly decreasing their edge lockout times. Update3.0.0 marked Ridley's first nerf, in whichPlasma Breath'sshield damage output was decreased as part of a near-universal nerf toprojectiles.

However, update4.0.0 marked a noteworthy turnaround for Ridley. Most notably, Wing Blitz has less start-up lag, propels him faster, and covers more distance to the point that it now allows Ridley to recover from themagnifying glass range of the bottom blast line when it is angled upward. Ridley's inconsistent KO potential was also improved noticeably: up smash, back aerial and Space Pirate Rush's edge throw were strengthened, and up aerial's sweetspot became much easier to land thanks to it being enlarged and out-prioritizing the sourspot. Aside from these buffs, up smash became more reliable as an anti-air attack andout of shield option thanks to its additional active frame, and Ridley incurs less ending lag after jumping out of Space Pirate Rush.

Following this, update7.0.0 adjusted Ridley's posture while he is shielding himself. On a related note, a portion of Ridley's wings now possessintangibility when he activates and deactivates his shield, while a portion of his tail also possesses intangibility when he deactivates his shield. While these buffs are minor compared to the ones Ridley received in update 4.0.0, they nevertheless benefit him quite noticeably; Ridley's status as the tallest character inUltimate previously resulted in him being very susceptible toshield stabbing, even with a full shield.

Update8.0.0 grantedSkewer a buff and a nerf, although the former is outweighed significantly by the latter. Its sweetspot deals more damage, making it far more rewarding if successfully landed. However, if Skewer hits an opponent who has grab immunity, it inflicts minimal knockback instead ofcrumpling them. In addition to making it unsafe as a follow-up from down throw, this change removes Skewer's infamous infinite combo in doubles matches when paired with a character that has aburying throw.

Update9.0.0 improved the consistency of Wing Blitz's downward angled landing hitbox and, as part of a near-universal buff, grantedtranscendent priority to neutral infinite and its finisher. Update13.0.0 would then buff Space Pirate Rush by shortening the amount of time between its slamming and dragging animations and when a jump can be inputted. Lastly, update13.0.1 improved dash attack's KO potential by increasing its damage output at the negligible cost of its knockback scaling being decreased slightly.

Overall, Ridley fares better than he did at the launch ofUltimate, thanks to his buffs improving his KO potential, recovery and, to a much lesser degree, his defense.

1.1.0

• Space Pirate Rush has three additional animations.
• Ridley has more horizontal speed after jumping out of Space Pirate Rush (3 → 4) and decelerates slower (0.145 → 0.135).
  • He also sustains more gravity (0.14 → 0.15).
• Ridley can land sooner after jumping out of Space Pirate Rush (19 frames → 17).
• Ridley and his opponent are KO'd sooner when passing the bottom blastline during Space Pirate Rush.
• Ridley loses more speed after whiffing a Space Pirate Rush (Horizontal speed multiplier: 0.65× → 0.6×).
• Wing Blitz
  • Ridley travels faster at the start of the move when charging forward or backwards (3.6 → 4.6/4.2 (forward/backwards)).
  • Ridley loses more speed after bumping into a wall (Horizontal speed multiplier: 0.3× → 0.25×).
  • Ridley loses less speed during landing (Horizontal speed multiplier: 0.45× → 0.55×).
  • Ridley starts decelerating sooner (frame 6 → frame 2/4 (forward/backwards)).
  • Ridley decelerates more during the forward charge (0.125 → 0.138).
  • Ridley flies at a slightly higher angle during the forward charge (-7° → -5°).

2.0.0

• Ridley can grab the ledge earlier after using his neutral (65 frames → 64), forward (67 frames → 66), and down aerials (80 frames → 69).
• TheFinal Smash Meter version ofPlasma Scream has a higher damage multiplier (x0.62 → x0.71), increasing the damage output (43.4% → 49.7%).
• The instant KOing glitch involvingSonic has been fixed.

3.0.0

• Plasma Breath deals less shield damage (-2 → -3).
• A successfulPlasma 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.
• Code was added toSkewer's attack script that allows the sweetspot to be disabled inHome-Run Contest, though this would go unused until the mode's addition in version 5.0.0.

7.0.0

• Ridley's posture was altered while shielding, reducing the possibility of him getting shield stabbed.
  • A portion of Ridley's wings are intangible when activating and deactivating his shield. A portion of his tail is also briefly intangible when deactivating the shield.

8.0.0

• Skewer:
  • The sweetspot hitbox deals more damage (40% → 45%).
  • The sweetspot no longer triggers aSpecial Zoom norcrumples opponents with grab immunity, effectively making the move ahit grab. This significantly worsens ahard read into the move from Ridley's down throw at low percents, which is now unsafe on hit, and removes the infamous Skewer bury infinite in doubles matches.

9.0.0

• Rapid jab and its finisher havetranscendent priority, preventing them from being canceled out by weak attacks.
• Wing Blitz's landing hitbox when angled down no longer affects aerial opponents. Although this removes occasional situations where the landing hitbox could hit aerial opponents if the main attack missed, it is overall a buff, as it prevents more common situations where the landing hitbox would override the main attack's knockback (thus ruiningmeteor smash attempts) if used too close to the edge.

13.0.0

• Space Pirate Rush’s dragging animation has a lower hitlag multiplier on its hitbox (0.8x → 0.5x). This shortens the amount of time between the slamming/dragging animations and when another jump can be input.

13.0.1

• Dash attack deals more damage (12% → 13.5%) with knockback scaling not fully compensated (70 → 67).

Moveset[edit]

• Ridley can perform2 double jumps.

For a gallery of Ridley's hitboxes, seehere.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the1v1 multiplier.

Stats[edit]

Announcer call[edit]

This article could use additional or higher-quality audio files. The editor who added this tag suggests:Needs announcer calls from other languages. If you have a good audio file for this article, upload ithere.

• English/Japanese/Chinese

On-screen appearance[edit]

• Swoops down at an angle before landing and then roars briefly.

• 

  Ridley's on-screen appearance

Taunts[edit]

• Up taunt: Roars and strikes a menacing pose, flapping his wings rapidly.
• Side taunt: Spins in a circle, finishing in a celebrating pose similar to his official artwork.
• Down taunt: Stands up straight while slightly smiling. His body emits a noticeable crackle as he stands upright.

• 

  Ridley's up taunt.

• 

  Ridley's side taunt.

• 

  Ridley's down taunt.

Idle poses[edit]

• Spreads his wings out and quivers slightly.
• 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.

Crowd cheer[edit]

Victory poses[edit]

• Left: Flies into the scene, lands and drifts to a stop.
• Up: Flies in from the background then roars immediately before performing a somersaulting claw swipe as he lands.
• Right: Claws at the ground repeatedly and bites once afterward. 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.

Incompetitive play[edit]

Most historically significant players[edit]

See also:Category:Ridley players (SSBU)

•  KORINKU1219 - One of the best Ridley players in Japan in the post-pandemic metagame. He first broke out onto the scene with two major upsets on top players at back-to-back events, defeatingSnow to place 25th atMaesuma'U22 andDoramigi to place 2nd atKamisuma 23. Since then, he has seen several other notable performances, including placing 5th atMaesuma'LANDMARK 5, 7th atSumabato SP 65, and 13th atSumabato SP 59. Despite these achievements, his attendance remains scarce, and as such he was only recognized as an honorable mention to theLumiRank 2024.1's top 100.
•  Mezcaul - The greatest Ridley player of all time who has been the best since the post-pandemic metagame. He is the only Ridley player ranked top 100 on a globally ranking, ranking 88th on theOrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse, and has regularly been ranked top 150 since. He has some of the best Ridley major performances, most notably placing 3rd at95 Kings of Fields 5 defeatingGlutonny'sLink andLuugi along the way, the first and highest major top 8 placement for a solo-Ridley player. In addition, he has placed 13th atTemple: Hermès Edition andKing Of Fields 95 3 and has additionally defeated Glutonny'sWario atWANTED S4 C3 - Saint Valentin Edition, as well asSisqui atDOSE2SUCRE - 2023.01.
•  momon - One of the best Ridley players in Japan. He is especially known for his results in 2022, where he not only took a set offacola atMaesumaHIT #25, but had several noteworthy performances at superregionals and majors, including placing 5th atKamisuma 13, 13th atSumabato SP 30 andSumabato SP 32, and 25th atKagaribi 6. Although he became increasingly less consistent as time went on, he has still put up some great results, including placing 25th atSumabato SP 51 defeatingRon.
•  Nair^ - The best Ridley player in the world in the early metagame. He was the most successful Ridley player atPGRU events during this time, notably defeatingDark Wizzy atMexican Gaming Championship, placing 2nd overall, and placing 5th atSmash Fest to the Sky. He picked upHero during the online metagame and eventually relegated Ridley to a secondary; however, he remains one of the best Ridley players in North America, most notably defeatingSparg0 with solo-Ridley atSWT: Central America Ultimate Regional Finals.
•  smub - One of the best Ridley players in North America in the post-pandemic metagame and the most successful American Ridley player. Despite he holds one of the best major placements from a Ridley player at a major, having placed 9th atPatchwork 2024 defeatingCandle andWildz. In addition, he is also known for placing 13th atGlitch - Regen and defeatingMuteAce atSet Count 2-1.

Tier placement and history[edit]

Ridley was a widely requested character, so excitement followed his announcement as playable. However, initial opinions of Ridley's viability in the E3 demo build were very negative. Due to one of the largest hurtboxes in the game, while not himself a super heavyweight like similarly large characters, along with his attacks suffering from poor frame data, many people claimed that Ridley's disadvantage state was too risky for him to make a significant impact on the meta. This perception remained in the early metagame, and although Ridley saw some success in the early months after a brief stint fromTweek, who placed 5th atCollision 2019 with Ridley, many agreed that Ridley was at best a low tier character.

As time went on, dedicated mains found sparks of success with Ridley. During the early metagame,Nair^ defeatedDark Wizzy atMexican Gaming Championship and was eventually ranked top 10 in Mexico. Though Nair^ eventually picked upHero, he kept Ridley as a co-main or secondary and used the character to defeatSparg0 atSWT: Central America Ultimate Regional Finals. In addition, the post-pandemic metagame saw the rise of many other Ridley players, includingmomon andsmub, players who saw great success at superregionals and respectable placements at majors. Most notably,Mezcaul became a regular threat at European events, and has been regularly ranked in the top 150 globally since 2021. Furthermore, players took more note on Ridley's strengths, specifically his excellent advantage state, which allows Ridley to utilize his range, speed, and power to provide him with a strong and versatile neutral game. These positive developments improved Ridley's perception, leading the community to reassess Ridley as a mid tier. This is reflected in Ridley's tier list placements, where he was ranked around the high-60s, peaking at 60th on the first and currently ranking 62nd on the third.

Classic Mode: It Can't Be! Space Pirates![edit]

Ridley'scongratulations screen.

Ridley fights characters who pilot their own spaceships.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Samus	Norfair	Title Theme - Metroid
2	Fox andFalco	Venom	Break: Through the Ice
3	Olimar	Distant Planet	Fragment of Hope
4	Rosalina & Luma,Mario, andPeach	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 hasNemesis Ridley accompany the credits.

Role inWorld of Light[edit]

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 (sansKirby) when Galeem unleashed his beams of light.

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

Fighter Battle[edit]

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

Spirits[edit]

Ridley's default fighter spirit can be obtained by completingClassic Mode as Ridley. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after Ridley has been unlocked. Unlocking Ridley in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. His Meta Ridley outfit has a fighter spirit of its own, available through the shop, or by completing a challenge (Smash:Use Ridley's down special, Skewer, for a critical hit on an opponent 4 times within a single battle). Each fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork inUltimate.

Additionally, other forms of Ridley make an appearance in a few primary and support spirits.

In Spirit Battles[edit]

As the main opponent[edit]

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
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 anOre 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	•GiantRidley (140 HP)		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	•TinyRidley		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 Prime Series	•MetalRidley (180 HP)		13,900	Norfair	•Curry-Filled	•Stamina battle •The enemy breathes fire •The enemy is metal	Vs. Meta Ridley
292		Parasite Queen	Metroid Prime Series	•GiantRidley		4,000	Frigate Orpheon	•Attack Power ↑	•The enemy has increased attack power •The enemy shields often •The enemy is giant	Vs. Parasite Queen
371		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		Aparoid	Star Fox Series	•MetalRidley		4,100	Venom	•Hazard: High Gravity	•Your jumping power decreases •The enemy is metal •The enemy has increased jump power	Space Battleground	Aparoid Fortuna
426		Arbok	Pokémon Series	•Ridley		2,200	Yoshi's Island (Melee)	•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		Gyarados	Pokémon Series	•GiantRidley		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×2		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 •The enemy has super armor when charging smash attacks	Pokémon Gold / Pokémon Silver Medley
475		Steelix	Pokémon Series	•MetalRidley (140 HP)		4,300	Kalos Pokémon League (Ironworks Chamber only)	N/A	•Stamina battle •The enemy is metal	Pokémon Gold / Pokémon Silver Medley
490		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 (Dragonmark Chamber (Legendary) only)	•Hazard: Heavy Wind	•Dangerously high winds are in effect after a little while	Battle! (Lorekeeper Zinnia)
558		Lunala	Pokémon Series	•GoldRidley (160 HP)		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		Condor	Ice Climber Series	•Ridley (80 HP) •Ice Climbers (80 HP)		4,500	Summit (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Ice Floor	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The floor is frozen •Timedstamina battle (1:00)	Ice Climber (Brawl)
635		Medeus	Fire Emblem Series	•Ridley (140 HP)		3,600	Castle Siege (Underground Cavern)	•Giant	•The enemy is giant after a little while •Stamina battle	Lords-Showdown	Medeus (Shadow Dragon form)
713		Hewdraw	Kid Icarus Series	•Ridley		3,500	Skyworld	N/A	•The enemy favors neutral specials	Boss Fight 1 - Kid Icarus: Uprising
820		Peckish Aristocrab	Pikmin Series	•GiantRidley (140 HP)		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	•GiantRidley		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	•GiantRidley (160 HP)		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	•TinyRidley •ClearRichter		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	Tamagon
1,345		Buzzbomb	Banjo-Kazooie Series	•Ridley×3 (50 HP)		2,000	Garden of Hope (hazards off)	N/A	•Stamina battle •The enemy favors up specials in the air •The enemy falls slowly	Spiral Mountain
1,370		Corviknight	Pokémon Series	•Ridley •GiantRidley		3,800	Gaur Plain (Battlefield form)	N/A	•The enemy favors air attacks •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd •The enemy has increased jump power	Battle! (Wild Pokémon) - Pokémon Diamond / Pokémon Pearl	Gigantamaxed Corviknight (Giant Ridley)
1,438		Ender Dragon	Minecraft Series	•Ridley (200 HP) •Enderman×2 (50 HP)		12,700	Find Mii (hazards off)	•Health Recovery	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Stamina battle •The enemy is healed significantly when the enemy's at high damage	The Arch-Illager
1,449		Bahamut ZERO	FINAL FANTASY Series	•GiantRidley		13,500	Midgar (hazards off)	•Sudden Final Smash	•The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy is giant	Those Who Fight Further (AC Version)

As a minion[edit]

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
656		Lyon	Fire Emblem Series	•Robin •GiantRidley		3,700	Unova Pokémon League (hazards off)	N/A	•Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd •The enemy is giant	Preparing to Advance	Fomortiis
739		Ashley	WarioWare Series	•Mii Swordfighter (Moveset1322, Ashley Wig, Ashley Outfit, High Voice Type 8) •TinyRidley		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		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	The End
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	Killer Bee
1,232		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		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	Volcanic Dragon
1,307		Igor	Persona Series	•Robin •Ridley×3		10,600	Kalos Pokémon League (hazards off)	•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	Inhabitants of theVelvet Room
1,350		High Line (Guns Empress)	DAEMON X MACHINA	•TinyZero Suit Samus •Ridley		4,200	Halberd	•Move Speed ↑ •Assist Trophy Enemies (Jeff) •Item: Shooting Types	•Hostile assist trophies will appear •The enemy has increased move speed after a little while •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd	Metalopod	High Line
1,359		Kim Kaphwan	Fatal Fury Series	•Ken •GiantKing Dedede •TinyRidley		1,800	King of Fighters Stadium	•Jump Power ↓	•The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd •All fighters have reduced jump power	Let's Go to Seoul! - FATAL FURY 2	Choi Bounge
1,464		Malos	Xenoblade Chronicles Series	•Richter •GiantRidleyx3		13,600	Gaur Plain	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd	Incoming!	Artifice Gargoyles
1,467		Arthur	Ghosts 'n Goblins Series	•Mii Swordfighter (Moveset2223, Black Knight Helm, Black Knight Armor) •Ridley		9,500	Spear Pillar (Battlefield form)	•Item: Throwing Types	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Attack - Soma Bringer	Satan
				•Mii Swordfighter (Moveset2223, Arthur's Helm, Arthur's Armor)[SB 1] •Ridley
1,521		Koraidon & Miraidon	Pokémon Series	•Charizard •Ridley		13,100	Final Destination	•Attack Power ↑ •Hazard: Zap Floor	•The floor is electrified •The enemy has increased attack power •The enemy loves to jump	Battle! (Reshiram / Zekrom)	Miraidon

Alternate costumes[edit]

Ridley had two palettes in demo versions ofUltimate 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.

Reveal trailer[edit]

Gallery[edit]

• 

  Ridley's splash art.

• 

  Ridley'samiibo.

• 

  Ridley's fighter card.

• 

  Ridley's unlock notice.

• 

  Preparing to usePlasma Breath onMario Galaxy.

• 

  Jumping onWrecking Crew.

• 

  UsingWing Blitz onMidgar.

• 

  Using aHammer on Wrecking Crew.

• 

  UsingSkewer againstFox onBattlefield.

• 

  AsMeta Ridley alongsideSamus onCastle Siege.

• 

  Performing hison-screen appearance as Meta Ridley onColiseum.

• 

  Using Plasma Breath asMarthspot dodges it on3D Land.

• 

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

• 

  Ridley,Jigglypuff,Ice Climbers, andZelda onSummit.

• 

  Taunting onWily Castle.

• 

  WithKirby,Mario,Link,Inkling, Marth,Pit andVillager on Battlefield.

• 

  WithPeach,Captain Falcon andTerry onNew Donk City Hall.

Fighter Showcase Video[edit]

Trivia[edit]

• Due to his debut in August 1986, Ridley is the oldest newcomer in the base version ofSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, beating outSimon by one month.
  • With DLC included, he is beaten byPiranha Plant.
• Ridley's model appears to be based on hisSuper Metroid sprite with additional details and embellishments, some of which loosely resemble his clone's design inMetroid: Other M. His size is significantly reduced to that of his appearance in the originalMetroid for the NES, where his hunched posture is only slightly taller thanSamus Aran.
  • Masahiro Sakurai was reported to have heavily based Ridley on his depiction in the originalMetroid, specifically how his sprite appeared hunched over even while flying.^[1]
• Ridley's fighter tagline, "Ridley Hits the Big Time!", likely references his exclusion in previous games due to Sakurai's prior perception of him being too large to implement as a fighter.
  • Sakurai stated in a Nintendo Dream Magazine interview that Ridley was added because of his popularity on the Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot.^[2]
• Ultimate marks Ridley's debut as a playable character in any capacity.
• Ridley's pose in his official artwork resemblesBowser's pose in his official art forSuper Smash Bros. 4, albeit mirrored.
• His animated reveal trailer is the first time since Ridley's role in theMetroid manga where Ridley has displayed a sense of humor, playfully twirling the hat of a defeatedMario when revealing himself toSamus while grinning.
  • The way Ridley twirls Mario's hat is a callback toMario doing the same in the beginning ofSuper Mario Odyssey's reveal trailer.
  • The part where aMetroid attacks Ridley while he is near astunnedPikachu resembles a pivotal point in his boss fight inMetroid: Samus Returns in which the Baby Metroid saves Samus from Ridley by leeching some of his energy. On an extended note, Pikachu and Samus teamed up to fight Ridley inThe Subspace Emissary.
• The moment Ridley appears in his introductory trailer resembles his appearance inMetroid: Zero Mission just before Samus fights him. This includes the way Samus looks at the screen, Ridley's reflection in her visor, his entrance animation, and the music's timing.
  • On a similar note, the zoom-in on Samus' eyes during this scene shows her irises jittering in a state of panic, indirectly referencing the scene where Samus ends up freezing up from PTSD at the sight of Ridley's clone at the end of Chapter 17 ofMetroid: Other M, and to a lesser extent, a similar reaction from Samus regarding Ridley himself in the Magazine Z prequel manga toMetroid: Zero Mission.
• Ridley (and by extension, Meta Ridley) is the secondSuper Smash Bros. boss character to become playable in the series afterGiga Bowser, and the only boss character to be playable at all times, as Giga Bowser is limited toBowser's Final Smash. He is also one of the only twostage hazards to become playable in the series, the other beingPiranha Plant.
• There was an error on Ridley's page on the Latin American and Canadian French versions of theSuper Smash Bros. website. The reveal trailer videos were unavailable, with the Latin American version mistakenly linking to a JapaneseMario Tennis Aces video. This has since been corrected.
• Ridley is the only playable character from theMetroid series whose animations are mirrored.
• Ridley is also the only playable character from theMetroid series who isn't a variation ofSamus, instead being his own fighter.
• Masahiro Sakurai stated in an interview that Ridley's down taunt is among his favorite taunts inUltimate.^[3]
• Due to his eyes being yellow by default, Ridley is the only character inUltimate to not receive a significant eye color change after obtaining a Smash Ball or uponperfect shielding.
  • AlthoughMeta Knight's default eye color is also yellow, his eyes turn red in these circumstances.
• When zooming in behind Meta Ridley's wings, his right wing does not fully connect to his back.^[4]
• Ridley'sdamage meter portrait protrudes downward the most out of every fighter.
• Strangely, Ridley has code forgliding, despite the mechanic not returning fromSuper Smash Bros. Brawl and Ridley himself not being playable or cloned from a playable character inBrawl.
  • Upon further inspection, the code is identical toCharizard's, which has been carried over sinceBrawl. This suggests that Charizard was used as a template for some aspects of Ridley's implementation as a fighter.
• Ridley is the one of few characters who has only two knockback voice clips (with the others being theIce Climbers andDuck Hunt) and one blast KO voice clip (with the others beingJigglypuff in the international versions,Mewtwo,Roy, theMii Fighters,Bayonetta, andSephiroth).
• When Ridley receives damage, he may assume a pose similar toNeo-Ridley's flying pose.^[5]
• Ridley andCorrin appear in the most Legend-rank spirit battles as the main opponent, at a total of four.
  • Specifically, Ridley appears in the Omega Ridley, Dark Emperor, Ender Dragon, and Bahamut ZERO spirit battles.
  • When counting ally spirits, he appears in the most Legend-rank spirit battles, at a total of six.
• Ridley andDaisy are the only newcomers who were not shown being added to the panoramic group artwork. This does not includeInkling, who was featured on the artwork when it debuted.
• An unused spirit battle associated with the Meta Ridley fighter spirit implies that he originally was not planned to be an alternate costume. While all fighter spirits have battles associated with them, being either theWorld of Light unlock battles or also being unused, Meta Ridley's is the only one that is set to have the spirit displayed by the CPU's HUD, a trait that is otherwise only used for normal spirit battles.

References[edit]

v • d • e Metroid universe
Fighters	Samus (SSB ·SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Zero Suit Samus (SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Ridley (SSBU) ·Dark Samus (SSBU)
Assist Trophies	Metroid ·Dark Samus ·Mother Brain
Bosses	Ridley ·Meta Ridley
Stages	Planet Zebes ·Brinstar ·Brinstar Depths ·Frigate Orpheon ·Norfair ·Pyrosphere Brinstar Escape Shaft (Adventure Mode)
Item	Screw Attack ·Power Suit Piece
Enemies	Geemer ·Kihunter ·Metroid ·Reo ·FG II-Graham ·Joulion ·Zero
Other	Gunship ·Kraid
Trophies,Stickers andSpirits	Trophies (SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4) ·Stickers ·Spirits
Music	Brawl ·SSB4 ·Ultimate
Masterpieces	Metroid ·Super Metroid

• Characters (SSBU)
• Metroid universe
• Ridley (SSBU)
• Spirits

• Articles in need of audio