Ridley

The fearsome Space Pirate commander and eternal rival of Samus Aran.

Ridley is a major antagonist in the Metroid series who appears in the Super Smash Bros. crossover fighting game franchise in many of its installments. He appears in a cameo in both Super Smash Bros. and Melee, and acts as a boss opponent in Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. He later appears as a playable character in Ultimate.

Quick Facts

Series: Metroid
First game: Metroid (1986)
Creator: Makoto Kano
Designer: Hiroji Kiyotake

Lore & Background

Ridley, also known in-universe by the alias Cunning God of Death, is an evil and aggressive draconic extraterrestrial who became Samus Aran's archnemesis after murdering the latter's parents as he led a Space Pirate raid on her home planet. Though destroyed numerous times by Samus, he is repeatedly resurrected through various means. Originally appearing as a subordinate of Mother Brain, he returns in Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption in his cybernetic Meta Ridley form, commanding the Space Pirates himself. Ridley is killed during the events of Super Metroid, though a clone of him introduced in Metroid: Other M persists after his death. The director of the Super Smash Bros. series, Masahiro Sakurai, stated in an interview with Nintendo Power that the development team considered including Ridley as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl but decided against the idea due to creative difficulties. In an interview with IGN about Ridley's exclusion from Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, Sakurai argued that reducing Ridley's size, wingspan or mobility to include him as a fighter would not be true to the character, who is supposed to be a 'truly threatening presence' that could only be correctly portrayed as a stage boss unencumbered by a fighter's size and balance restrictions. Sakurai said that high demand from players inspired him to add several playable characters to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, including Ridley.

Did You Know?

Ridley is believed to be named after Ridley Scott, director of the 1979 film Alien, which has been described by character designer Yoshio Sakamoto as a 'huge influence' on the world of the Metroid series.
Mike Sneath, one of three senior character artists for Metroid Prime, was responsible for designing the Meta Ridley version of Ridley seen in Metroid Prime, and it took him about '20 to 25 days' to model and texture Meta Ridley.