Smash Ultimate Ridley is the GOAT. It’s the sunken eyes and spikes around his face that really adds to his fierce demeanor, and he has the coolest roars and taunts in the entire game.
The irony with dread being one of the most successful Metroid games so far is that it’s technically the only point in the core Metroid timeline where Ridley doesn’t appear at all
@@ArtistMarkFlynn bruh I can’t wait for the DLC where we play as Raven Beak trying to revive Ridley because why not fight before he got his arse handed to him by Samus /j
Gotta be Proteus Ridley for me, mostly because of the fantastic concept art by Rafael Jimenez Rodriguez, which helps marry the classic Ridley Design from Super with the Prime series' cyborg design, giving you the best of both worlds on this malicious bastard space dragon.
Not many people notice that Ridley actually has TWO unique designs in Metroid Prime 3. Everyone knows about Omega Ridley, which looks like a bigger Meta-Ridley with more detail and slightly less cybernetics - but most people don't realize that during you first battle with him on Norion, Ridley is actually *bigger* than he is as Omega Ridley (especially noticeable when Samus is able to pry open his mouth by standing upright in it). His body is also completely blue, with even some glowing appendages, ironically making him look MUCH more Phazon infected than his later appearance as Omega Ridley. Apparently, during Prime 3's development, the models for what we know as 'Meta-Ridley' and 'Omega Ridley' were swapped. There is even an early WIP demo clip showing that the 'Norion Ridley' was originally supposed to be 'Omega Ridley', seen in the Laviathen Seed. The reason for this is currently unknown, but it's a bizarre choice.
@@eonamiella2124 After looking into it further, apparently this info isn't actually *officially* confirmed, though an early beta clip of MP3 by former Retro artist, Sonny Santa Maria, definitely leads credence to this belief: EDIT: I tried posting a link to the GIF in question, but RUclips deleted my entire comment. Thankfully I always copy my posts on RUclips before I post them just in case. Anyway, if you do a Google Image Search and look for: "OMEGA RIDLEY GIF", it should be the first image that pops up. Here, we see (MP3's version of) 'Meta-Ridley' in place of (what we know now as) 'Omega Ridley' fighting Samus in the Leviathan Seed, using the same exact animations as the final game. In this clip, it appears as though the 'Norion Ridley' was originally going to be used for the 'Omega Ridley' fight, which makes sense as he looks FAR more Phazon corrupted than the 'Omega Ridley' we got in the final game, who actually looks much more like regular old Meta-Ridley from Prime 1. I always thought it was odd that in the final game, 'Norion Ridley' despite being called 'Meta-Ridley' bears no noticeable mechanical parts and looks completely Phazon corrupted, despite his logbook entry having no mention of being Phazon infused - and then ironically, so-called 'Omega Ridley', who the plot and his logbook entry clearly states is Phazon infused, bears no noticeable Phazon attributes and looks like he reverted back to his cyborg state. In retrospect, had the final game used the 'Norion Ridley' model as the true Omega Ridley, it would have actually served as a good lore explanation for why Ridley was able to regenerate his body just in time for Super Metroid, as the model looks completely organic. (Though Mercurysteam managed to at least address this inconsistency themselves with Proteus Ridley in Samus Returns). Anyway, as for why this apparent model swap would have been made in the final game, the only explanation I can think of would probably be a simple artistic choice, as the more mechanical Ridley model does look a lot more detailed. Maybe they just thought he looked cooler. Or perhaps the original model was too difficult to render at 60fps during the Leviathan battle for some reason. We'll probably never know unless someone inquires the old Retro staff about it. Would be cool to know what happened there.
I believe Ridley’s thin neck is based on a vulture due to the association with death and the similar bend in the middle. It is a nice part of his design when you look at it like that.
The muscular clone makes total sense to me. Just look at young and old weight lifters. Older folks usually look skinny, even when lifting similar weight. When samus kills ridley in super, he is ancient. When he is in other M, he is super young. He got those beginner gains as the expert call them. Then he got sucked dry by a metroid. Bringing him back to his skinny self from super. Edit: spelling errors.
I was even thinking about Ridleys Brawl design and compared how it looked with Ultimates design of him and it's funny to see that Ultimates Ridley is a lot more grittier and realistically detailed than the latter which was originally trying to go for the realistic look lol.
Ridley Designs Tier List God Tier: Samus Returns S Tier: Prime 1; Ultimate A Tier: Fusion; Zero Mission; Prime 3 B Tier: Super Metroid; Other M; Smash 4 C Tier: Melee D Tier: Brawl F Tier: Metroid
I think Ridley's Metroid Prime design is my favorite. But I really appreciate the Smash version implementing the (relative) proportions of NES Ridley, and taking Super Ridley's design and keeping a few traces of the Other M design, but without the goofy bird mouth. He's my 2nd favorite of the Smash characters after Mega Man.
He's definitely one of the best 'best of' characters that I can think of from Smash. Really love how they implement elements from different character design stages.
Honestly if they just made Smash Ultimate Ridley boss size for his next appearance, he would be perfect. I also love his Metroid 1 color scheme with green wings and a brighter purple.
Also make his Meta Ridley skin more like the metroid prime design. I personally would also make the body size of his normal look more like other m Ridley.
@@frohawk8465 I honestly liked the idea of Ridley having to evolve from a tiny bird the way he did, and the idea that he inherently has the ability to control monsters around him (although, I guess that takes away from him being a good pirate leader). But the design itself was kinda garbage imo
2:46 I mean Neo Ridley has the Japanese artwork color scheme of being blue with purple eyes plus his head is round and his wings are thin but long basically they are small for a Ridley which is similar to his Japanese artwork who knows maybe it was based on that one.
Fun fact: After the events of Metroid Fusion Ridley decided to retire from from videogames to follow his one true dream: Cinema. Not as an actor though, no. As a director! He made hit horror movies vaguely based off of his life and designed the main villain after himself.
I do not really mind Other M's version of Ridley. He still looks intimidating as hell and I dig the dagger tail. However, the best is either Samus Returns or Smash Ultimate. I also just now realized the organic components on Meta Ridley. Until now, I had thought his skin was purely metallic.
I think hes never looked better than he does in smash ultimate, obviously he is too small but design wise he's combined all his best features into one design, mainly combining super metroid and zero mission with the cool blade tail from other m, and hes never looked more realistic and terrify!
@@hououinkyouma5539 i agree for the most part but then there is samus who is other m :/ and bowser who looks too montrous, but i think mostly ultimate has the best designs or at least equal to
i think my personal perfect ridley would definitely have to be a hypothetical fusion of prime’s meta ridley and zero mission’s ridley. more specifically; taking zero mission’s, making him purple, and giving him the hugeass wings and other proportional details of meta and Boom. perfect “classic” ridley. it’s a shame no art exists of such a design, though. the closest we have is super’s and zero mission’s which are both miscolored :/
In terms of the "classic" Ridley design, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is easily my favorite. It feels like a "best of" compilation of Ridley's designs over the years, with an additional touch of grotesque horror that makes him look like a living corpse. But aside from that, I actually think Proteus Ridley might be my favorite Ridley design. It best conveys Ridley's character through his appearance. There's something about the half-cyborg design that makes this version of Ridley look less like a mindless feral beast like in the other games, and more like the cunning intelligent foe that he's said to be in canon, while still retaining the terrifying appearance of a dangerous dragon.
Boi. It's Meta Ridley for me. The Cybernetic enhancements, his new attacks, and his evolution from Meta to Proteus. So perfect! I love the Cybotic Ridley, but it's Meta for me. Again, so perfect. =3
For me it will be 1. Meta Ridley (Prime 1) 2. Proteus Ridley 3. Super Metroid Ridley 4. Omega Ridley (Meta Ridley Prime 3) 5. Smash Ultimate Ridley 6. Neo Ridley 7. Zero Mission Ridley 8. Smash Brawl Ridley 9. Other M Ridley 10. Classic Metroid Ridley
May be Zero Mission bias, but I've always thought that was his best look in the games. I think the black and red really suit his character too. But then there's Smash, which Sakurai and his team absolutely NAILED classic Ridley in a 3D model.
Thank you so much for even making this video. I commented about wanting something like it previously, and while I doubt this was made because of me, I am still very happy this was made.
Meta Ridley has been my favorite for a long time. Definately the coolest version in my opinion. As for Other M, despite my hatred for the game I kind of get that design. The Federation was trying to clone Ridley, presumably with the intent of using the clone as a weapon and may well have altered elements of his biology to make him stronger.
I have to say, I've been wanting Ridley in Smash since Brawl, and have consistently been disappointed. After Other M, I was seriously afraid that if Ridley ever did wind up getting into Smash, that they'd wind up using his goofy-looking Other M design, especially after seeing how Sakurai seemingly prefers Other M's design for Samus. So glad Ridley got a moremunique design in Ultimate that more closely resembles his classic look. Meta-Ridley's inclusion is also exquisite. Probably my two favorite designs for the character - both playable in Smash. Now if only he wasnt smaller than Donkey Kong and wasn't a low-tier character in general.
For years I was actually against Ridley being in Smash, because I was afraid they wouldn't do him justice, or mess up his moveset big time. I'm glad though they didn't. The only thing wrong I have with him is his weight, it being lighter than Samus for some weird reason. Other than that, he's my main for a "Very Big Reason". The reason why I thought they would mess him up btw was because of how Wario and Ganondorf turned out. Especially Wario though.
I actually have a theory on Ridley new form in Other M and changes we see across most of the games During the manga Ridley was fatally injured by Samus father (Rodney Aran) and had to consume his fallen soldiers and the slaughtered villagers to regenerate I believe that is why Other M Ridley looks different from all other Ridley forms Other M Ridley has never suffered extreme injuries and is literally in his prime quite literally considering he was a child less than two hours ago in game
I love this video. I have a soft spot for fusion Ridley. The way the limbs flex and eyes pop he looks in such pain. Its at once outlandish and tragic. Properly scary
My personal favorite designs are Meta Ridley in Prime & Ridley from Smash Ultimate. The Meta Ridley design is just very cool, adding a robotic armor onto Ridley. I also think the glowing effect on the wings alongside the fiery eyes helps the design look dynamic. Smash Ultimate sort of took Ridley to his routes. Perhaps you have heard how Metroid was inspired by Ridley Scott's Alien, and while a little bit of this influence can be seen on N.E.S Ridley's sprite & artwork, it did get lost over time for a more pterodactyl looking design. Smash ultimate however gives the character proportions that are more tight resembling not just a dragon but a Xenomorph too, In a very interesting design blend.
Smash Ultimate's reimagining of Super's design (and to a lesser extent Super's design) for me. Something about the back of the head in both of those just helps sell the franchise's Alien inspiration for me in a good way, be it deliberate or just coincidental with the pterosaur based design.
Smash Ultimate Ridley is my personal favorite. I love the detail of his skin being tight around his skeletal frame, as it even seems to be cracked in a few places. His cool dagger tail is threatening, as is the spikes covering certain portions of his body. His long narrow head is like a beautiful fusion of his Super Metroid appearance with his appearance in Other M. His snout is much more preferable than other M, as it actually looks stiff and intimidating compared to the floppy one he sported in that game. He's beautifully designed, and I absolutely love him. His standing taunt is cool too.
Honestly, kinda makes sense that Ridley was more buff on the bottle ship as he was able to reach maturity in an ideal environment with no shortage of food.
And was likely altered during the cloning process, much like some of the other classic Metroid enemies in Other M (for gameplay or story reasons). The Zebesians looking less like their Super counterparts, and more like their Fusion ones, while also being made to be more mindless drones than before. I think the Geemers were also given longer legs too.
Ridley also appears in artwork for the past games in Metroid dread. In the Other M art with his *horrid* design from that game, and a small redesign in the art for the overall series, looking like he did in Ultimate but minus the spikes which I wasn't a fan of personally to begin with.
I agree that the og American art looks sick and should return. Could be a small henchman-type enemy in Ridley’s area or an attempt at recreating him gone wrong or something
@@R0-83-RT although Bowser hasn't really changed much in the canon games. I think a better choice would be Ganondorf/Ganon since his design changes so much that Starscream from Transformers has a more consistent design oh wait he already had a video so never mind
My favourite design for Ridley will always be his completely organic forms in Super Metroid and Zero mission. I love the look of his ribs pressing against his skin, his long, slender limbs, the sharp claws, the rows of sharp teeth in the pterodactyl style mouth, his piercing yellow eyes. All of this together, along with that fact that he's a completely organic beast, makes his design the most imposing, viscous, and grotesque looking in the series. He's also my personal favourite metroid character so I may be a bit biased
A design of Ridley is featured in Dread in the 100% artwork you can unlock. But man, that's honestly such a cool idea to have that weird leech looking design of him return as an incomplete version of Ridley that has been resurrected or something in a future game!
Mercury Steam originally wanted to make a Fusion remake before ending up on Dread. So if they end up making the remake, I hope they have Neo Ridley devolve into the NES design as he takes damage, would make for a cool callback while fitting the way the X work. Sorta like Nightmare's face melting too.
@@GBDupree Yeah, that'd be pretty cool. Also kinda creepy too. I really hope they do remake Fusion. I've never played the game and seeing how they knocked Dread and Samus Returns out of the park, they would no doubt do the same with Fusion.
my head cannon is that the clone is what normal riddly would look like as a adolecent or young adult. the riddly we fight in super is his adult to middle age or older which is why he is so skinny he's just much older and not as buff or spry as his younger clone.
I would like to believe that the reason the Ridley in Metroid Other M looks so different is because of him having to feed off of the bottleship creatures.... if the food you ate your entire life was laced with steroids you would likely be a bit bulkier than you would be now.... there is little doubt in my mind that this is what happened here, we have seen in multiple scenes throughout that story Ridley was eating the various creatures of the bottleship... I would like to think that the bio-weapon modifications that were made to the creatures had a sort of mutagenic effect on how he would look otherwise.... the result--- "buff Ridley"
I like the idea that the Other M buff Ridley is the result of trying to weaponise him, like they do with Metroids, and just like when AMond tried to make dinosaurs, it turned back on them.
Different Kraid likely, since there are tiny Kraids in the series, its possible that none of the Kraids have been the same one. Perhaps ZDR is the species homeplanet even?
To me Proteus Ridley is possible the best design of the character since it’s a reimagining and mix of both Meta Ridley and Super Metroid Ridley. Plus, it has all the best traits from his past designs. And, yeah. Other than Proteus Ridley, Meta Ridley is the best design of this character. It’s just a million times cooler since he’s now a cyborg.
My speculation is that Ridley's design in Other M is a result of the galactic federation's bioweapon experiments, and that his thinner, spikier design was a side-effect of the rushed cloning process. Remember that it only took Little Birdie a few hours to fully molt, much like how the federation's experiments allowed a metroid to grow into an omega in a similar timespan during Fusion.
I personally would fuse components of other m Ridley and smash brothers Ridley. Specifically, combining the body of other m Ridley, only making his legs longer, and his head and skin texture would look like his smash brothers version.
I don't see why people have a problem with robo Ridley, we somehow believe that the Ridley and the space pirates rebuilt Mother Brain in Super which was lost chozo technology, rebuilt his body as a cyborg in Prime but suddenly scream plothole when we see a robot doppleganger version of himself
Another Brilliant video on one of my fave baddies...The Outer Space Pterodactyl Dragon- Ripely!! I honestly say, any of Ripley's forms to show how massive and fearsome he is, is a great design. But if we had to pick 1; give it to Wii-U Ripley. It just conveys everything that makes him a terrifying threat!
I think the different design for the Ridley clone in Other M could be explained with how he was inadvertently brought back to life when the scientists were trying to revive Metroids and Zebesian Space Pirates. It’s possible that the Ridley DNA got contaminated with Space Pirate and/or Metroid DNA, explaining the different design in Other M.
5:11 Bit of a lore error, here: this is a different X Parasite. A bunch of them were accidentally picked up from SR388, and this one happened to either be one of those.
Other M had the best rendition of the Ridley theme. I like Prime 3's version of Meta Ridley. I felt that Proteus Ridley wasn't needed in the Metroid 2 remake, but I liked how it connected Prime 3 to Super since his Armour from the Omega Ridley fight is still visible.
My personal favorite design is the Proteus Ridley. His costumes in Smash are very good but I really wished that each one was based off each of his incarnations.
If I were shown the Japanese concept artwork for Ridley in the original Metroid game (without any context), I would seriously have thought he was a Pokémon. The artstyle just seemed to have such likeness.
Actually, the 'Insect-Ridley' artwork from the NES game was not american exclusive. It was used in the japanese manual as well. The Chibi-Ridley artwork was from the Japanese strategy guide for the game.
It's Super Metroid Ridley, for me. I know it might just be my nostalgia talking, but that design is so good. I would wear it on a piece of clothing or a pin. I can't say that for the designs you favor.
As much as I love Ridley, and Metroid as a video game franchise, I find it very difficult to be able to fit in Ridley somewhere for future Metroid titles after Dread, considering the timeline. ALTHOUGH, Metroid Prume 4 still could have Ridley since all the prime games are supposed to take place before Metroid 2. My favorite Ridley design might have to be that seen in Samus Returns. As for boss music, probably the one from Metroid Prime 3
They can still makes clones of Ridley and I even have some ideas 1. Mutant Ridley. Which would be a readaptation of the American concept art for the first game. And it would an experiment from a mad scientist to not only revive Ridley but remake him. 2. Another Mecha Ridley but it turns out that the Mecha Ridley from Zero Mission was only a second copy and the real Ridley wanted to make an army of Mecha Ridleys but only managed to forge 1 1/2 Mecha Ridleys. 3. It's revealed that somehow space pirates managed to flee Xebes with the remains of the original Ridley and they planned to recreate Ridley's original body to bring him back to life.
I'm happy that he's had some time off but I'm expecting to see him again. A cool idea I saw online was that he could be featured as a simulation extra boss on Samus' ship or something!
I grew up with Super, so I love his original design in that game. But I honestly like his Zero Mission design just that bit more, due to the colour scheme and refined details in his official artwork. It helps that the artwork more closely matches the in game sprite, because Super's sprite looks much more scary than his artwork. Plus, I prefer Proteus Ridley over Meta Ridley, because he just looks more terrifying to me here. Ridley grabbing Samus and smashing her against the wall repeatedly just shows how violent he is.
Personally it's between Meta and Proteus Ridley. Adding mechanical elements looks so good on him and makes him look so much more intimidating. I got a little sick of the increasingly dumb ways he kept coming back storywise, but I always love his boss fights. Great music, a character with a personal connection to Samus, and an awesome intimidating design I think Samus Returns has my overall favorite boss fight for him, even if the fight itself felt pretty shoehorned and out of place
Is the Ridley design better with the phalanges, the tarsals, metatarsals and the ankle joint on the legs like an opened N, and with the four fingers? Is it better when Ridley can stand on all fours a little more like a crocodile? It’s very inspirational. Especially designed more dinosaur/dragon-ish. And being more dinosaur/dragon-like/human-like. What are the mixtures of him?
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Smash Ultimate Ridley is the GOAT. It’s the sunken eyes and spikes around his face that really adds to his fierce demeanor, and he has the coolest roars and taunts in the entire game.
Definitely has some great features. I love the stand up taunt so much lol
I personally wish his overall body figure was more like his other m version, and his Meta Ridley form would look more like the brawl design of it.
I don't get how "goat" is a compliment
@@5spec goat stands for Greatest.Of.All.Time.
it just screams
“I’m going to beat the life out of you”
The irony with dread being one of the most successful Metroid games so far is that it’s technically the only point in the core Metroid timeline where Ridley doesn’t appear at all
So is Samus Returns' inclusion of Proteus Ridley considered canon now? Because I actually think it takes away from his appearance in Super a little.
@@MJSHappy i think it is canon now, but dont let that stop you
Pretty sure it's Canon.
@@ArtistMarkFlynn bruh I can’t wait for the DLC where we play as Raven Beak trying to revive Ridley because why not fight before he got his arse handed to him by Samus /j
That last boss. Incredible.
One impliable detail is that the blueprints for Mecha Ridley were probably used by the Space Pirates in the reconstruction of Ridley into Meta Ridley.
Yeah, works perfectly with the time line, and explains the shared weak spot.
Cool detail! Wonder if there are any others...
Gotta be Proteus Ridley for me, mostly because of the fantastic concept art by Rafael Jimenez Rodriguez, which helps marry the classic Ridley Design from Super with the Prime series' cyborg design, giving you the best of both worlds on this malicious bastard space dragon.
Yeah it’s a shame Proteus is such a good fight considering it makes NO fucking sense but
@@cosmiclikesminecraft
how doesnt it make sense?
SAME lol, I love how it's basically a cyborg Ridley
(I mean, technically so was Meta Ridley, but he was outwardly mostly metal lol)
@@Teknanam just another cringe ass person thinking it's bad
I firmly believe Proteus Ridley is a more recovered version of Meta Ridley, not to mention Proteus’ first phase theme has parts of Meta’s theme in it.
Not many people notice that Ridley actually has TWO unique designs in Metroid Prime 3. Everyone knows about Omega Ridley, which looks like a bigger Meta-Ridley with more detail and slightly less cybernetics - but most people don't realize that during you first battle with him on Norion, Ridley is actually *bigger* than he is as Omega Ridley (especially noticeable when Samus is able to pry open his mouth by standing upright in it). His body is also completely blue, with even some glowing appendages, ironically making him look MUCH more Phazon infected than his later appearance as Omega Ridley. Apparently, during Prime 3's development, the models for what we know as 'Meta-Ridley' and 'Omega Ridley' were swapped. There is even an early WIP demo clip showing that the 'Norion Ridley' was originally supposed to be 'Omega Ridley', seen in the Laviathen Seed. The reason for this is currently unknown, but it's a bizarre choice.
Got a source for that? That's honestly fascinating
@@eonamiella2124
After looking into it further, apparently this info isn't actually *officially* confirmed, though an early beta clip of MP3 by former Retro artist, Sonny Santa Maria, definitely leads credence to this belief:
EDIT: I tried posting a link to the GIF in question, but RUclips deleted my entire comment. Thankfully I always copy my posts on RUclips before I post them just in case. Anyway, if you do a Google Image Search and look for: "OMEGA RIDLEY GIF", it should be the first image that pops up.
Here, we see (MP3's version of) 'Meta-Ridley' in place of (what we know now as) 'Omega Ridley' fighting Samus in the Leviathan Seed, using the same exact animations as the final game.
In this clip, it appears as though the 'Norion Ridley' was originally going to be used for the 'Omega Ridley' fight, which makes sense as he looks FAR more Phazon corrupted than the 'Omega Ridley' we got in the final game, who actually looks much more like regular old Meta-Ridley from Prime 1. I always thought it was odd that in the final game, 'Norion Ridley' despite being called 'Meta-Ridley' bears no noticeable mechanical parts and looks completely Phazon corrupted, despite his logbook entry having no mention of being Phazon infused - and then ironically, so-called 'Omega Ridley', who the plot and his logbook entry clearly states is Phazon infused, bears no noticeable Phazon attributes and looks like he reverted back to his cyborg state.
In retrospect, had the final game used the 'Norion Ridley' model as the true Omega Ridley, it would have actually served as a good lore explanation for why Ridley was able to regenerate his body just in time for Super Metroid, as the model looks completely organic. (Though Mercurysteam managed to at least address this inconsistency themselves with Proteus Ridley in Samus Returns).
Anyway, as for why this apparent model swap would have been made in the final game, the only explanation I can think of would probably be a simple artistic choice, as the more mechanical Ridley model does look a lot more detailed. Maybe they just thought he looked cooler. Or perhaps the original model was too difficult to render at 60fps during the Leviathan battle for some reason. We'll probably never know unless someone inquires the old Retro staff about it. Would be cool to know what happened there.
Interesting...
Its such a shame too, because that meta ridley design on norion is the best ridley design by far.
@@VaneWalker
Yeah, it's very unique. A shame it is often forgotten (or unrecognized).
I always loved Meta Ridley's design. He felt scary and unstoppable. Glad that they implemented it as a Smash Ultimate alternate costume.
LOVE the alternate costumes that actually mean something!
@@ArtistMarkFlynn Same! Nice to see Sakurai honor the games and their histories.
Same tbh. It's my go-to Ridley skin when i play him.
I believe Ridley’s thin neck is based on a vulture due to the association with death and the similar bend in the middle. It is a nice part of his design when you look at it like that.
The muscular clone makes total sense to me. Just look at young and old weight lifters. Older folks usually look skinny, even when lifting similar weight. When samus kills ridley in super, he is ancient. When he is in other M, he is super young. He got those beginner gains as the expert call them. Then he got sucked dry by a metroid. Bringing him back to his skinny self from super.
Edit: spelling errors.
Ridley got into the protein powder
Now I'm imagining in my head that meme of "Don't talk to me or my son ever again" but it's modern scary Ridley holding chibi kid Ridley. XD
Smash Ridley is also really reminiscent of his original design. At least height wise. He's barely taller than Samus while hunched over.
Good point!
I was even thinking about Ridleys Brawl design and compared how it looked with Ultimates design of him and it's funny to see that Ultimates Ridley is a lot more grittier and realistically detailed than the latter which was originally trying to go for the realistic look lol.
Yeah it's mad. The Ridley in brawl feels much more like super Ridley in 3D imo.
Ridley Designs Tier List
God Tier: Samus Returns
S Tier: Prime 1; Ultimate
A Tier: Fusion; Zero Mission; Prime 3
B Tier: Super Metroid; Other M; Smash 4
C Tier: Melee
D Tier: Brawl
F Tier: Metroid
I quite like Meta Ridley's slight redesign for Prime 3, where he has blue Phazon armor during the introduction
That was a cool one, a bit overlooked but cool.
Agreed
I think Ridley's Metroid Prime design is my favorite. But I really appreciate the Smash version implementing the (relative) proportions of NES Ridley, and taking Super Ridley's design and keeping a few traces of the Other M design, but without the goofy bird mouth. He's my 2nd favorite of the Smash characters after Mega Man.
He's definitely one of the best 'best of' characters that I can think of from Smash. Really love how they implement elements from different character design stages.
Honestly if they just made Smash Ultimate Ridley boss size for his next appearance, he would be perfect. I also love his Metroid 1 color scheme with green wings and a brighter purple.
I can get behind this!
Maybe for Metroid Prime 4
Also make his Meta Ridley skin more like the metroid prime design. I personally would also make the body size of his normal look more like other m Ridley.
@@frohawk8465 I honestly liked the idea of Ridley having to evolve from a tiny bird the way he did, and the idea that he inherently has the ability to control monsters around him (although, I guess that takes away from him being a good pirate leader).
But the design itself was kinda garbage imo
Samus Returrns, I like to think that Ridley species skin turns red after recieving damage.
2:46 I mean Neo Ridley has the Japanese artwork color scheme of being blue with purple eyes plus his head is round and his wings are thin but long basically they are small for a Ridley which is similar to his Japanese artwork who knows maybe it was based on that one.
Fun fact: After the events of Metroid Fusion Ridley decided to retire from from videogames to follow his one true dream: Cinema. Not as an actor though, no. As a director! He made hit horror movies vaguely based off of his life and designed the main villain after himself.
I do not really mind Other M's version of Ridley. He still looks intimidating as hell and I dig the dagger tail. However, the best is either Samus Returns or Smash Ultimate. I also just now realized the organic components on Meta Ridley. Until now, I had thought his skin was purely metallic.
I agree. I would combine his Other M design and his Smash design.
The only aspect of Other M Ridley I dislike is how disproportionately small and thin his head is. It might just look small because of how buff he is.
I think hes never looked better than he does in smash ultimate, obviously he is too small but design wise he's combined all his best features into one design, mainly combining super metroid and zero mission with the cool blade tail from other m, and hes never looked more realistic and terrify!
Smash seems to do a lot of designs better than their origins
@@hououinkyouma5539 i agree for the most part but then there is samus who is other m :/ and bowser who looks too montrous, but i think mostly ultimate has the best designs or at least equal to
Dark Samus also looks her best in Smash.
@@jamie2232 my main problem with the Smash Bros Bowser is his voice.
@@chadpeterson5698 He Sounds like a dehydrated gecko.
i think my personal perfect ridley would definitely have to be a hypothetical fusion of prime’s meta ridley and zero mission’s ridley.
more specifically; taking zero mission’s, making him purple, and giving him the hugeass wings and other proportional details of meta and Boom. perfect “classic” ridley.
it’s a shame no art exists of such a design, though. the closest we have is super’s and zero mission’s which are both miscolored :/
I love Ridley mostly as Meta Ridley and Meta Ridley is a playable character in Smash Bros Ultimate in one of Ridley’s skin packs
In terms of the "classic" Ridley design, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is easily my favorite. It feels like a "best of" compilation of Ridley's designs over the years, with an additional touch of grotesque horror that makes him look like a living corpse.
But aside from that, I actually think Proteus Ridley might be my favorite Ridley design. It best conveys Ridley's character through his appearance. There's something about the half-cyborg design that makes this version of Ridley look less like a mindless feral beast like in the other games, and more like the cunning intelligent foe that he's said to be in canon, while still retaining the terrifying appearance of a dangerous dragon.
Boi. It's Meta Ridley for me. The Cybernetic enhancements, his new attacks, and his evolution from Meta to Proteus. So perfect! I love the Cybotic Ridley, but it's Meta for me. Again, so perfect. =3
Smash Ridley looks basically perfect to me.
But man... from the right angle, Ridley from MP3 is *chef's kiss*
I got theory that other M Ridley is not pure clone of Ridley. This mix match of DNA with Ridley DNA strand dominating others strands .
For me it will be
1. Meta Ridley (Prime 1)
2. Proteus Ridley
3. Super Metroid Ridley
4. Omega Ridley (Meta Ridley Prime 3)
5. Smash Ultimate Ridley
6. Neo Ridley
7. Zero Mission Ridley
8. Smash Brawl Ridley
9. Other M Ridley
10. Classic Metroid Ridley
May be Zero Mission bias, but I've always thought that was his best look in the games. I think the black and red really suit his character too. But then there's Smash, which Sakurai and his team absolutely NAILED classic Ridley in a 3D model.
Yeah I love zero missions too! The red wings are great!
I think Zero Mission might have gotten it perfect. He looks terrifying, both in-game and in artwork.
Thank you so much for even making this video. I commented about wanting something like it previously, and while I doubt this was made because of me, I am still very happy this was made.
ridley's super smash bros melee cutscene design successfully brings the super design to 3d in my opinion
It's an awesome design I'll give you that! Any faves other than that design?
I don't know why, but omega ridley always come of to me as a cute lil puppy, whenever he was walking on all fours in mp3.
Meta Ridley has been my favorite for a long time. Definately the coolest version in my opinion.
As for Other M, despite my hatred for the game I kind of get that design. The Federation was trying to clone Ridley, presumably with the intent of using the clone as a weapon and may well have altered elements of his biology to make him stronger.
I have to say, I've been wanting Ridley in Smash since Brawl, and have consistently been disappointed. After Other M, I was seriously afraid that if Ridley ever did wind up getting into Smash, that they'd wind up using his goofy-looking Other M design, especially after seeing how Sakurai seemingly prefers Other M's design for Samus. So glad Ridley got a moremunique design in Ultimate that more closely resembles his classic look. Meta-Ridley's inclusion is also exquisite. Probably my two favorite designs for the character - both playable in Smash. Now if only he wasnt smaller than Donkey Kong and wasn't a low-tier character in general.
Fusion Ridley purely for sound design
For years I was actually against Ridley being in Smash, because I was afraid they wouldn't do him justice, or mess up his moveset big time. I'm glad though they didn't.
The only thing wrong I have with him is his weight, it being lighter than Samus for some weird reason.
Other than that, he's my main for a "Very Big Reason".
The reason why I thought they would mess him up btw was because of how Wario and Ganondorf turned out. Especially Wario though.
I actually have a theory on Ridley new form in Other M and changes we see across most of the games
During the manga Ridley was fatally injured by Samus father (Rodney Aran) and had to consume his fallen soldiers and the slaughtered villagers to regenerate
I believe that is why Other M Ridley looks different from all other Ridley forms
Other M Ridley has never suffered extreme injuries and is literally in his prime quite literally considering he was a child less than two hours ago in game
I love this video. I have a soft spot for fusion Ridley. The way the limbs flex and eyes pop he looks in such pain. Its at once outlandish and tragic. Properly scary
My personal favorite designs are Meta Ridley in Prime & Ridley from Smash Ultimate. The Meta Ridley design is just very cool, adding a robotic armor onto Ridley. I also think the glowing effect on the wings alongside the fiery eyes helps the design look dynamic.
Smash Ultimate sort of took Ridley to his routes. Perhaps you have heard how Metroid was inspired by Ridley Scott's Alien, and while a little bit of this influence can be seen on N.E.S Ridley's sprite & artwork, it did get lost over time for a more pterodactyl looking design. Smash ultimate however gives the character proportions that are more tight resembling not just a dragon but a Xenomorph too, In a very interesting design blend.
Solid picks.
Of course! Check out my Samus video and you'll find lots of stuff about the original Samus and Metroid!
I love the sound of Fusion Ridley. I was amazed that My little Gameboy could make that sound.
Smash Ultimate's reimagining of Super's design (and to a lesser extent Super's design) for me.
Something about the back of the head in both of those just helps sell the franchise's Alien inspiration for me in a good way, be it deliberate or just coincidental with the pterosaur based design.
I'm a proud Ridley main in Ultimate. ❤️
Smash Ultimate Ridley is my personal favorite. I love the detail of his skin being tight around his skeletal frame, as it even seems to be cracked in a few places. His cool dagger tail is threatening, as is the spikes covering certain portions of his body. His long narrow head is like a beautiful fusion of his Super Metroid appearance with his appearance in Other M. His snout is much more preferable than other M, as it actually looks stiff and intimidating compared to the floppy one he sported in that game. He's beautifully designed, and I absolutely love him. His standing taunt is cool too.
Can we get a best Sora design video to celebrate Sora getting into Smash Bros Ultimate?
Yes
Smash is probably gonna be on that too 😄
Honestly, kinda makes sense that Ridley was more buff on the bottle ship as he was able to reach maturity in an ideal environment with no shortage of food.
And was likely altered during the cloning process, much like some of the other classic Metroid enemies in Other M (for gameplay or story reasons). The Zebesians looking less like their Super counterparts, and more like their Fusion ones, while also being made to be more mindless drones than before. I think the Geemers were also given longer legs too.
Ridley also appears in artwork for the past games in Metroid dread. In the Other M art with his *horrid* design from that game, and a small redesign in the art for the overall series, looking like he did in Ultimate but minus the spikes which I wasn't a fan of personally to begin with.
I always liked the big-eyed red Ridley from Super Metroid’s concept art
I agree that the og American art looks sick and should return. Could be a small henchman-type enemy in Ridley’s area or an attempt at recreating him gone wrong or something
Missed oppurtunity for Fusion to have him melt into that form as you deal damage, like with Nightmare's face.
Or someone intentionally made a mutant clone of Ridley that uses that artwork as the basis.
Suggestions for next video:
Zelda
Sora
Bowser
Peach
Bowser would be very interesting and ambitious considering all his boss forms.
@@R0-83-RT although Bowser hasn't really changed much in the canon games. I think a better choice would be Ganondorf/Ganon since his design changes so much that Starscream from Transformers has a more consistent design oh wait he already had a video so never mind
My favourite design for Ridley will always be his completely organic forms in Super Metroid and Zero mission. I love the look of his ribs pressing against his skin, his long, slender limbs, the sharp claws, the rows of sharp teeth in the pterodactyl style mouth, his piercing yellow eyes.
All of this together, along with that fact that he's a completely organic beast, makes his design the most imposing, viscous, and grotesque looking in the series.
He's also my personal favourite metroid character so I may be a bit biased
A design of Ridley is featured in Dread in the 100% artwork you can unlock. But man, that's honestly such a cool idea to have that weird leech looking design of him return as an incomplete version of Ridley that has been resurrected or something in a future game!
Thank you! Maybe I can stretch a video out of that idea haha
@@ArtistMarkFlynn No problem! Maybe you can, who knows? I'd definitely be down to hear more about it!
Mercury Steam originally wanted to make a Fusion remake before ending up on Dread. So if they end up making the remake, I hope they have Neo Ridley devolve into the NES design as he takes damage, would make for a cool callback while fitting the way the X work. Sorta like Nightmare's face melting too.
@@GBDupree Yeah, that'd be pretty cool. Also kinda creepy too. I really hope they do remake Fusion. I've never played the game and seeing how they knocked Dread and Samus Returns out of the park, they would no doubt do the same with Fusion.
Given how Raven Beak nabbed Kraid during Super Metroid, maybe he took Ridley too.
Maybe Ridley escaped or was taken to some other planet.
my head cannon is that the clone is what normal riddly would look like as a adolecent or young adult. the riddly we fight in super is his adult to middle age or older which is why he is so skinny he's just much older and not as buff or spry as his younger clone.
I would like to believe that the reason the Ridley in Metroid Other M looks so different is because of him having to feed off of the bottleship creatures.... if the food you ate your entire life was laced with steroids you would likely be a bit bulkier than you would be now.... there is little doubt in my mind that this is what happened here, we have seen in multiple scenes throughout that story Ridley was eating the various creatures of the bottleship... I would like to think that the bio-weapon modifications that were made to the creatures had a sort of mutagenic effect on how he would look otherwise.... the result--- "buff Ridley"
for me, super metroid ridley is my favourite, because he fits the game perfectly
I like the idea that the Other M buff Ridley is the result of trying to weaponise him, like they do with Metroids, and just like when AMond tried to make dinosaurs, it turned back on them.
If there's any Dread spoilers without proper warning in this video I'm going to be kicking some ass.
I won't be kicking any ass.
😂
Something I've wondered about recently. If Ridley died in the explosion of Zebes, how did Kraid survive to wind up on ZDR?
Different Kraid likely, since there are tiny Kraids in the series, its possible that none of the Kraids have been the same one. Perhaps ZDR is the species homeplanet even?
It's probably just another Kraid.
To me Proteus Ridley is possible the best design of the character since it’s a reimagining and mix of both Meta Ridley and Super Metroid Ridley. Plus, it has all the best traits from his past designs. And, yeah. Other than Proteus Ridley, Meta Ridley is the best design of this character. It’s just a million times cooler since he’s now a cyborg.
My speculation is that Ridley's design in Other M is a result of the galactic federation's bioweapon experiments, and that his thinner, spikier design was a side-effect of the rushed cloning process. Remember that it only took Little Birdie a few hours to fully molt, much like how the federation's experiments allowed a metroid to grow into an omega in a similar timespan during Fusion.
I personally would fuse components of other m Ridley and smash brothers Ridley. Specifically, combining the body of other m Ridley, only making his legs longer, and his head and skin texture would look like his smash brothers version.
7:57 "Hey Space Pirate lackeys, make this for me or you're DEAD. I get credit for it, by the way."
I wonder if he'll appear in Prime 4 Beyond. Can't wait to see!
I skipped the ad segment so I’m leaving a comment with the hope that it’ll make up for it.
Fusion/Zero Mission and Ultimate are the best for me. However, the official art for him for Zero Mission looks the coolest
That zero mission art is 👌🏻👌🏻
I hear that some of Raven Beak's flying move set was designed to reference Ridley's move set, like a homage
Fun Fact, the first encounter with Ridley in Super Metroid can be won, he even drops the Baby Metroid, but he picks it back up and fleas.
I don't see why people have a problem with robo Ridley, we somehow believe that the Ridley and the space pirates rebuilt Mother Brain in Super which was lost chozo technology, rebuilt his body as a cyborg in Prime but suddenly scream plothole when we see a robot doppleganger version of himself
Mine is more the thought of him holding a wrench lmao
Fusion Ridley sound design was bananas
Another Brilliant video on one of my fave baddies...The Outer Space Pterodactyl Dragon- Ripely!! I honestly say, any of Ripley's forms to show how massive and fearsome he is, is a great design. But if we had to pick 1; give it to Wii-U Ripley. It just conveys everything that makes him a terrifying threat!
I think the different design for the Ridley clone in Other M could be explained with how he was inadvertently brought back to life when the scientists were trying to revive Metroids and Zebesian Space Pirates. It’s possible that the Ridley DNA got contaminated with Space Pirate and/or Metroid DNA, explaining the different design in Other M.
This is gonna sound bizarre, but my favorite design is probably the one from the Smash Melee FMV- just the right mix of threatening and cartoony.
I always love the meta Ridley design. Mix of metal and flesh. And as a kid. This giant dragon charging you with massive skeletal wings was terrifying
Always been a fan of his cyborg version. He’s already badass, but the cybernetic implants just makes him that more cool.
Proteus Ridley. I love purple Ridley and he always looks cool I’m cyborg form.
My favourite will always be meta Ridley in Metroid prime corruption I love the blue phazite look also his omega form is probably my second favourite
Funny story neo ridley killed my gba with his roar alone
Man that roar is something else lmao. Sounds so goofy.
5:11 Bit of a lore error, here: this is a different X Parasite. A bunch of them were accidentally picked up from SR388, and this one happened to either be one of those.
Other M had the best rendition of the Ridley theme. I like Prime 3's version of Meta Ridley. I felt that Proteus Ridley wasn't needed in the Metroid 2 remake, but I liked how it connected Prime 3 to Super since his Armour from the Omega Ridley fight is still visible.
My personal favorite design is the Proteus Ridley. His costumes in Smash are very good but I really wished that each one was based off each of his incarnations.
I really wished you mentioned his manga design as I feel it is the most expressive of all the Ridley designs
If I were shown the Japanese concept artwork for Ridley in the original Metroid game (without any context), I would seriously have thought he was a Pokémon. The artstyle just seemed to have such likeness.
Ultimate, Meta and Proteus are my favorite designs.
I loved the video and I know this is a minor nitpick, but pterosaurs aren't dinosaurs
Don’t forget he ate Samus’ parents!
nom nom
Actually, the 'Insect-Ridley' artwork from the NES game was not american exclusive. It was used in the japanese manual as well. The Chibi-Ridley artwork was from the Japanese strategy guide for the game.
Smash Ultimate's is definitely the best for me. The absolute worst however is his design in Brawl. Ridley should not have googly eyes.
That Ridley is something else altogether lmao.
Japanese Metroid 1 Ridley looks like a less zany version of Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon!
It's Super Metroid Ridley, for me. I know it might just be my nostalgia talking, but that design is so good. I would wear it on a piece of clothing or a pin. I can't say that for the designs you favor.
The file size of this video was once considered too big to host on RUclips.
*slow clap*
Ridley is too spiteful to die I love it
Now the remastered of PRIME, Ridley has a desing that matches even more with the chronology
As much as I love Ridley, and Metroid as a video game franchise, I find it very difficult to be able to fit in Ridley somewhere for future Metroid titles after Dread, considering the timeline. ALTHOUGH, Metroid Prume 4 still could have Ridley since all the prime games are supposed to take place before Metroid 2.
My favorite Ridley design might have to be that seen in Samus Returns. As for boss music, probably the one from Metroid Prime 3
They can still makes clones of Ridley and I even have some ideas
1. Mutant Ridley. Which would be a readaptation of the American concept art for the first game. And it would an experiment from a mad scientist to not only revive Ridley but remake him.
2. Another Mecha Ridley but it turns out that the Mecha Ridley from Zero Mission was only a second copy and the real Ridley wanted to make an army of Mecha Ridleys but only managed to forge 1 1/2 Mecha Ridleys.
3. It's revealed that somehow space pirates managed to flee Xebes with the remains of the original Ridley and they planned to recreate Ridley's original body to bring him back to life.
I'm happy that he's had some time off but I'm expecting to see him again.
A cool idea I saw online was that he could be featured as a simulation extra boss on Samus' ship or something!
@@ArtistMarkFlynn that could also work.
am i the only one who wants that chibi Ridley as a plush?
let's get this metroid video some views boys
Please do all in your power
Man I love little Ridley.
Gret video btw
I grew up with Super, so I love his original design in that game. But I honestly like his Zero Mission design just that bit more, due to the colour scheme and refined details in his official artwork. It helps that the artwork more closely matches the in game sprite, because Super's sprite looks much more scary than his artwork. Plus, I prefer Proteus Ridley over Meta Ridley, because he just looks more terrifying to me here. Ridley grabbing Samus and smashing her against the wall repeatedly just shows how violent he is.
Personally it's between Meta and Proteus Ridley. Adding mechanical elements looks so good on him and makes him look so much more intimidating. I got a little sick of the increasingly dumb ways he kept coming back storywise, but I always love his boss fights. Great music, a character with a personal connection to Samus, and an awesome intimidating design
I think Samus Returns has my overall favorite boss fight for him, even if the fight itself felt pretty shoehorned and out of place
Aw cute blue Ridley
(Oh wait. Ridley’s supposed to be a Murderous Space Pirate.)
Is the Ridley design better with the phalanges, the tarsals, metatarsals and the ankle joint on the legs like an opened N, and with the four fingers?
Is it better when Ridley can stand on all fours a little more like a crocodile? It’s very inspirational. Especially designed more dinosaur/dragon-ish. And being more dinosaur/dragon-like/human-like. What are the mixtures of him?
Base meta ridley is also in prime 3 and pretty sure he look different than in prime 1.
Also there’s 2 robotic version of him in Nintendo land.