Ridley

''This article refers to the recurring boss. For other uses of the name Ridley, see Ridley (Disambiguation).''

Ridley (リドリー, Ridorii) is a high ranking Space Pirate, the arch enemy of Samus Aran, and is one of the most common recurring characters in the Metroid series, appearing in almost every Metroid game, often encountered towards the end of the game. Ridley's appearance is considered similar to a skeletal pterodactyl with glowing eyes. Ridley is known for being very defiant and persistent; though Samus has defeated him many times, he always manages to return and do battle with her, either through his healing abilities, cloning or robotic enhancements.

Despite his fearsome and bestial appearance, Ridley is known to be highly intelligent and is shown to even be capable of speaking in the manga. He is known to have a bloodthirsty personality and takes great personal enjoyment in destruction. Though he often appears in different forms, through scans found in the Metroid Prime sub-series and events portrayed in Metroid: Other M, it is confirmed that every incarnation of Ridley before the latter game and Metroid Fusion is indeed the same being, from the manga to Corruption, despite his multiple defeats (some of which involve his body exploding). In most games he has appeared in he has been the second to last boss (or 3rd to last boss if there are multiple final bosses) except for Zero Mission and Other M; however his robotic creation (made in his image) is the final boss in the former game.

The manga also has revealed that Ridley is extremely adept at survival. Ridley was capable of healing his wounds by eating human flesh, as illustrated in the manga in a part where he stated that he survived the destruction of his flagship by consuming the bodies and cells of the dead humans in K-2L.

Biography
Next to nothing is known of his pre-military background (if in fact he even had any), but it is safe to say that he made his way up the ranks until finally he was designated leader of the Space Pirates in battle. He also appears to have been held in considerable favor amongst members of High Command. Grey Voice said that he corrected Ridley's "genetic flaws" with Chozo technology, though the extent of this is unknown. Ridley is also outfitted with at least one cybernetic implant prior to becoming Meta Ridley, as he has a transmitter located at the base of his skull that allows his minions to communicate with him.

Ridley's introduction took place on an Earth-established Colonial Planet (known simply as K-2L) where he conducted a massive raid in order to restock fuel and supplies and plunder; he also allowed his soldiers to cut loose and destroy whatever they wanted. It is also on K-2L that Samus Aran (as a 3-year old) first encounters him. Samus attempted to befriend Ridley, but this only prompted him to kill her. However, Samus' mother pushed her out of the way of Ridley's attack at the cost of her own life. Meanwhile, Samus's father destroyed the supplies the pirates were after, but was himself killed in the blast. Ridley also appeared to be injured by the wreckage, but he survived, claiming to have lived by consuming the flesh of the deceased humans and regrowing his own cells. However, he never imagined that he had created his own nemesis in Samus, a mistake that eventually cost him his life.

Years later, Ridley returned to Zebes to establish a Central Command Center beneath the planet's surface. His forces annihilated the native Chozo Colony established on its surface before carrying out these orders. He also killed Grey Voice when the latter tried to shut down Mother Brain (he pretended to join the Space Pirates until he could get close enough to Mother Brain to shut her down, having realized her treachery). Up until this time, the Galactic Federation had disregarded Zebes as a low priority, class XIII Wanderer Planet. This changed when the Space Pirates stole a dangerous Metroid specimen and word came that the Pirates planned to clone an army of the creatures in their base of operations beneath the planet's surface. The Federation was quick to send its fleets into battle in order to remove the threat. Ridley personally led many battles against the Galactic Federation's forces over control of the planet, an example of his love of bloodlust and fighting, and defeated everything the Federation Police Force had to attack with. Some time after these battles, he left Zebes with his personal flagship and the Space Pirate Mothership to fight the fleet under the command of Adam Malkovich; he later received a distress signal from Zebes after his partner Kraid's defeat and returned to do battle with Samus Aran, a Bounty Hunter the Federation had sent to destroy Mother Brain.

Ridley eventually confronted Samus in the base on Planet Zebes. In Metroid, this battle took place in MiniBoss Hideout II, whilst in Zero Mission, it took place in Ridley, an area named after him. Both are the same area, just renamed for Zero Mission. In Metroid, Ridley is about Samus' height, if slightly taller, and merely hops around throwing zigzagging fireballs at her. Samus can fire almost anything at him and he gets hurt. Once Samus defeats him, 75 missiles are added to her maximum amount. In Zero Mission, however, he is much more difficult. Ridley flies around and tries to kill Samus with his "classic" attacks - tail swipes, fireballs, claw slashes and crushing grabs. After Samus defeats him, she is allowed to leave with the Unknown Item she had obtained just before the battle.

There is also a boss called the Ridley Robot, created by Ridley himself, who serves as the end boss of Zero Mission. After Samus explores the Space Pirate Mothership, the nearby Chozo ruins, and recovers her lost Power Suit, she eventually stumbles onto the mechanized version of Ridley which she must destroy in order to leave the ship. After its destruction, it activates its self-destruct mechanism, which obliterates the mothership in a massive explosion. Fortunately, Samus is able to escape just before the ship detonates.

Cybernetic enhancements
Ridley, after sustaining severe injury, was wounded beyond fighting capability. However, a scan in the Space Station Orpheon, in the later Metroid Prime game, indicates that he had in fact survived his battle on Zebes.

Space Pirates, by order of High Command, recovered his crippled body and infused it with machinery, reconstructing Geoform 187 into "Meta Ridley". On Tallon IV, Meta Ridley apparently visits many of the Space Pirate bases, first going to Phendrana Drifts to see the Pirate research facility, then flying off towards the Phazon Mines, where he presumably remains until Samus arrives. They later engage each other in battle at the Artifact Temple. At the battle's conclusion (after which his life-bar is depleted), the Chozo Statues blast Meta Ridley and send him hurtling into the Phazon-infested Impact Crater.

Despite his fall, he somehow survived, possibly due to an initial Phazon mutation in the Impact crater, or thanks to the strength of his cyborg modifications, or possibly due to whatever trait has allowed him to survive most of his other battles with Samus. Some time before the events of Metroid Prime 3, Dark Samus used the power of Phazon to make an entire planet of Space Pirates bow to her will, with Meta Ridley included. Now loyal to her, he appeared on Norion during the Space Pirate attack on the Galactic Federation Marine Corps, where Samus fought him once again. He first tried to attack Samus while she was in crossing through a Morph Ball tunnel (where she was quite vulnerable), but Samus managed to use her Bombs to escape. He then ambushed her in Generator C with the intention of crushing Samus, but instead broke through the glass floor, sending both of them down a deep shaft. Despite the enclosed environment of the fight, Samus was able to defeat him once more and after delivering several shots directly into his throat,similar to the lethal strike performed on him in Other: M, leaves him to fall the rest of the way down the pit as she is rescued by Rundas. Ridley, however, survived this battle as well; he went to the Pirate Homeworld and at an undetermined time became the Leviathan's guardian (implied in the Infant Leviathan scan); the massive quantities of raw Phazon given to him directly by the Phazon Core turned him into "Omega Ridley". Whether or not he willingly approached the Leviathan or was forced (by Dark Samus or the Leviathan itself) is unknown. Samus later encountered the creature in the Leviathan and defeated him. Ridley's disintegration (unlike other Leviathan guardians) was never actually seen and he is not considered dead by Samus's Ship's statistics.

Super Metroid
Even after these devastating battles, though, Ridley manages to survive and return once more, this time with a purely organic body. He destroys the Ceres Space Colony and steals the last living Metroid from it. He and Samus have yet another skirmish, but just before Samus/Ridley is mortally wounded, Ridley leaves as the space station's self destruct sequence begins. He flies off to the rebuilt Space Pirate base on Zebes, where they plan to clone Metroids and make an army of them for galactic domination.

Ridley is once again equipped with his "classic attacks" (as a matter of fact, Super Metroid was the first game to feature these attacks; as a result, they are noticeably more chaotic and his tail is much more maneuverable) when Samus finds him in his lair in the deep, central part of Norfair. Samus must defeat him again as one of the bosses to unlock access to Tourian. With the loss of the armor plating from his previous form, he is now much more vulnerable to attack. His previous form demanded that he be shot in the chest or mouth, but he is now vulnerable to both Missile launchers and Charge Beams from any angle; however, Ridley has the ability to shield himself against any attack (including breaking through the near invincible Screw Attack) with his whip-like tail, the only invunerable part of his body. After Samus defeats Mother Brain, Zebes explodes, taking Ridley's remains with it. According to the recently released Metroid: Other M, this defeat marks the true death of Samus's arch-nemesis.

It is unknown how or why Ridley went from his Omega form to his purely organic body seen in Super Metroid. It is known, however, that Phazon contains healing properties. Also worth noting is that Samus was fully cleansed from all traces of Phazon following the destruction of both Dark Samus and Phaaze; these two factors may have significance on Ridley's curious return.

In the Super Metroid Comic, Ridley stole the Baby as he did in the game. Later, when the Mother Brain failed to convince the Baby that she was its mother, Ridley captured Chief Hardy and Chairman Keaton then planned to use them as bait on Samus so she could be destroyed in front of the Baby. However, when Samus triumphed Tourian, Ridley decided to leave as "tactical retreat". Keaton then insulted him by calling him a coward for fleeing.

Metroid: Other M
Ridley made an appearance as a boss creature in Metroid: Other M. This incarnation of Ridley is, like in the chronologically subsequent Metroid Fusion incarnation, not the original Ridley. This Ridley was secretly cloned by the Galactic Federation scientists on the Bottle Ship, using DNA found on Samus' armor, which seemingly landed on her when Ridley exploded back in Super Metroid.

Initally, he appeared as a small creature the scientists didn't recognize. Seeing no potential for use as a bioweapon, the creature was raised as a pet nicknamed "Little Birdie." They were oblivious to the fact that this small animal was actually Ridley's juvenile form. At some point, "Little Birdie" faked its death to lure a scientist inside his cage. The creature killed the scientist and then escaped from its cage. Samus finds the remains of this scientist in Ridley's small habitat.

Early in the game Samus also meets "Little Birdie" but doesn't see it as a threat, so she leaves it alone. However, Little Birdie stalks Samus unseen, and provokes many wildlife into battling her through its piercing screeches (sending nearby creatures in a panic). After hearing another howl, Samus is attacked by a swarm of Kihunters inside their nest. After she destroys the King Kihunter, she sees Little Birdie eating Kihunter honey as it roars at her. Samus comments on how she finds the creature to be a "disgusting beast" because of how it used her to kill the Kihunter nest so it could feed on the nest's nectar.

Continuing on, Samus saw Adam's men being "attacked" by a purple lizard at the Exam Center. The creature also noticed Samus, and roared at her. Rushing to their aid, she saw the troops firing above the door she came from, and turned around just in time to see the lizard jump from the wall above and pin her down. The creature, at this point, seems uninterested in the troopers, and focuses its attack efforts on Samus. The creature apparently perceived a greater threat from Samus and took actions directly against her. While holding Samus down, the lizard calls forth various bioforms, namely Reos and Griptians, to attack Adam's men. Having Samus all to itself, it tried to both stab her with its tail and bite down on her head, but Anthony Higgs managed to fend off the beast with his Plasma Gun.

After investigating the scene and discovering the mutilated body of Lyle Smithsonian, Samus followed a trail of green blood to find the empty shell of "Little Birdie" with its back ripped open, implying the small creature was a juvenile form of the lizard. Adam ordered her to follow the creature to the Pyrosphere, but shortly afterward, told Samus to head to the Cryosphere instead. After a trip through the Cryosphere, Adam notices the wavelength frequencies of the lizard are growing more aggressive, and told Samus to head back to the Pyrosphere yet again. Samus eventually found the lizard-creature's husk bound to a wall, again with its back torn open from within.

Samus carried on until she reached a large room containing a central platform suspended above a pit of lava. Samus is suddenly targeted by a red-laser sight, and believing it to be an attacker, points her cannon at the person. It turned out to be Anthony Higgs, who was trying to target an unseen monster in the room when Samus got in the way. Rushing behind the wall with Anthony, both tried to hide from the creature, who was taking cover in the shadows and launching attacks at them. The creature destroyed the bridge to the exit, preventing Samus and Anthony from leaving. Samus told Anthony she will deal with the monster, and used a Super Missile on the Magma Eruption Port, raising the lava level and flooding the chamber with light. Samus then turned to see a dark, winged figure rising over the platform, revealing that it is, in fact, Ridley; his green eyes glowing menacingly before coming into full view (a la Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption). Ridley's skin is now purple, similar to his original appearance in Metroid. At the sight of her longtime nemesis' sudden reappearance after a long time of peace since his "true" death, Samus experiences an attack of post-traumatic stress disorder. She was too overcome with shock and horror to react, giving Ridley time to grab her as her Power Suit deteriorated from a complete loss of concentration. This forced Anthony Higgs to use his Plasma Gun to save her and give her time to recover, though Ridley knocked him off the platform and apparently into the lava. Seeing what appeared to be the death of her close friend, Samus was able to compose herself, equip the Plasma Beam, and do battle with Ridley once again.

The dragon uses attacks seen in past games, such as swiping his claws, spitting large fireballs, including one where he creates a shockwave over the field, flamethrower, and using his tail (now with a blade-like tip) to whip and pierce the bounty hunter, as well as using an attack directly based off of his CG cutscene intro from Super Smash Bros. Brawl (which involves him grabbing Samus and scrapping her against a wall) though will stop shortly allowing him to be shot which will release Samus. Sometimes he will fall to the ground to take a breather, allowing a Lethal Strike to be executed. Ridley's clone demonstrates an ability never before-seen in the original Ridley: he is able to harden his skin (giving him a darker appearance) to the point where his body deflects every weapon, especially the Plasma Beam, but not Super Missiles, and then the skin softens when shot with the said Missile. After Ridley's body is sufficiently ravaged, he falls to the ground. Samus believed the monster to be dead, but he regained consciousness when she had her back turned to him, and he attacked her again. The two briefly fought a small battle before Ridley escaped by breathing fire to create a hole in the wall and ramming through it.

Later in the game, immediately before Adam detaches Sector Zero, destroying himself and the unfreezable Metroids, he requests Samus to destroy Ridley, because he is as "much of a threat as the Metroids".

A weakened, heavily wounded Ridley is later seen at the mercy of a large creature (which turns out to be the Queen Metroid). Samus arrives shortly to find his body as a gray and lifeless husk, making her wonder what could have happened. After the post-credits, Ridley's corpse is no longer there. It's assumed that the Galactic Federation took the body of Ridley's clone and transferred it to the BSL Station, where it was frozen and seen in Metroid Fusion, only to be infested by an X Parasite and become Neo Ridley. This could also explain why the frozen clone collapsed and was later seen as a gray corpse before transforming into Neo Ridley.

"Ridley-X"
The Ridley clone's corpse was thus stored at the Biologic Space Laboratories. He was found frozen on board the Biologic Space Laboratories research station's Main Deck in a sub-zero containment room, possibly to stop his remains from degrading or reviving. His genetic code is eventually copied by an X Parasite and heavily mutated by it, resulting in a far more menacing Ridley. Like in most of his appearances, he uses his classic attacks. This is one of the last bosses Samus battles aboard the station.

Personality and traits
While Ridley is commonly portrayed as a destructive beast in the games, the official Metroid manga delved a great deal deeper into the persona of the Space Pirate General. Ridley first appeared in chapter one, where his violent disposition and love of death and destruction is made apparent when he orders his entire legion of Space Pirates to annihilate the peaceful inhabitants of K2-L as he looked on. His ability for cruelty is further made concrete when he attempts to kill a small girl who tries to befriend him; killing her Mother trying to shield her child instead. He, like many of his Space Pirate brethren, also believes in the superiority of certain races over others, counting himself among the privileged elite species and the lower races seen as something only to exterminate. Despite these bloodthirsty tendencies, Ridley has shown to be an intelligent and competent battle tactician orchestrating a great many successful battles as well as proving a serious threat on his own. Interestingly, his traits as a competent leader seem to be on a genetic level, as the Mystery Creature, Ridley's adolescent form, seemingly leads various creatures into attacking Adam's squad while he handles Samus alone. However his quick temper and his arrogant belief that nothing can defeat him often undermines these qualities, leading to a great many defeats for him as well. Ridley also seems to grudgingly show respect to those that are natural at commanding others, such as when Gray Voice is ordering the Pirate Troops to their battle stations; Ridley, taken aback, smirks at being told by Gray Voice to attend to his job and sarcastically addresses him as "Sir Military Commander" when he flies off.

He has also shown to have a very sadistic sense of humor evidenced by his various comments against Samus upon their first meeting since K2-L. Ridley even goes so far as to taunt her by saying that he may have eaten and incorporated the cells of her mother's corpse into his body and sardonically wonders what part her cells reside in and proceeds to bring his foot down on Samus angrily saying "At least pay your respects!"; referring to her dead mother, showing just how much joy he takes in the suffering of others.

Powers and abilites
Ridley has proven to be a fierce opponent in battle. While fighting, Ridley primarily makes use of his lethal claws, talons, and tail. Ridley is also capable of breathing fire in battle, either as large fireballs, or a large stream. Ridley also possesses physical strength sufficent enough to grab Samus with one hand and drag her along the wall, as evident in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Metroid: Other M. He is also shown to be adept at survival, able to heal himself by consuming others and incorporating their cells into his body. In Metroid: Other M, Ridley's clone displays the ability to change the pigments of his skin and harden it, making him immune to Samus' beam attacks. While in this hardened state, Ridley's attacks also gain greater strength.

Metroid: Zero Mission interview
"Though there are many secrets in the Metroid series, my instant thought is why is Ridley preserved in the freezing chamber? What was the Galactic Federation planning to do with him?"
 * Yoshio Sakamoto: "For the time being, I don't know. Maybe it will be revealed in the near future?"

Metroid manual
"It's the head of Mini-Boss Hideout II. It jumps up into the air and breathes fire. It's the original life form of the planet Zebes and is controlled by Mother Brain. Destroy it and you win 75 missile blasts!!!"

Official Nintendo Player's Guide
"It attacks Samus by spewing fireballs. A missile attack is very effective, but if you have the wave beam, it would be a good idea to use the beam continuously while jumping through the lava."

Super Metroid manual
"Ridley headed the mission to the Space Colony and stole the Metroid Hatchling. It whips out at enemies with its long tail and spits fire while flying through the air."

Official Metroid: Zero Mission website


"Extremely dangerous! Enormous wing-span and long, whip-like tail. Moves very fast and attacks with alarming ferocity. Emits fireballs of gas from elongated beak. Will try to pick up enemies and crush them with razor-sharp talons. Vulnerable to Super Missiles. DANGER LEVEL: VERY HIGH."
 * "Powerful wings"
 * "Razor sharp talons"
 * "Elongated beak"

Cameo appearances

 * Ridley appeared in the Captain N: The Game Master comic stories Welcome to Videoland, Money Changes Everything (in name), Breakout, and When Friends Fall Out (as a flashback) based on his original concept art. In Breakout, he impersonated Judge Racklas, who is of his own species, after Mother Brain had all of her own crimes reattributed to Princess Lana. Packs of creatures similar to him attack the heroes on Metroid in the episodes Metroid, Sweet Metroid and GameBoy.
 * Ridley is on the box and cartridge art for Super Metroid, which also appears in WarioWare: Smooth Moves on the Wii, in the microgame Super Nostalgic Entertainment System.

Super Smash Bros.
In Super Smash Bros., Ridley appears occasionally in the background of Planet Zebes.

Super Smash Bros. Melee
In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Ridley appears briefly fighting Samus in the opening cutscene. Ridley can be seen holding the capsule containing the Metroid Hatchling from Super Metroid in his talons. He also has a trophy in the game.

Trophy
"The head of the Space Pirates on Zebes, Ridley soars through space on wicked wings. Ridley may look like a mindless monster, but he's actually quite intelligent. After the SR-388 incident, where Samus captured the infant Metroid, Ridley took the Space Academy by storm, annihilating the complex and taking the Metroid back."

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Ridley appears as a member of the Subspace Army and a boss during the Subspace Emissary, in which Samus and Pikachu must fight him. In the cutscene prior to the battle, Ridley ambushes and grabs Samus, flying upward and scraping her along the walls. Pikachu breaks Samus free from Ridley's grasp using Thunder. In the first battle, Ridley has higher health and uses moves ranging from claw swipes to a move similar to Rayquaza's Extremespeed to a tail swipe across the entire stage. The tail swipe can do major damage (The move can do around 70% damage if the other person is at 0% damage) on harder difficulties and the extreme speed move is a main killing move. He flies from one side to the other and is similar in style to Master Hand in the way of how it attacks and then pauses.

Ridley later attacks Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Captain Falcon, Captain Olimar, Samus, Pikachu, and R.O.B. as they are all escaping on the Falcon Flyer. In this fight, he is in his "Meta Ridley" form from Metroid Prime as he pursues. His attacks include firing missiles and energy beams from his mouth, diving at the player, and pounding on the Falcon Flyer in an attempt to send the player off-screen. During this fight, the player has only two minutes to defeat Meta Ridley.

Ridley is later resurrected by Tabuu, the main villain of the game, to fight the player in the final level, The Great Maze (oddly, Ridley and Meta Ridley are both resurrected as separate beings).

Trophy
"The leader of the Space Pirates. He looks like a pterosaur but has high intelligence and a brutal nature. He plans to steal the baby Metroid from Samus for his own use. Ridley utilizes wings for a full range of flight and attacks with fireballs from his mouth and whips of his tail. As the culprit behind the murder of Samus's parents, the connections with Samus run deep."

Metroid (1989) Super Metroid (1994)

Meta Ridley: "The meta form of Ridley, revived using the Space Pirates' genetic engineering and cybernetic technologies. His thin chest plate--and weak point--is protected by a highly resistant membrane. Meta Ridley is highly mobile and features a multimissile system, a bomb launcher, and powerful wings. Ice attacks are particularly effective in dealing damage to him.

Metroid Prime (2002)

Stickers in Brawl

 * Ridley - Metroid [Darkness] Attack +30 (Ganondorf)
 * Ridley - Metroid: Zero Mission [Arm] Attack +25 (All)

Trivia

 * Ridley's name is likely derived from Ridley Scott, the director of the first film of the Alien film series, from which Metroid games are stated to have taken a lot of inspiration. His first appearance in Metroid also bears resemblance to the Xenomorph creatures from the same series.
 * Metroid: Other M confirms that the original Ridley, despite all of his previous defeats, had always survived each encounter. It is only in Super Metroid where the original space dragon was killed for the first and last time.
 * In every non 3-D game he is involved in, Ridley's fireballs have an uncanny resemblance to Mario's fireballs. Whether or not this similarity is intentional is unknown.
 * Ridley's fireballs are invulnerable to all of Samus's weapons in the NES Metroid, Super Metroid and Fusion. The latter two games chronologically take place after NES's remake (Zero Mission) and Prime 3 in which his fireballs could be easily destroyed, suggesting his later incarnations had gotten rid of their vulnerability.
 * Ridley is the only other character besides SA-X, Mother Brain, Fusion's Omega Metroid and Dark Samus to best Samus in a fight by canon. In the Super Metroid intro, Ridley is able to incapacitate Samus long enough to steal the last Metroid and accomplish his mission, though if a player is skilled enough, Ridley can be somewhat defeated. The result is Ridley losing his grip on the Baby's canister and dropping it, but quickly grabs it again and flees.
 * Similar to other major villains in other Nintendo game series like Bowser or Ganondorf, Ridley is the most common reappearing villain in the Metroid series, as he has appeared in every Metroid game to date except for Metroid II: Return of Samus, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and Metroid Prime Hunters. Ridley was intended to appear in Echoes, though the reason for his removal is unknown.
 * Ridley is capable of being bipedal, shown in Metroid Prime 3 in the cut-scene at the beginning of the battle when Omega Ridley walks up to Samus and attempts to bite her and in the second phase of the battle: once she destroys the joints on his Phazite armor and his weak spot is exposed, he stands on two feet and clumsily walks around swiping at Samus as she blasts his chest with Phazon energy from Hypermode. Also, in Metroid Prime, he stumbles on two legs as the Chozo spirits blast at his exposed chest cavity. However, he also stands on his two feet during the battle when Samus fires a round into his mouth exposing his chest. While preparing his charge attack, he stands on his feet as well. In Other: M he is also seen standing on two legs while roaring at or grabbing Samus, he also moves on two legs while trying go swipe at her with his arms.
 * In all of his 2-D appearances, his wings are curiously smaller than his body size, logically making them unlikely to even lift Ridley off the ground, and yet he soars through the air with ease (even his X-Parasite mimic). His 3-D appearances and manga rectify this mystery by giving him wings that exceed his main body.
 * In the Pirate Command sector of the Pirate Homeworld, images of Ridley can be found on the glowing orange monitors.
 * A possible explanation for Ridley's color changes throughout the series may be due to an ablility to control the pigments in his skin in a way similar that some chameleons or an octopus use. When Samus first enters his arena in Super Metroid, Ridley is not visible at first. Ridley's eyes soon open in front of Samus, and he then becomes fully visible before soaring into the air to attack. Ridley also does the same thing in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption when Samus enters the generator room and on the Pirate Homeworld he was blue to match the Leviathan but that pigmentation was likely due to corruption. This may indicate that Ridley can camouflage.
 * Ridley's signature music was originally used as a generic boss fight background music in Super Metroid, but in later games, it has been associated solely with Ridley. Although there have been variations of Ridley's theme in each game (different tempo, extra beats, etc), the music's rhythm and sound are consistent and used for every incarnation except for his very first boss fight in the original Metroid.
 * Meta Ridley can be seen on Nintendo Monopoly representing Tennessee Avenue for $180, though the property is simply referred to as "Ridley".
 * In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, partial in-game data exists for a Ridley Assist Trophy, but it is not in-game. It was likely scrapped in development.
 * Zero Mission concept art shows a new form of Ridley known as Ridley-2 (or perhaps Ridley-Z). This form has an extra clawed hand on the tip of his tail, and his arms and wings are merged together.
 * Ridley is referred to as the "Cunning God of Death" in his Zero Mission official art.
 * There is a mini-boss encountered in the final stage of Contra III: The Alien Wars which resembles a silver dragon; this creature shares several characteristics with Ridley, mainly in the manner in which it uses its tail as both an offensive and defensive weapon.
 * Many of Ridley's attacks in Super Smash Bros. Brawl are similar to those of Dyna Blade, a giant birdlike boss from the Kirby series.
 * Ridley seems to be the only creature capable of triggering Samus' PTSD.
 * Metroid: Other M is the only game where Ridley's upper jaw is not longer than the lower one, and is also the only game where it points upwards, not down.
 * Ridley appears to be both right and left-handed. In Metroid Prime and Corruption, whenever he prepares to charge at Samus or grab her, respectively, he uses his left. In Super Metroid, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Metroid: Other M, he uses his right hand.
 * Ridley does not seem to need oxygen to live. Metroid Prime clearly portrayed him flying out into space without any gear as he escapes the Orpheon. However, this may be due to his cybernetics. Additionally, the Super Metroid Comic features him exiting out into space and his Super Smash Bros. Melee trophy states that he flies through space with his wings; these last two sources are not considered canon however.
 * There is no explanation on how he is able to fly in an environment which does not contain air or gas, a necessary medium for any creature with wings to take flight; he is nevertheless seen flapping his wings. In the case of Meta Ridley, his wings, which seem to be energy-based, might have some significance to this.


 * Ridley's blood is green, as shown in Other M. This is a common trope for alien creatures in science fiction environments. However, RIdley's blood seems to be red in Corruption when Samus is landing the final blow before he falls down the shaft.
 * Despite being shown to be a male through the logbook scans in Metroid Prime, Retro Studios designer Mike Sneath refers to Ridley as a female.

Appearances

 * Metroid
 * Metroid (1986 manga)


 * Captain N: The Game Master
 * Money Changes Everything (Mentioned.)
 * Breakout
 * When Friends Fall Out (Flashback)


 * Super Metroid
 * Super Metroid commercial
 * Super Metroid (Manga)
 * Super Metroid (Nintendo Power comic)
 * Super Metroid Nintendo Player's Guide


 * Super Smash Bros.
 * Super Smash Bros. Melee
 * Metroid Fusion
 * Metroid Prime
 * Metroid Prime (Comic)
 * Metroid Prime: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide
 * Metroid Prime Official Strategy Guide (Brady)
 * Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion: Prima's Official Strategy Guide


 * Metroid (2002 manga)
 * Metroid Zero Mission
 * Metroid Prime Pinball
 * WarioWare: Smooth Moves
 * Super Nostalgic Entertainment System


 * Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl
 * New Play Control! Metroid Prime
 * Metroid Prime Trilogy
 * Metroid Prime Trilogy art booklet


 * Metroid: Other M
 * TV Commercial :60 Spot

Gallery
For concept art, see Ridley's Gallery.