A Piercing Screech

This article is written from the Real Life point of view

“	A new fighter joins the battle! What waits at the end of the shadowy path?	„
—Description

Video thumbnail.

A Piercing Screech is a CG animated trailer for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, announcing Ridley's inclusion in the game as a playable character. It aired at the end of the June 12, 2018 Nintendo Direct.

The trailer begins with the Smash cross logo forming out of a black background, similar to the character trailers for the previous installment. A disclaimer appears at the bottom of the animated portion stating "Not actual gameplay footage." In the trailer, Samus, Mario and Mega Man are seen patrolling a bridge suspended in midair within a mechanical facility. Suddenly, Mega Man is swept away and impaled by a long, ridged tail. A second after this, Mario is swept away and he appears to have his throat crushed by a skeletal hand. Before each fighter is knocked out, lightning flashes across the screen. The characters "dies" against a red background, with their killer's form concealed in shadow.

The camera then pans to a view of Samus's face through her Visor, with her continuing to walk for a moment. She then stops, looks directly into the camera, closes her eyes and makes an audible sigh before quickly turning around, her Arm Cannon brandished. The camera zooms in on Mario's hat, which was left on the platform, and two loud tremors occur. Ridley then appears, knocking Samus back. His battle theme from Super Smash Bros. Brawl begins to play as he roars. Ridley poses against orange splash art with the slogan "Ridley Hits the Big Time!" appearing onscreen. He then looks into the camera, twirling Mario's hat on his finger.

Gameplay footage then commences, showcasing Ridley roaring (possibly a taunt), special attacks, Meta Ridley alternate costume and powerful finishing moves. He is then shown battling Samus and using his Final Smash on her: launching her onto her Gunship in space before shooting it down with a laser beam. After the game's logo is displayed, it ends with another cutscene, in which Ridley glares as Zero Suit Samus blasts upward with her Jet Boots and towards him.

The trailer can be viewed here.

Nintendo tweets

Nintendo of America

"New fighters are also coming to Super #SmashBrosUltimate! Splat your opponents with the Inkling, or smash your foes with the Space Pirate Ridley!"

Nintendo of Europe

"He's finally here. Ridley joins Super #SmashBros Ultimate on #NintendoSwitch as a playable fighter! #NintendoE3"

Trivia

• The trailer animation style is strikingly similar to that of the cutscenes in Metroid: Other M. It is possible that D-Rockets, the animation studio which animated said cutscenes, was responsible for this trailer as well.
• When Samus spots Ridley for the first time, she appears to be in shock. This is somewhat reminiscent of the controversial scene before the battle with Ridley's clone in Other M, where Samus has an episode of posttraumatic stress disorder upon seeing the clone. However, she appears to recover and confront Ridley much faster than she did in Other M.
• The trailer's tagline, "Ridley Hits the Big Time!" is a likely reference to the contentious argument (named "Ridley is too big") among some fans, and Super Smash Bros. producer Masahiro Sakurai himself, that Ridley's enormous size disqualified him as a playable character in the series prior to Ultimate.
• The way Ridley twirls Mario's hat bears a striking resemblance to Mario doing so in the beginning of the reveal trailer of Super Mario Odyssey.
• When Ridley strikes Mega Man, the Mega Man death sound effect is briefly heard. His methods of striking Mega Man and Mario, by impaling the former with his tail and crushing the latter's head with his hand, resembles the attacks used by the titular creatures of the Alien franchise to kill the protagonists. Ridley's tail and claws also resemble that of an Alien.

• Ridley also used his tail to kill Gray Voice in the 2002 manga. In the same story, Samus hallucinates Ridley crushing her mother and father's heads with his hand, during her PTSD episode.

• This trailer marks the first time since the manga where Ridley has displayed a dark sense of humor, playfully twirling Mario's hat when revealing himself to Samus with something of an inhuman grin.
• This trailer contains the first appearance of Zero Suit Samus in an animated Smash trailer since the E3 2006 reveal of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which introduced her. All appearances of Samus in trailers for Super Smash Bros. 4 featured her in her Varia Suit.
• The trailer was referenced in the "Vampire Killer" trailer announcing Simon and Richter's playable status in Ultimate, as there was a brief shot focusing on Simon's boot as he was walking to Dracula's Castle that resembled a similar shot focusing on Samus's boot in the beginning of "A Piercing Screech."

Gallery

A view of the room from the top.

Samus's boot.

The three fighters patrolling.

Mega Man is killed.

Mario is swept away, leaving behind his hat.

Mario is killed.

Samus continues onward.

Samus suddenly stops, and

closes her eyes, sighing.

Sensing danger, Samus whips her Arm Cannon around.

Samus notices Mario's hat.

Ridley appears.

Samus is knocked back.

Samus's eyes, which appear to show her in shock.

Ridley Hits the Big Time!

Ridley twirls Mario's hat on his finger.

Ridley's Meta Ridley costume.

Ridley with Kirby, who had inhaled Samus and copied her Charge Shot.

Ridley glares.

Zero Suit Samus lunges at Ridley.