- This article is about the robot. For the cybernetically-enhanced version of Ridley, see Meta Ridley.
Mecha Ridley[1] (メカリドリー Mekaridorī)[2], also known as the Ridley Robot[3], is the final boss in Metroid: Zero Mission.
Description
Mecha Ridley is an incomplete robot built by Ridley as a powerful weapon in his own likeness. The robot is said to be missing its walking and flying units,[4] thus it has large cables coming out of its torso which are seemingly connected to an unseen interface for power and/or computer control.
It first appeared in the cutscene which plays when Samus infiltrates the Space Pirate Mother Ship for the first time; the scene consists of one of Mecha Ridley's eyes opening, signifying that it either activated or detected Samus entering the complex.
After Samus explores the majority of the Chozodia temple and the Space Pirate Mother Ship, she eventually reaches a large, dark chamber located several rooms behind the vessel's control bridge. This is where the mechanical construct, Mecha Ridley, is maintained. As the door locks behind her, loud, screeching, mechanised noises start to resonate in the room as the Mecha Ridley uses its arms to crawl towards Samus' location, with its green neon lights glowing in the darkness. Eventually, the chamber lights up and the battle begins.
Battle
Mecha Ridley's battle animation.
Samus must first fire Missiles or Super Missiles at a small, glass-encased panel on his chest covering a weak point resembling Meta Ridley's. Once broken, direct damage can be dealt to the Robot. Only concussive weapons will harm it; Beam weapons have no effect. Because Missiles are limited, the only way to regain them is by shooting down Ridley's own projectile missiles.
Throughout the battle, Mecha Ridley will attack with a claw swipe using its right arm. At the beginning of the battle, it may also attack by launching large fireballs from its mouth. Once the glass panel is broken, it stops breathing fire and will instead launch homing missiles from its backpack and shoot laser beams out of its eyes.
Mecha Ridley deliberately lowers its head and lifts its right claw in an attempt to block her attacks with its neck joint. However, when it attacks, it moves out of this defensive position, exposing its vulnerable chest. In particular, whenever it performs its swipe attack, its claw lingers on the floor for several seconds, giving Samus ample time to counterattack.
If Samus collects all 100% of the hidden items prior to arrival, Mecha Ridley's offensive and defensive power will triple, making for a longer and more difficult battle than normal.
Once defeated, Mecha Ridley will shut down and cause the Mother Ship's self-destruct countdown to begin, leaving Samus with 7, 5 or 3 minutes (depending on the difficulty level) to escape the ship, with his eyes blinking in an alarm sequence.
Other appearances
Non-canon warning: This article or section contains information that may not be considered an official part of the Metroid series in the overall storyline by Nintendo.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, one of Ridley's alternate costumes is Meta Ridley colored silver with neon green wings and red markings on his feet, referencing the design of Mecha Ridley. Until November 2018, public demos of the game featured a placeholder costume of Ridley with a silver and green color scheme, but no Meta enhancements.
Additionally, Mecha Ridley itself is an unlockable Primary Spirit, first revealed on the game's website. It belongs to the Advanced class, is a Shield type, and has three slots for Support Spirits. However, when equipped by a fighter, it has the handicap of starting the fighter at 30% damage, possibly due to the unfinished state of the robot.
Mecha Ridley can be unlocked through the Spirit Board. Fittingly, its Puppet Fighter is a Giant Ridley using his aforementioned silver Meta Ridley costume. It is fought on Norfair's Omega Form, with Vs. Meta Ridley as the background music. This match is a stamina battle, so the goal is to deal 140 points of damage to Ridley instead of knocking him off the stage. Ridley has increased attack power but his movement speed is reduced, likely referencing Mecha Ridley's slow, lumbering movements in Zero Mission.
Along with the Diggernaut, Mecha Ridley appeared more frequently on the Spirit Board during the Hard 'n' Heavy Metal event. During this event, defeating Mecha Ridley in Spirit Battles would reward extra gold.[5]
In the conversation with Ridley during Palutena's Guidance, Viridi mentions that Ridley built Mecha Ridley, and Pit asks "Is that canon?" This is likely a nod to this information only existing in supplemental materials for a remake. Alternatively, Pit may be questioning Viridi's claim that Mecha Ridley proves that Ridley is "officially [...] a narcissist".
Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.
Official data
Development Room
This article, section, or file contains text that is unofficially translated by Metroid fans. Some information (such as proper English names of characters or items) may not be accurate. If an official translation becomes available, the fan translation(s) may be replaced.
Hiroki: "At the very end of the second part, why does a robot similar to Ridley appear? Was the Ridley defeated on Zebes revived by the power of Planet Zebes's science?"
Yoshio Sakamoto: "Ridley made an image of himself to demonstrate his power by making that image as a powerful weapon. Incidentally, it is currently incomplete, and is currently at the halfway stage, becoming more massive once the walking unit and flying unit is installed."[4]
Palutena's Guidance
"There's also a robot version of Ridley. He built it himself, which officially makes him a narcissist." - Viridi
Trivia
Mecha Ridley sees Samus's entry.
- It is quite possible that the Robot was a prototype, serving as a testbed for the technology later implemented on Ridley's body to create Meta Ridley. This is supported by their shared weakness and overall mechanical aspects. This theory is further supported by the fact that Zero Mission is, chronologically, a direct prequel to the events of Metroid Prime, in which Meta Ridley is featured.
- Cyborg Zebesians bear a slight resemblence to Mecha Ridley, possibly indicating the former was also inspired by the latter.
- The Space Pirate Mother Ship's alarm is active throughout the entire battle against Mecha Ridley. It stops as soon as the robot is defeated.
- The glass panel covering its weak point seems to be made out of the same transparent material as Mother Brain's Control Capsule, as both can only be shattered by concussive weapons.
- Concept art from the Prime trilogy shows a massive mechanized Ridley with wings and an apparent pilot, though it remains unknown whether or not this was intended to be related to this robot.
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the first time that the name "Mecha Ridley", a popular romanized form of its Japanese name, has appeared in official English media. Prior to this, it was only officially known as the Ridley Robot.
- Interestingly, the Ultimate depiction of Mecha Ridley seems to depict the original Ridley as a cyborg with some biological and some cybernetic components, similar in concept to Meta-Ridley, rather than as an entirely-artificial robot built in Ridley's image.
Gallery
References
- ^ Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- ^ Metroid: Zero Mission ミッション・コンプリートブック [1]
- ^ Metroid: Zero Mission: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide pg. 97
- ^ a b Metroid Zero Mission Official Site Development Room, as translated by Metroid Database
- ^ Event: Hard 'n' Heavy Metal