Ridley's Plasma Breath in Metroid
Plasma Breath is one of Ridley's attacks in the Metroid series. While its depiction varies between games, it always entails Ridley breathing multiple spinning fireballs with a distinct curled shape.
Description[]
Plasma Breath originates from Ridley's first appearance in Metroid. He continuously jumps on his room's platform while breathing purple spinning fireballs in quick succession towards Samus Aran. These curled balls of plasma travel in a variety of bouncing arcs at different speeds through the air, and only five can be on-screen at once; therefore, Ridley must wait until older fireballs disappear before he can use his Plasma Breath again. Their invulnerability makes them highly effective as a defensive measure, since not only do they destroy any of Samus's projectiles on contact, their movements and numbers make it very difficult for her shots to reach Ridley. If she tries to evade and move past the fireballs, they will dissipate much faster which enables him to spit out new ones. Freezing all five fireballs with her Ice Beam is an effective strategy that prevents Ridley from making use of the Plasma Breath again until they thaw, leaving him completely exposed.
The bouncing arcs of Plasma Breath varies between the Family Computer Disk System and Nintendo Entertainment System versions of the game. In the FDS version, due to the console's superior specs, each fireball has a different random trajectory, meaning Samus must deal with a wide variety of speeds and patterns. The NES can only choose a single trajectory for all fireballs each time the console is turned on, consistently leaving safe zones where the fireballs never reach.
In Super Metroid, Ridley's Plasma Breath fireballs retains the same shape as their first appearance, but are yellow in color and larger in size. He breathes up to four fireballs at a time, which are aimed at Samus's current position and no longer have a bouncing arc. They create a fireball shockwave upon impacting a surface. These fireballs can no longer be frozen with the Ice Beam to hinder Ridley. They are invulnerable but cannot destroy Samus's projectiles.
In Metroid Fusion, Neo-Ridley's Plasma Breath fireballs are nearly as large as Samus herself. He can breathe up to three fireballs at once, each possessing slight homing capabilities as they move toward Samus's position. They are indestructible but dissipate once they hit a surface. By completing Child Mode on Normal with 1% items in the Japanese version (or by unlocking the Metroid Fusion Gallery), artwork depicts a comic panel of Ridley breathing three curled fireballs.
In Metroid: Zero Mission, Ridley always begins his boss battle by breathing a continuous stream of Plasma Breath at Samus as he hovers up and down; the projectiles are launched at a downward angle but begin curving upward when near the ground and continue along their trajectory until they hit a wall, at which point they will "slide" down and dissipate on the floor. He can perform this attack again throughout the battle but he will no longer hover, causing his small fireballs to share a more consistent trajectory. Alternatively, he can breathe five large fireballs that fan out (similar to the arcing-fireball attack); when the larger balls reach the walls of the room, they plummet straight downward and hit Samus if she happens to be directly under them. Samus can disperse any of these fireballs with her Arm Cannon weaponry.
Although the Plasma Breath is a signature attack of Ridley in all of his 2D appearances, it is not the case for his 3D incarnations. Only Meta Ridley on Norion, Omega Ridley and Proteus Ridley can breath small fireballs, of which multiple can be shot all at once or in quick succession, giving some semblance of similarity to the Plasma Breath; none have the curled fireball shape. Meta Ridley on Tallon IV and Ridley's clone have projectiles that differ considerably, consisting of either laser beams, streams of fire or massive fireballs of which only one can be onscreen at a time. The robot known as Mecha Ridley shoots fireballs with flames trailing behind them, making them more visually akin to those seen in the 3D games. In Metroid: Zebes Invasion Order, Ridley is depicted as using psychic powers to inflict the sensation of being burned instead of actually breathing fire.
Super Smash Bros.[]
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.
Ridley using Plasma Breath against Donkey Kong in A Piercing Screech.
Plasma Breath is the neutral special move of Ridley in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, most directly taking after its depiction in the original Metroid. When the special move button on the controller is pressed, Ridley will lean backward and charge a fireball in his mouth. It can be released immediately, or charged for a short time, and Ridley will release a line of bouncing fireballs. More fireballs will come from his mouth depending on how long the attack was charged, up to a maximum of five, the same as in Metroid. The base damage of an individual fireball causes 4.5% on a clean hit or 3.5% on a late hit; if all five fireballs connect with an opponent, they collectively deal massive damage up to 29%.
Should an opponent hit Ridley's mouth while he is preparing this attack, the fireball will explode in his mouth, dealing 8-20% damage to him and leaving him stunned temporarily. The "hurtbox" of Ridley's Plasma Breath references Meta Ridley's weakness during the battles against him in Metroid Prime and Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, wherein shooting Ridley in the mouth enough would cause him to recoil back in pain.
Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.
Official data[]
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[]
- 65 Ridley
- Plasma Breath
- "Spits out balls of plasma in a curve. Can be charged to shoot a stream of plasma balls."
- Plasma Breath (Neutral Special) [Tips]
- "Charge up energy and spit out balls of plasma. The longer you charge, the more plasma balls you'll spit. However, if you get hit in the mouth while charging, you'll take a lot of damage."
Trivia[]
- The 2D appearances of the Plasma Breath are identical in shape to the curled fireballs seen throughout the Mario series, such as those thrown by Fire Mario or spat by Fire Piranha Plants.
Gallery[]
