The entrance to Ridley's Lair in Super Metroid.
Ridley's Lair, also known as Ridley's Hideout, Mini-Boss hideout II or simply Ridley, was an area on Zebes. It appeared in Metroid and its remake, as well as being revisited in Super Metroid. It was part of a deeper portion of Norfair, commonly called Lower Norfair, and was the deepest section of Zebes. Like the rest of Norfair, Ridley's Lair was themed around extreme heat and contained rooms flooded with Lava; while the Varia Suit was needed to withstand the high temperature, Samus Aran could only dive and move freely in the lava if she wore the Gravity Suit in Zero Mission. In Super Metroid, however, the region was filled with a more intense (possibly super-heated) lava which hurt Samus despite the protection of the Gravity Suit. Ridley's Lair also contained some of the most powerful creatures encountered in each game it was featured in.
In Zero Mission, Samus encountered and freed the Kiru Giru from Tangle Vines in the upper portion of Norfair only to battle its adult form, the Imago, in Ridley's Hideout. In Super Metroid, a gold-colored Torizo was fought in this area. After defeating these creatures, Samus gained access to the first Super Missiles (excluding Sequence Breaks) and the Screw Attack in Zero Mission and Super Metroid, respectively.
Samus engages Ridley in his lair, Metroid: Zero Mission.
One of the Space Pirate leaders, Ridley, kept his chamber in the deepest part of the region, where it was guarded by immensely powerful enemies. In addition to wildlife, the area was patrolled by a large amount of Pirates in Super Metroid: numerous Yellow Space Pirates, a group of red Kihunters and two powerful Silver Space Pirates.
In Super Metroid, Samus fought and finally killed the original Ridley here, but upon his death, she found the Infant Metroid's capsule broken and empty with the Baby nowhere in sight. In Zero Mission, Samus found an Unknown Item (later revealed as the Gravity Suit) before encountering and defeating Ridley for the first time in the Metroid series' chronological timeline.
The intense lava found in Lower Norfair is also located in Crateria, the surface area of Zebes. The substance no doubt reached the surface through a volcano created from diverging or converging tectonic plates.
Ridley's Lair was completely destroyed along with Zebes.
Power-Ups
Metroid
Metroid: Zero Mission
Super Metroid
Enemies
- Dessgeega
- Dragon
- Fire Flea
- Gadora
- Holtz
- Imago (Metroid: Zero Mission only, mini-boss)
- Kihunter
- Multiviola
- Nova
- Ridley
- Silver Space Pirate
- Torizo
- Viola
- Yellow Space Pirate
- Zebbo
Official data
Samus enters Ridley's Lair, Metroid.
Metroid: Zero Mission manual
"This is the area where Ridley, leader of the Space Pirates, can be found."
Trivia
- The theme of Lower Norfair was remixed for the Magmoor Caverns area of Metroid Prime.
- In one room in Super Metroid, there is a giant cave modeled after some sort of creature that leads to an Energy Tank. Below the cave is another rock platform that resembles an arm with a three-fingered hand.
- The many Chozo statues and sculptures found in this area indicate they may have had a strong presence there.