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The current title is not an official name.
"Ridley's room access" is a corridor in Ridley's Lair and Norfair. It appears in Metroid, Metroid: Zero Mission and Super Metroid, and directly precedes the room containing Ridley himself. Each iteration has differences in design.
Description[]
Metroid[]
In the original Metroid, Ridley's room access is a long corridor over lava with metallic silver pillars in midair, which Samus uses as platforms. The ceiling of the room features metal bricks, and the walls next to each door are formed from reddish blocks with circular centers. The room is infested with enemies, with a Viola on all but one pillar.
In Victory Techniques for Metroid, Samus enters this room after falling down the previous shaft. Remarking that she needs to navigate the platforms more carefully, she is ambushed by a Holtz and kills it with the Screw Attack. She falls into the lava, but manages to grab the ledge of the door and climb out.
Zero Mission[]
In the remake Metroid: Zero Mission, Ridley's room access has been altered in design. The room is constructed from sand-purple blocks, with large columns and arches of ancient temple ruins in the background. It is possible these are of Chozo origin, and if so, it may suggest they once had a presence in this area. The room is no longer a corridor and is instead a larger room with a higher ceiling. All enemies have been removed, with the only hostile (aside from a Gadora guarding the door) being Geegas that spawn infinitely from an Air Hole in the floor.

The Chozo Block.
In front of the entrance door is a short pillar, dividing access to the rest of the room. When Samus climbs over it, she will fall through a Pit Block and be unable to return the way she came until she defeats Ridley. After his defeat - by which time Samus will have obtained the Gravity Suit from his reliquary - Samus can leave the access room by provoking a Geega into flying out of the Air Hole, letting it reach its peak height and freezing it. She can then use it as a platform to climb to a higher ledge on the right, with a now active Chozo Block. Shooting this opens up a drop behind the wall in front of the exit, allowing Samus to leave.
Super Metroid[]
In Super Metroid, Ridley's room access more closely resembles its original appearance in Metroid, although it is not the same room due to Ridley's new location in a lower half of Norfair. It retains certain aesthetics of the room from Metroid, including the silver pillar platforms and the lava, now scalding-hot lava that rises and falls. Ruined Chozo statuary can be seen in the background. Unlike its previous two appearances, this room is superheated.
As with Metroid, the pillars are crawling with Violas, and numerous Geegas spawn from different points in the lava. Therefore, Samus must be careful in navigating the room to conserve as much energy and ammo as possible for the fight with Ridley ahead. The pillar platform that is closest to the door, as well as the ledges and ceiling in front of it, are covered in the spiky material of a Gadora blocking the door. This material remains even as the Gadora is killed. After Ridley is defeated, Samus leaves lower Norfair through this room, and there is little reason to revisit it.
Connecting rooms[]
- "Gambit shaft" (Metroid, via Blue Door)
- Save Room 4 (Zero Mission, via Blue Door)
- "Geega hive" (Super Metroid, via Blue Door)
- Ridley's room (via Blue Door in Metroid, Gadora in Super Metroid and Zero Mission)
Inhabitants[]
Metroid[]
Zero Mission[]
Super Metroid[]
- 5 Violas
- Geegas (infinitely spawning from 7 points of the lava)
- Gadora
Official data[]
Metroid: Zero Mission: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide[]
- 173 INTO THE HEART OF THE LAIR (pg. 66)
- "With the Energy Tank in hand, return to the left, save your progress and head to Ridley's room. After you fall through a collapsing block, there will be no turning back until you've beaten the beast. The giant eye that blocks the next hatch fires energy blasts. Jump over the projectiles and hit the eye with three standard missiles or a single Super Missile to take it out."
- 177 FREEZE OUT (pg. 68)
- "You may be stumped trying to find an exit out of Ridley's area. Return to the enemy-producing pipe to the right of the boss arena and freeze a flying creature after it pops out. Using the flier as a platform, hop up to a high ledge on the right, blast a Chozo Block and run through a disappearing wall to the right side of the area's barrier."
Trivia[]
- In Super Metroid, Ridley's room access contains extreme heat, although this should be nullified by the Varia Suit that Samus obtains much earlier in the game in a normal playthrough. This effect is only relevant if the player is performing a Low Percent Run or Reverse Boss Order Run.