Rippers are small, floating insect-like creatures native to Zebes. They are featured in most of the 2D entries within the Metroid series, and are best known for their near-invulnerability to damage.
Several subspecies of Ripper exist, along with an ambiguously related species known as Tripper.
At quick glance, a Ripper appears visually akin to a brown, smooth-shelled turtle, but a closer inspection will reveal three pairs of segmented legs on its sides, confirming the animal as insect-like. On its rear is a short tail and, in later designs, its head is partially enclosed by three horn-like protuberances which result in the Ripper's face being shrouded in shadow apart from its glowing eyes.
One of the two most notable qualities of Rippers is their ability to perpetually fly, albeit very slowly, in a strictly horizontal and straight line. When they eventually touch a surface, they will turn the opposite way and move straight ahead until they touch another surface, repeating a back-and-forth flight pattern without ever gaining or losing neither speed and vertical reach.
The Rippers' second quality is their invulnerability to the majority of Samus' arsenal despite the creatures' small bodies. Only a few select potent weapons can kill them, such as a Super Missile, the Speed Booster/Shinespark or the Screw Attack. However, the original Famicom/NESMetroid game features less durable, red colored Rippers alongside the common brown type, the former which require either 100 Beam shots or a mere single Missile to kill. In the game's remake, Metroid: Zero Mission, purple Rippers replace the red type; they were as durable as brown Rippers, yet faster in movement. Super Metroid was initially going to feature two different colored Rippers, brown and green types[1], but the latter was removed in the final version of the game.
Because of their sluggish, unceasing flying movements and near-indestructability, they are infamously inconvenient when Samus moves through halls or shafts filled with Rippers, particularly when using her Wall Jump technique. If she possesses the Ice Beam, Rippers can be frozen and used as platforms to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. In Super Metroid, Samus can also use them as Grapple Points for her Grappling Beam to cross over hazards and, with enough momentum, she can throw herself high up into the air; the Rippers halt in midair each time they are linked to the Grappling Beam.
The most advanced form of Ripper. Jet-propelled with exhaust flames at their rears, Ripper IIs travel at speeds surpassing that of any Ripper. They also have more bulk and are more rectangular in shape. According to the 1986 manga/strategy guide, a Ripper can evolve into a Ripper II, though It is unknown if this remains canon. The Tripper seems to be a variant of the Ripper II.
A rare and unique Ripper, seen only during a boss fight in Metroid: Zero Mission. The Winged Ripper's defining characteristic are its pair of small insect wings which allow it to travel at varying altitudes, rather than the usual back-and-forth patrol. It is the most durable variation of Ripper; the only way to kill it is by making the boss fall on top of it.
Ripper-X
Multiple infected and/or mimicked Rippers as seen in Metroid Fusion.
Prior to the events of Metroid Fusion, Rippers were captured by Galactic Federation scientists and brought on-board the BSL station for research, but due to the X Parasite outbreak, they were all infected and mimicked by the latter, creating Ripper-X. Contrary to most other lifeforms on the station, the X did not alter the DNA of the Rippers to give them new abilities, different behavior or any physiological changes except for a slight increase in size. Thus, Ripper-X are all brown and float horizontally back and forth, making them perfect imitations.
The unused Ripper is drastically different from its 2D counterpart, having a more alien-look to it. It has a sort of "hook" at the bottom, which was intended to serve as a Grapple Point for Samus. A funnel is also featured on the rear end of the creature, likely where the plasma propelling the creature was to be exhausted. The Glider creature encountered in-game replaced the Ripper in its role as a mobile Grapple Point when Retro Studios decided to make the game's creatures more original (including changing Magdollites to Magmoors and Metarees into Shriekbats). However, because the Ripper was never removed from the Glider's ANCS file, it can easily be implemented back into the game by changing the Glider's object property.
Additionally, page 119 of BradyGames' Metroid Prime Official Strategy Guide depicts a blue creature similar to a Ripper not known to be featured anywhere else.
Crateria/Brinstar. These enemies can be frozen to use as steps in long shafts.
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Information
Super Metroid Players' Guide
"Can't be killed but can be frozen with the ice beam and then used as stepping stones."
Metroid: Zero Mission manual
"For the most part, these organisms just slowly fly through the air in straight lines. They are impervious to most attacks."
Official Website
"SPECIMEN ID# SR-478"Exterior armor plating makes this specimen a hearty foe. Keen vision suggests a preference for deep, cavernous areas - probably to hunt for food. DANGER LEVEL: LOW."
"Armor plate"
"Light-sensitive retinas"
"Powerful legs"
Trivia
Unused block
An unused Block in Super Metroid portrays half of a Ripper and does not allow enemies or shots to pass. Only Samus and the Wave Beam. It is not revealed when using the X-Ray Visor.
The unused green Ripper seen in beta footage of Super Metroid was exclusively featured inside the room of the miniboss, Spore Spawn.[3] The Ripper was flying at a sufficiently low altitude that would have required Samus to either crouch under the creature or jump over it whenever it came close. This, alongside the miniboss' massive swaying body and the continuously falling spores, would have increased the overall difficulty of the battle.
If the green Ripper was kept in the final version of Super Metroid, the battle with Spore Spawn would share yet another trait with the ensnared Kiru Giru miniboss: not only do they currently share a similar music theme, hazardous spores and the premise of the minibosses connected to ceilings, they each would have also possessed a unique type of Ripper within their rooms (a Winged Ripper in the case of the trapped Kiru Giru).
Rippers feature prominently in the Catch Mode of Tetris DS in the background.
A Galactic Federation Ripper specimen was dubbed SR-478. It is unknown whether the planet SR388, also sometimes written as the very-similar SR-388, is related to this specimen name. [4]
The Ripper's sprite in the NES/Famicom Metroid game seems to lack limbs.
The Ripper is one of a few objects that will shake when Samus Wall Jumps off them in Super Metroid.
