Hello all, and welcome to the first in a series I hope to keep going for some time, or at least until the new Super Smash Bros. comes out. I'm going to be listing a whole bunch of Nintendo characters (as well as other third-party video game characters) and talking about them in a would-be analyst way in terms of who they are, how they'd play, and their chances of being playable in Smash Bros.! I'm not going to pretend that I know what I'm doing, or that I did any research going into this; most of this stuff I'm just winging and based off of knowledge I've accumulated from this or that resource over the years. Hopefully you'll be interested enough to hear what I have to say, though.
For our first character, we're going to start things off in a BIG way (though I am LOATHED to use that word when talking about him): it's Ridley from the Metroid series! See my ramblings after the break!
For our first character, we're going to start things off in a BIG way (though I am LOATHED to use that word when talking about him): it's Ridley from the Metroid series! See my ramblings after the break!
Who is he?
Samus Aran, protagonist of the Metroid series of video games, is a bounty hunter renowned throughout the galaxy for her extreme hunting prowess and saving said galaxy on multiple occasions, but she honestly wouldn't have been that way without a certain purple pterodactyl-dragon. It is said that every great hero needs a villain; Mario has Bowser, Link has Ganon/Ganondorf, etc., but Ridley goes one step beyond that. Within the Metroid universe, Ridley is a high-ranking commander of the space pirates, and though he might not be the leader of the pirates (sort of, some games/sources says he is, others say it's Mother Brain), the role he plays both in the Metroid series and in Samus's origins cannot be understated. When Samus was a young girl living with her parents in the Galactic Federation colony K-2L, Ridley led a violent raid on the colony in order to obtain a valuable fuel called "alforaltite", and it was here he first encountered Samus. The young Samus tried to be friendly with Ridley at first, not fully realizing who he was, but after some hesitation, Ridley attacked, and Samus narrowly survived after her mother intervened. In the end, both of Samus's parents were killed, which resulted in her leaving her home colony and meeting the Old Bird of the Chozo tribe, which would ultimately lead to her obtaining her Power Suit and becoming the bounty hunter she is today. So basically, Ridley unintentionally created his own worst enemy (nice going, bud)!
And enemies Samus and Ridley would be for every one of their encounters since, which is a lot! It's safe to say that Ridley is just as synonymous with the Metroid franchise as the Metroids and Samus herself, as Ridley has appeared in just about ever Metroid game in the series, with the exceptions being Metroid II: Return of Samus for the Game Boy and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes for the GameCube. Some would say this is a detriment, since the series frequently has some rather roundabout ways of trying to fit Ridley into a game's narrative, to the point where in Metroid: Other M, the "Ridley" that appeared there wasn't even the true Ridley, but rather a clone of him (made just because some scientists thought it'd be funny, basically) that had zero connection to Samus other than the apparent trauma seeing Ridley again causes her, even though that would have been, like, the fifth time she's encountered him so why is she freaking out now when she sees him and-OKAY, I'm getting off topic here. Point is, Ridley has a vital place and role within the Metroid series.
And enemies Samus and Ridley would be for every one of their encounters since, which is a lot! It's safe to say that Ridley is just as synonymous with the Metroid franchise as the Metroids and Samus herself, as Ridley has appeared in just about ever Metroid game in the series, with the exceptions being Metroid II: Return of Samus for the Game Boy and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes for the GameCube. Some would say this is a detriment, since the series frequently has some rather roundabout ways of trying to fit Ridley into a game's narrative, to the point where in Metroid: Other M, the "Ridley" that appeared there wasn't even the true Ridley, but rather a clone of him (made just because some scientists thought it'd be funny, basically) that had zero connection to Samus other than the apparent trauma seeing Ridley again causes her, even though that would have been, like, the fifth time she's encountered him so why is she freaking out now when she sees him and-OKAY, I'm getting off topic here. Point is, Ridley has a vital place and role within the Metroid series.
How he'd play
I'm still trying to plan out how I'm going to order these sections, but basically going in, I'm going to act like there is a chance that a character can be playable and thus think of how they'd behave if they were to be included, before I talk about if I want them playable and their actual odds. When it comes to this section, though, let me just say some things upfront: I'm no game designer, or character designer, I barely have a basic understanding of how fighting games, hitboxes, movement frames, etc. work, and I'm not the best at thinking up entire movesets for every character I want. That being said, if I'm going to go around saying this or that character should be in Super Smash Bros., I'd better at least have a good idea of what I either want or expect out of said inclusion, so at least people don't say I completely don't know what I'm talking about.
In the case of Ridley, well, a moveset might not be entirely obvious for him at first, since he doesn't appear to have many signature moves, or rather, moves that only he would pull off. That's not a complete deal-breaker by any means, since there are plenty of characters in Super Smash Bros. who have moves created entirely for the game that aren't even hinted or referenced in their original series up until that point (hell-O, Falcon Punch!), but that does beg the question, what can Ridley do? Well, as far as I can tell, Ridley has 6 notable features: his claws, his talon-like feet, his long, pointed tail, his wings, his sharp teeth, and his fire breath, so it'd make sense to utilize all these features, right? Some of these features are shared by other characters such as Bowser and Charizard, and a few people even go so far as to say Ridley shouldn't be playable because he'd be redundant as a result. I disagree for a few reasons. For one, having similar features hasn't stopped about a dozen other characters from being playable, and that's not even including moveset clones. For another, it's not the features of a character, it's how they're used. When it comes to Bowser and Charizard, the key thing defining their attacks is that they're blunt, hit hard, and are all about how powerful they are respectively. While some would think that due to Ridley's typically depicted size (WHICH WE WILL GET TO, that can of worms deserves it's own section), some would think that's the same case with Ridley, but I see things differently. For those of you who don't know, Ridley is frequently known as the "Cunning God of Death", which to me means he doesn't necessarily have to be overwhelmingly powerful, just brutal and deadly with how he attacks. There's also the "cunning" aspect of his epithet, which to me translates not to the wild, straight-forward punches, kicks, claw swipes, and headbutts of Bowser and Charizard, but something more nuanced, even straight-up sneaky. I'm not completely sure about how this would be conveyed in terms of a Super Smash Bros. moveset, but I'd say it's a good place to start as well as something to keep in mind when thinking about how he'd play.
Here's another idea to throw out there, just because series director Masahiro Sakurai loves to make his characters unique from each other (for the most part); this is actually something that's been floating around the "pro-Ridley" scene for a while now, but basically, the idea is that Ridley should either be in continuous flight (while still susceptible to gravity) or that Ridley is stronger and has better kill options will in the air than on ground, kind of like an anti-Little Mac. It's a neat idea, one I kind of hope they go with if and when they ever do make Ridley playable, considering the majority of the Ridley fights in the Metroid series have Ridley in mid-flight as he's fighting. But regardless of how he'd fight, what would his actual attacks be? Like I said, Ridley has several notable features about him, and thus I think the simple answer is to use them, preferably in the ways I just described. You'd have your typical claw slashes, bites, that sort of thing, but something I hope to see expertly utilized is his tail. I particularly love that one move in Other M where the Ridley clone thrusts its tail down at Samus, and I could see that either being his down aerial or possibly even his down special move. Speaking of special moves, I think it goes without saying that his fire breath should be his neutral special move, though unlike Bowser and Charizard, I don't expect it to be one continuous flame spouting from his mouth; rather, I'd prefer to see something akin to a charge attack, like if you just tapped the B button (or whatever the special attack is linked to when you play), it's a tiny fireball that causes minimal damage and maybe even flinch some characters, but the longer you hold the B button, the bigger and more powerful it becomes, something like that. His side and up specials, though, I don't really have anything in particular in mind for them, though for some reason, I can see him using attacks that "pierce defenses", if that makes any sense. Like I said, Ridley's supposed to be cunning and brutal, so rather than have attacks that emphasize raw power, he should have attacks that are about bypassing normal defenses and outmaneuvering his opponents for an opportunity to strike. As for his Final Smash, honestly, Ridley has had a lot of powered-up forms over the years that he could use as a Final Smash. Personally, I'd like to see either Phazon Ridley/Omega Ridley or Ridley-X/Neo Ridley, and he'd either act kind of like the boss Ridley from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U or like Mega Charizard X from that game (after all, there's nothing wrong with having multiple characters with similar Final Smashes).
And that's what I think Ridley would be like if he were playable in Super Smash Bros. Hopefully you got the basic idea and it didn't come off like a lengthy, rambling, incoherent mess (I need and editor for my stuff). Anyway, now for some of the BIG questions (don't worry, we're getting there).
In the case of Ridley, well, a moveset might not be entirely obvious for him at first, since he doesn't appear to have many signature moves, or rather, moves that only he would pull off. That's not a complete deal-breaker by any means, since there are plenty of characters in Super Smash Bros. who have moves created entirely for the game that aren't even hinted or referenced in their original series up until that point (hell-O, Falcon Punch!), but that does beg the question, what can Ridley do? Well, as far as I can tell, Ridley has 6 notable features: his claws, his talon-like feet, his long, pointed tail, his wings, his sharp teeth, and his fire breath, so it'd make sense to utilize all these features, right? Some of these features are shared by other characters such as Bowser and Charizard, and a few people even go so far as to say Ridley shouldn't be playable because he'd be redundant as a result. I disagree for a few reasons. For one, having similar features hasn't stopped about a dozen other characters from being playable, and that's not even including moveset clones. For another, it's not the features of a character, it's how they're used. When it comes to Bowser and Charizard, the key thing defining their attacks is that they're blunt, hit hard, and are all about how powerful they are respectively. While some would think that due to Ridley's typically depicted size (WHICH WE WILL GET TO, that can of worms deserves it's own section), some would think that's the same case with Ridley, but I see things differently. For those of you who don't know, Ridley is frequently known as the "Cunning God of Death", which to me means he doesn't necessarily have to be overwhelmingly powerful, just brutal and deadly with how he attacks. There's also the "cunning" aspect of his epithet, which to me translates not to the wild, straight-forward punches, kicks, claw swipes, and headbutts of Bowser and Charizard, but something more nuanced, even straight-up sneaky. I'm not completely sure about how this would be conveyed in terms of a Super Smash Bros. moveset, but I'd say it's a good place to start as well as something to keep in mind when thinking about how he'd play.
Here's another idea to throw out there, just because series director Masahiro Sakurai loves to make his characters unique from each other (for the most part); this is actually something that's been floating around the "pro-Ridley" scene for a while now, but basically, the idea is that Ridley should either be in continuous flight (while still susceptible to gravity) or that Ridley is stronger and has better kill options will in the air than on ground, kind of like an anti-Little Mac. It's a neat idea, one I kind of hope they go with if and when they ever do make Ridley playable, considering the majority of the Ridley fights in the Metroid series have Ridley in mid-flight as he's fighting. But regardless of how he'd fight, what would his actual attacks be? Like I said, Ridley has several notable features about him, and thus I think the simple answer is to use them, preferably in the ways I just described. You'd have your typical claw slashes, bites, that sort of thing, but something I hope to see expertly utilized is his tail. I particularly love that one move in Other M where the Ridley clone thrusts its tail down at Samus, and I could see that either being his down aerial or possibly even his down special move. Speaking of special moves, I think it goes without saying that his fire breath should be his neutral special move, though unlike Bowser and Charizard, I don't expect it to be one continuous flame spouting from his mouth; rather, I'd prefer to see something akin to a charge attack, like if you just tapped the B button (or whatever the special attack is linked to when you play), it's a tiny fireball that causes minimal damage and maybe even flinch some characters, but the longer you hold the B button, the bigger and more powerful it becomes, something like that. His side and up specials, though, I don't really have anything in particular in mind for them, though for some reason, I can see him using attacks that "pierce defenses", if that makes any sense. Like I said, Ridley's supposed to be cunning and brutal, so rather than have attacks that emphasize raw power, he should have attacks that are about bypassing normal defenses and outmaneuvering his opponents for an opportunity to strike. As for his Final Smash, honestly, Ridley has had a lot of powered-up forms over the years that he could use as a Final Smash. Personally, I'd like to see either Phazon Ridley/Omega Ridley or Ridley-X/Neo Ridley, and he'd either act kind of like the boss Ridley from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U or like Mega Charizard X from that game (after all, there's nothing wrong with having multiple characters with similar Final Smashes).
And that's what I think Ridley would be like if he were playable in Super Smash Bros. Hopefully you got the basic idea and it didn't come off like a lengthy, rambling, incoherent mess (I need and editor for my stuff). Anyway, now for some of the BIG questions (don't worry, we're getting there).
Do I want this character playable and why?
This section may seem redundant, since one would think that of course I'd like this character playable if I'm doing a lengthy blog post about them, but eventually I'd like to toy around with some ideas for characters I might not necessarily want all that much in Super Smash Bros., so the answer won't always be as obvious. But as to whether or not I want Ridley playable, I say...
YES! DEFINITELY!
YES! DEFINITELY!
The funny thing is that Ridley wasn't always at the top of my most-wanted characters list, he was just one of the many characters I think ought to be in Super Smash Bros. because it just made sense to me, but as time went on, and the memes about Ridley's size (hang in there) and Sakurai's continued denial of entry for him got more ridiculous, that strengthened my resolve to see him made playable to the point of pushing him to the top of the list. But even besides being a reactionary thing, like I said, it just makes sense! I've stated before that Ridley is just as synonymous with the Metroid series as Samus and the Metroids, so not seeing him playable, or worse yet, seeing the likes of Dark Samus or the other Prime hunters playable before Ridley, even if they would have cool movesets of their own, would be just tragic in my eyes. To me, having them in before Ridley is like having Waluigi in before Bowser, or having Vaati in before Ganondorf, or having Meta Knight but no King Dedede, it just doesn't feel right to ignore such an important character to a series in favor of another less important but still popular character. On top of all of that, the Metroid series DESERVES more representatives. The fact that it's been 4 (or 5, depending on if you count the 3DS/Wii U versions as separate games) installments and the most we have as far as Metroid characters go is Samus herself and Samus without her armor is just sad. I get that Metroid isn't that popular in Japan, and it took a long time for Nintendo to realize this, but the Metroid franchise is beloved all across the world, particularly in the West. Once upon a time, it was one of Nintendo's flagship franchises, almost akin to Mario or The Legend of Zelda, even if sales didn't fully match either of them. Even though we got Metroid: Samus Returns last year, and Metroid Prime 4 is finally coming to the Nintendo Switch, it remains to be seen if the series is here to stay and won't go on another lengthy hiatus with only the occasional crappy spin-off to tide us over. But regardless of whether or not it does, the fact remains that games like Super Metroid and Metroid Prime not only rank highly among the best of their respective platforms, they're widely considered to be the best games Nintendo has ever produced, and to see such praise ignored or dismissed, just because the games don't do well locally, is heartbreaking. Metroid deserves better, and because Ridley is so integral to the series, that's why he's my #1 choice for Super Smash Bros. newcomers. That being said...
So here's the thing about size in Super Smash Bros.: it doesn't matter... up to a point. I and many other Ridley supporters have pointed out how using Ridley's canon size within the Metroid series is irrelevant since if we went by canon size for all the characters, Olimar would not be a viable fighter for being ridiculously tiny, while Kirby and several Pokémon wouldn't even reach most fighters' knees. The fact of the matter is that a character's size is flexible when it comes to Super Smash Bros. in order to fit the fighter mold. Sakurai himself has often noted in a few of his "Pic of the Day" posts for the last two Super Smash Bros. games how inaccurate the sizes are in these games (which just highlights his hypocrisy but we'll get to that in a moment), so really, size shouldn't be an issue... for the most part. However, something I feel that gets overlooked a lot with this argument is what a character's size truly means, not just in terms of height or girth, but proportions and where the hitboxes would be. There are definitely some characters I don't think would be viable for Super Smash Bros. because of their size, but Ridley?
Well, if I'm being perfectly honest and forgive the unintentional pun here, I don't see why Ridley's size was ever a 'big' deal to begin with.
You see, I never felt that Ridley's size was an integral part to his character. Sure, he was always on the larger size, but that felt secondary to me, similar to how Bowser was always a big dude but his exact size ultimately didn't matter compared to what else he was capable of. In fact, it was only until after a bunch of anti-Ridley people showed me a bunch of screenshots from the Metroid games showing off how big he was compared to Samus that I finally went "Huh... I guess Ridley is kind of on the large side." Not to mention, there's the issue with how he looks; even though I've stated that Ridley's strengths doesn't completely lie in his brute force, at least some, NOT ALL but some, of his intimidation comes from his size, because when you really look at Ridley's body, it's actually quite thin, even lanky in some places. It's not quite bare-bones, in fact I'd go so far as to say he has lean muscles in certain places, but there are some areas, particularly his crooked neck, that some think would look pretty fragile if scaled down. But even then, I still wasn't convinced that his size was THAT much of a hindrance, not just because of the aforementioned "size is flexible in Smash" reasoning, but also because we've seen Ridley be the same size as Samus and look fine before. As I mentioned a few paragraphs back, Ridley appeared in the opening of Super Smash Bros. Melee. You can see the intro for yourself here, but to cut to the chase, here's what he looks like:
Actual Odds of Newcomer's Appearance
Do I think Ridley will actually be playable in the next installment of Super Smash Bros.?
Unfortunately, that's highly unlikely at this point.
The ultimate tragedy of Ridley is that he's one of the few Nintendo characters who have appeared in every installment of Super Smash Bros. (except the 3DS version for some dumb reason), he has never been playable in any of them, despite having significant prominence in at least two of them. Ridley appeared in the background of the Planet Zebes stage in the original Nintendo 64 Super Smash Bros., he appeared in the introductory cutscene and was featured as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, he got two boss battles in the Subspace Emissary in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and perhaps most controversially, his Metroid: Other M clone was erroneously stated to be Ridley himself as one of the three "stage boss" characters of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, along with the Yellow Devil from Mega Man and Metal Face from Xenoblade Chronicles. Particularly insulting in that not only did Ridley's trophy in that game kept insisting that this is the same Ridley from the first Metroid when it clearly isn't, but the amount of attention given to how Ridley fights as a boss in that game, along with counting KOing him as one point for you in a Time battle, gives the impression that this was some kind of compensation, like Sakurai stubbornly insists that he can't be playable so he figures this is as close as he's going to get. It's infuriating on multiple levels, especially since Sakurai is otherwise known for keeping true to a character he's incorporated into the Smash Bros. series.
Oh wait, what's that? You agree with Sakurai? You don't think Ridley can be made playable in Super Smash Bros.? *sigh* We're really going there, aren't we? Well, let's get this over with.
Here we go...Oh wait, what's that? You agree with Sakurai? You don't think Ridley can be made playable in Super Smash Bros.? *sigh* We're really going there, aren't we? Well, let's get this over with.
"Too Big"?
So usually this is where I have some final notes or trivia to add about a given character, or just give one final summary of the character and what I think about them, but because Ridley's a special case on his own, he's getting his own unique section where I do my best to address the common criticisms about him and why he "shouldn't" be playable in Super Smash Bros. Keep in mind, like I've said before, I'm no expert on game design or fighting game mechanics, but I do understand some basic stuff, not to mention I know the loosely-defined logic of what you can and can't do in Super Smash Bros., so I feel confident enough to say things on Ridley's behave and even back up some claims. That being said, I am by no means the best kind of person to address this kind of thing, and I've seen far better arguments made by people with intense knowledge of Super Smash Bros.'s mechanics and whatnot demonstrate how he'd work better than I ever could, so for those of you hoping to get a go-to justification for why Ridley should be playable, you're probably better off finding someone else. The following comments are meant to reflect my own feelings on the subject and no one else's. Alright?
So here's the thing about size in Super Smash Bros.: it doesn't matter... up to a point. I and many other Ridley supporters have pointed out how using Ridley's canon size within the Metroid series is irrelevant since if we went by canon size for all the characters, Olimar would not be a viable fighter for being ridiculously tiny, while Kirby and several Pokémon wouldn't even reach most fighters' knees. The fact of the matter is that a character's size is flexible when it comes to Super Smash Bros. in order to fit the fighter mold. Sakurai himself has often noted in a few of his "Pic of the Day" posts for the last two Super Smash Bros. games how inaccurate the sizes are in these games (which just highlights his hypocrisy but we'll get to that in a moment), so really, size shouldn't be an issue... for the most part. However, something I feel that gets overlooked a lot with this argument is what a character's size truly means, not just in terms of height or girth, but proportions and where the hitboxes would be. There are definitely some characters I don't think would be viable for Super Smash Bros. because of their size, but Ridley?
Well, if I'm being perfectly honest and forgive the unintentional pun here, I don't see why Ridley's size was ever a 'big' deal to begin with.
You see, I never felt that Ridley's size was an integral part to his character. Sure, he was always on the larger size, but that felt secondary to me, similar to how Bowser was always a big dude but his exact size ultimately didn't matter compared to what else he was capable of. In fact, it was only until after a bunch of anti-Ridley people showed me a bunch of screenshots from the Metroid games showing off how big he was compared to Samus that I finally went "Huh... I guess Ridley is kind of on the large side." Not to mention, there's the issue with how he looks; even though I've stated that Ridley's strengths doesn't completely lie in his brute force, at least some, NOT ALL but some, of his intimidation comes from his size, because when you really look at Ridley's body, it's actually quite thin, even lanky in some places. It's not quite bare-bones, in fact I'd go so far as to say he has lean muscles in certain places, but there are some areas, particularly his crooked neck, that some think would look pretty fragile if scaled down. But even then, I still wasn't convinced that his size was THAT much of a hindrance, not just because of the aforementioned "size is flexible in Smash" reasoning, but also because we've seen Ridley be the same size as Samus and look fine before. As I mentioned a few paragraphs back, Ridley appeared in the opening of Super Smash Bros. Melee. You can see the intro for yourself here, but to cut to the chase, here's what he looks like:
Now like I said, I'm no expert with this kind of thing, but from where I sit, Ridley looks pretty badass here, looking like a strong, imposing figure with his body, even his large wings, proportional and manageable. He looks just like Ridley ought to look, and while he wasn't playable in Melee due to massive time restraints on that game (the fact they got in as many characters as they did as well as put in so many different modes of play plus collectable trophies in such a short amount of time is impressive on it's own, in my opinion), I never understood why this Ridley wasn't made playable in subsequent installments. What's the problem? Sure, he might not have been that small in his respective games (save the first Metroid that everyone seems to overlook), but that shouldn't be an issue in a series like like Super Smash Bros. where characters can shrink and grow to meet the standards of a fighting character in this series, right? Oh, buy wait, if we did that "he wouldn't be Ridley anymore", would he?
Ugh, okay, here we go with this bullcrap. Way back in November of 2014, IGN did an e-mail interview with Masahiro Sakurai on the subject of Ridley. You can read the full article here:
Why Ridley Isn't Playable in Smash Bros. - IGN
But for brevity's sake (thought it's a little late for that), I'm going to take his exact words from the article to explain Sakurai's "reasoning" behind what he did with Ridley in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
“I definitely know that Ridley’s a much-anticipated name for fans, but if we made Ridley as a fighter, it wouldn’t be Ridley any longer. It’d have to be shrunk down, or its wings reduced in size, or be unable to fly around freely.
“Providing accurate portrayals of characters is something I want to pay ample attention to. If I don’t stick to that thought, then we’d have to lower the quality or break the balance of the game. Something that goes way off spec could break the entire game.”
Ugh, okay, here we go with this bullcrap. Way back in November of 2014, IGN did an e-mail interview with Masahiro Sakurai on the subject of Ridley. You can read the full article here:
Why Ridley Isn't Playable in Smash Bros. - IGN
But for brevity's sake (thought it's a little late for that), I'm going to take his exact words from the article to explain Sakurai's "reasoning" behind what he did with Ridley in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
“I definitely know that Ridley’s a much-anticipated name for fans, but if we made Ridley as a fighter, it wouldn’t be Ridley any longer. It’d have to be shrunk down, or its wings reduced in size, or be unable to fly around freely.
“Providing accurate portrayals of characters is something I want to pay ample attention to. If I don’t stick to that thought, then we’d have to lower the quality or break the balance of the game. Something that goes way off spec could break the entire game.”
“Instead of going through a lot of very convoluted hocus-pocus to make
Ridley a fighter, I figured it’d be better to keep Ridley as it
currently is, the correct way, and have it feel like a truly threatening
presence. There are other icons, too, like Metal
Face and the Yellow Devil, which help effectively portray each of their
world settings. They go a long way toward deepening the game world, and I
think it’s been fun to experiment with.”
*deep seething inhale*
Okay, first of all, I have to wonder if Sakurai even knows who Ridley truly is, or at least, knows him as well as he thinks he does. He claims what he'd do to make Ridley a fighter "wouldn't make him Ridley anymore", but considering the fact that the Ridley used in Super Smash Bros. is the clone of Ridley from Metroid: Other M (to the point where they literally ripped the skin/model from that game with no alterations made to it) and therefore is ostensibly NOT the actual Ridley, just who is he to say who and what Ridley is? How can he say Ridley needs to be this or that if he can't even tell the difference between the real Ridley and a fake one, especially since the clone from Other M has zero connection to Samus besides the one she projects onto it and might as well be another giant monster she fights in that game, but that's for a whole different discussion.
*Language Warning starting here; I've tried to keep this article PG so far, but I REALLY start to lose my cool after this point, so yeah, fair warning*
Okay, first of all, I have to wonder if Sakurai even knows who Ridley truly is, or at least, knows him as well as he thinks he does. He claims what he'd do to make Ridley a fighter "wouldn't make him Ridley anymore", but considering the fact that the Ridley used in Super Smash Bros. is the clone of Ridley from Metroid: Other M (to the point where they literally ripped the skin/model from that game with no alterations made to it) and therefore is ostensibly NOT the actual Ridley, just who is he to say who and what Ridley is? How can he say Ridley needs to be this or that if he can't even tell the difference between the real Ridley and a fake one, especially since the clone from Other M has zero connection to Samus besides the one she projects onto it and might as well be another giant monster she fights in that game, but that's for a whole different discussion.
*Language Warning starting here; I've tried to keep this article PG so far, but I REALLY start to lose my cool after this point, so yeah, fair warning*
But it's Sakurai's very next comment that pisses me off to no end and how I KNOW he's full of shit when it comes to Ridley. He says Ridley would have to be shrunk down, which is kind of a "no-duh" thing for me but apparently is an issue to him and several others, and that his wings would have to be reduced in size, which is a fair assessment, the wings DO take up a lot of space and he probably didn't have Ridley's portrayal in Melee in mind when he answered that question, but THEN he goes and says Ridley would "be unable to fly around freely"...
...What? Like, seriously... WHAT?! THAT'S your best excuse? He'd be unable to fly around freely if he were playable? I'm sorry, did you, yourself, not create a character who, in his own core series, can do just that? Can Kirby not just float around the screen without consequence in every mainstream Kirby game you've directed? Can Meta Knight and King Dedede not also do the same thing? Are there not also characters like Charizard who are similarly able to fly around freely in their respective series and franchises? Yet in Super Smash Bros., ALL of them have limitations; Kirby has limited jumps, so do Meta Knight, King Dedede, and Charizard! None of them are about to fly around freely like they can in their respective games! Yet you feel like Ridley being able to fly around freely is SUCH an integral part of his character that he therefore cannot be made playable?! You're making and exception just for Ridley despite being okay with it for everyone else?! Oh FUCK OFF, Sakurai, just fuck right the Hell off! You can tell at this point that Sakurai is just pulling excuses from his ass without really thinking about them, almost as if he has something against Ridley. Of course, this isn't a conspiracy corner so I'm not about to accuse Sakurai of anything of the sort, but suffice to say I find Sakurai's asspull reasons incredibly flimsy at best and outright hypocritical at worst.
This is especially true for his next statement, regarding "accurate portrayals of characters". Ignoring the whole "paying ample attention" attention bit, since we've already established that if Sakurai WAS paying attention he'd have realized that the Ridley in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U ISN'T THE REAL RIDLEY, and since I can't really comment too much going off-spec and breaking the game (yet), let's go over the fact that Sakurai seems to love going on about how he wants to stay as true to the characters he's including in Super Smash Bros., and while that may be the case for characters like Mega Man, he really falters if not falls flat on his face when it comes to characters like Ganondorf and Ike. To recap for those unaware, Ganondorf is a powerful dark sorcerer who, in The Legend of Zelda series, primarily either attacks using magic or magic-based projectiles or fights using a sword (or two swords, as in The Wind Waker), while Ike is a Ranger-class unit in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance who gets promoted to a Lord midway through the game, and whose second-highest growth stat is his speed! While it is true that in Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn his speed growths aren't nearly as high, and therefore would better fit the slow powerhouse moveset there, the fact still remains that in Super Smash Bros. Brawl where Ike was introduced to the Super Smash Bros. series, they went with his Path of Radiance incarnation, and deliberately exaggerated the size of his sword, the Ragnell, to justify making him a might glacier! Yeah, way to give an "accurate portrayal" of one of the most popular Fire Emblem characters, Sakurai. Going back to Ganondorf, though, one of the biggest continued criticisms of the Super Smash Bros. series is why Ganondorf remains a stronger, slower Captain Falcon clone and doesn't even bother using his sword (personally, I'd prefer that he use a trident as a reference to his Ganon persona, but again, different topic for a different time). By now, most people know that when Ganondorf was originally included in Super Smash Bros. Melee, he was a very late addition made after someone noticed that his model used in the Space World 2000 GameCube demo was similar enough to Captain Falcon's body shape, so, since Ganon was a popular choice at the time and since Ganon/Ganondorf is an important figure in The Legend of Zelda franchise, they had him be a Captain Falcon clone in that game. Now that's fair enough, but as the series continued, people wondered why he remained a clone of Captain Falcon, even though his animations were made to be more uniquely his. I recall reading that Sakurai wanted to keep the movesets the same or at least similar enough between installments so people wouldn't have to relearn how to play as their favorite characters, and I was going to provide a response to that line of thinking, but I figured I didn't want to make presumptions based on things that aren't even true, so I tried to look up where he said that... and instead, I found something else. Something deeply more troubling.
Now unfortunately, I can't confirm if the following is true or not, but according to...
This Reddit Post
In a then-recent interview in Famitsu magazine, Sakurai divulged in his reasons why Ganondorf is why he is and why he hasn't changed much. Long story short, Ganondorf as he is in Smash Bros. is heavily based on Sakurai's late father, who he once viewed as a large, powerful, and imposing individual only to find out later in life that he was frequently short-of-breath and limped along. That's why Ganondorf has moments where he looks powerful but also has weird moments like his "huffy old-man run" in both Brawl and Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U. Again, I don't know for sure if this is true, and I don't want to jump down Sakurai's throat over false information, but if it's true, with sincere condolences to him and his family over his father...
WHAT THE EVER-LIVING FUCKING HELL?!?! You turned Ganondorf, one of the most evil, badass villains in Nintendo's repertoire into a senior citizen just because you based him on your father? Like, forget basing him on anything from the games, you just made Ganondorf your dad, is that it? I guess this explains why Sakurai plays as Ganondorf a lot (speaking of which, wow, there's a lot to unpack there), but my GOD, how can you be so steadfast against Ridley and his so-called character when you're willing to break Ganondorf's character for your own self-indulgences!? I really don't want to be disrespectful to Sakurai or his family with regards to his deceased father, but in terms of the potential characters he's keeping from Super Smash Bros., this all just comes off as one big slap to the face!
Oh, and here's another little tidbit I found out about during my search for Ganondorf stuff. Over on Source Gaming, which is by far the most reliable source of accurate Super Smash Bros. information just so we're clear, site founder PushDustin did an article about how, in his humble opinion, Ganondorf should stay the way he is. You can read (and disagree with it) here:
Ganondorf is Fine the Way He is - Source Gaming
But Push uses this one quote from Sakurai in his article. It reads:
"If I only included things true to the original source material, then there would also be times when things wouldn’t mesh well. I always reflect on things that went well and things I want to improve with every Smash, but I think it’s most important to prioritize a game’s enjoyability!"
...Okay, so which is it, Sakurai? Do you want to have your characters remain true to their game selves, or are you okay with them breaking that character so long as it makes a good game? Because I'd say a lot of us would think Ridley being playable would be great, and entirely possible. Yeah, that's right, I don't by your whole "convoluted hocus-pocus" crap for a second, not anymore than I buy any of your previous bullshit. Fans have proven through game mods that Ridley CAN be made playable numerous times, and I refuse to believe that you and your entire staff of game developers can't do what a couple of dedicated fans do better! Really, when I look at everything I've collected over the years, the one thing keeping Ridley from being playable isn't his size, his wings, being true to his character, or any of that nonsense, it's YOU, Masahiro Sakurai! YOU are the one thing keeping Ridley from being playable! And hey, it's your game, you're entitled to include or not include whoever you want in your game, but just be honest about that! I might be pissed off over your refusal to keep Ridley from being playable in Super Smash Bros., but I'd at least find it less infuriating if you didn't come up with such bullshit, hypocritical, almost nonsensical reasons for why he "can't" be playable!
Because he CAN be playable; you just don't want him to be. That's the long and short of it.
Final Thoughts
HO BOY, that rant went on a LITTLE longer than I intended it to. Just to be clear, though, I don't hate Masahiro Sakurai just because he won't make my most-wanted/favorite Metroid character playable. I'd be incredibly petty and shallow to be upset with a man who has created so many great games that have brought such joy to my life and helped open up new avenues for me just because of this one grievance I have with him. That being said, it's exhaustively painful to have to deal not only with Sakurai's words on Ridley, but also the anti-Ridley brigade, and even just casual fans who've bought into the meme of Ridley being too big. Hopefully with all of this out of my system, I won't have to repeat myself again anytime soon (though in that case, if something new comes up, I'll have to made some addendums to this blog post for clarity's sake).
But overall, looking back at what people have criticized about Ridley, and the limitations keeping him from being playable, and after years and years of debating this over and over and over again, I've ultimately come to one final conscensus, and that is this:
But overall, looking back at what people have criticized about Ridley, and the limitations keeping him from being playable, and after years and years of debating this over and over and over again, I've ultimately come to one final conscensus, and that is this:
Ridley... would indeed be a difficult character to implement... but he's still possible.
Even though I'm willing to accept that making Ridley playable might not be as easy as I initially thought back in the early days of Brawl speculation, looking at the hard facts about the game, who's in the game, and Sakurai's words not just on Ridley but on characters he's included as a whole (including characters like the Villager and Miis, who he initially did NOT include because of the peaceful nature of their respective games), I can't, in all intellectual honesty, accept that it's impossible for Ridley to be a playable fighter, or that it will never happen. That last part in particular is important here, by the way. Sakurai has gone back on his word on several elements in the Super Smash Bros. series, so to say Ridley will never be included because of the reasons he gave feels a bit shallow in my opinion, but that's only true if the demand for playable Ridley continues. If Ridley fans finally concede defeat, and accept Ridley will never be playable, it'll be a self-fulfilling prophecy. The only way Ridley has zero chances of being playable in Super Smash Bros. is if we let it get to that point.
So to everyone who's ever wanted Ridley playable in Super Smash Bros., these are my words to you: Never. Give. Up. Our day will come. If not in Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo Switch, than some day. We must stand our ground, have our information at the ready for those who stand against us, and be prepared for anything. Because, and I mean this sincerely... Both Ridley, and Metroid as a whole, deserve better than what they're getting.
Even though I'm willing to accept that making Ridley playable might not be as easy as I initially thought back in the early days of Brawl speculation, looking at the hard facts about the game, who's in the game, and Sakurai's words not just on Ridley but on characters he's included as a whole (including characters like the Villager and Miis, who he initially did NOT include because of the peaceful nature of their respective games), I can't, in all intellectual honesty, accept that it's impossible for Ridley to be a playable fighter, or that it will never happen. That last part in particular is important here, by the way. Sakurai has gone back on his word on several elements in the Super Smash Bros. series, so to say Ridley will never be included because of the reasons he gave feels a bit shallow in my opinion, but that's only true if the demand for playable Ridley continues. If Ridley fans finally concede defeat, and accept Ridley will never be playable, it'll be a self-fulfilling prophecy. The only way Ridley has zero chances of being playable in Super Smash Bros. is if we let it get to that point.
So to everyone who's ever wanted Ridley playable in Super Smash Bros., these are my words to you: Never. Give. Up. Our day will come. If not in Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo Switch, than some day. We must stand our ground, have our information at the ready for those who stand against us, and be prepared for anything. Because, and I mean this sincerely... Both Ridley, and Metroid as a whole, deserve better than what they're getting.
...
UGH, FINALLY I'M DONE! That last bit got pretty heavy (and even heavy-handed), but it all came from the heart. This was a monster of a post to make, but I'm glad to finally be done with it! I REALLY hope a lot of people read it, and if you liked it, please share it with others. More importantly, if there's any constructive criticism you can give me, like about structure, my writing style, how to make what I say more coherent, I openly welcome and invite it since I fully intend to do more. Don't ask for character requests, since this is purely my own thing, and if I'm not fully invested in a character I want to talk about, it just won't work out... Anyway, thanks for talking the time to read this mess! Coming soon, another SSB character pick!
UGH, FINALLY I'M DONE! That last bit got pretty heavy (and even heavy-handed), but it all came from the heart. This was a monster of a post to make, but I'm glad to finally be done with it! I REALLY hope a lot of people read it, and if you liked it, please share it with others. More importantly, if there's any constructive criticism you can give me, like about structure, my writing style, how to make what I say more coherent, I openly welcome and invite it since I fully intend to do more. Don't ask for character requests, since this is purely my own thing, and if I'm not fully invested in a character I want to talk about, it just won't work out... Anyway, thanks for talking the time to read this mess! Coming soon, another SSB character pick!
I'd dig Ridley in Smash.
ReplyDeleteI would love Ridley in smash. metroid needs more representation in smash besides samus and....well samus and who better then arguably the biggest (no pun intended) metroid villain in the franchise. really hope sakurai reconsideres him because I think there is some great potential to be had for him to be playable. he's be a little slow on the ground but quick in the air with some pretty strong attacks. I fully agree with you on your reasons for Ridley being playable and hope for all Ridley fans that we get our wish granted soon. plus smash needs more villains.
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