Social Lower Norfair

[Dalek_Kolt]

I'll probably stop speculating in the sense that there are characters I want if these jerks make it in.

Afterwards, I'll go into the prediction business based on upcoming games and general fan favorites.

 

[Akzomp]

So, where do ya'll think Ridley will be in the initial meta when the game first launches? Do you think people will be quick to figure him out or will he take longer to fully develop? This is probably a weird question.

 

[NintenRob]

A perfect video

 

[Giga Kaiju]

The Smash crew is certainly more lively with Ridley around. I certainly approve of this development.

.

 

[soviet prince]

should have been the debut trailer

 

[The Legendary Beast]

A perfect video

Sakurai: Everyone is here!!
Ridley: Everyone is dead.
Sakurai: .........
Ridley: ........what? Isn't that the point of this game.....you know....fighting?........Please don't cut me....

 

[IronTed]

A perfect video

Things like these make Ridley's inclusion even more sweet.

 

[MasterOfKnees]

A great video on Super Metroid's design if anyone wants a reminder of how amazing the game is. There are a lot of videos that try to explain what the game does right and why it was so influential, but I think this one has the best presentation of the lot. He also did Metroid and ZM previously, and it's looking very likely he'll do Prime some time in the future.

 

[AustarusIV]

A great video on Super Metroid's design if anyone wants a reminder of how amazing the game is. There are a lot of videos that try to explain what the game does right and why it was so influential, but I think this one has the best presentation of the lot. He also did Metroid and ZM previously, and it's looking very likely he'll do Prime some time in the future.

Super Metroid is a masterpiece in every sense of the world. It's one of my favorite games of all time, and is quite possibly my favorite in the whole series. It's the kind of game that would undoubtedly stand the test of time because of its incredible level design, its ways to test the ingenuity of the player, its atmospheric music, and memorable boss designs. I'd dare say it should even be one of those games that everyone should play at least once until they die, or at least the first Metroid title if they want to get into the series. It's truly among the greatest titles on the SNES, alongside games such as Super Mario World, EarthBound, Final Fantasy VI, and Mega Man X.

 

[Dalek_Kolt]

Image I would leak if I had a time machine.

 

[TMNTSSB4]

Imma just place this here cause I’m sure you all want to see Ridley be a savage

 

[IsmaR]

Could have scrolled up a handful of posts there, mate.

-

Found some itemless/stock 1v1 that I hadn't seen previously.

Charizard getting absolutely decimated warms my heart.

 

[BravadoMan_13]

It’s always strange coming in here nowadays and barely seeing any activity from the Ridley thread. I always remembered it being so active it was like an unofficial second ‘social thread’ that just happened to be mostly composed of Ridley fans.

Not that I’m complaining of course. I’m just reminiscing on past times of when we were the top dogs in terms of replies and views, but eh, better to let the other character threads have their time in the sun while we bask in confirmation paradise.

It's not that interest in gaming has gone down. On the contrary, gaming has never been more popular.

It's that people's attention spans have gone down. Reddit and Discord are the new hubs for community, not forums. Forums are for longer posts and discussions where everyone's word has equal weight and display without any filtering, requiring more time and attention to participate.

Reddit filters content by votes and recency, so less popular content gets buried, and thus users can access the popular stuff more conveniently. Comments can be posted without needing to reply or pay attention to anyone except the OP. Discord is just a chatroom where messages are generally short and brief, and they just come in a stream that allows people to jump in at any point and say anything. Cohesive conversations aren't easy in a crowded server.

In both cases, you can't make posts like I'm doing right now. On Reddit, it would get buried beneath the older, upvoted posts, and eventually the thread would be buried anyways. On Discord, people would just look over my post because it's long, and go back to simple chatting.

Also, forums aren't very conducive for phones. Discord and Reddit are. I know I wouldn't want to be typing all this on a small touchscreen.

A few years ago I used to be on the Metroid Database forums a lot. It wasn't very active, but a handful of users and myself managed to have some fun discussions and interact with each other. Then when they renovated the site, they shut the forums down, and there's still no ETA on when they'll fix it. But, they started a Discord server, and seem to consider that a replacement for the forums right now, when it's not the same thing. The interactions aren't what they used to be. I realized how little the people who run the site cared for the forums when they didn't even have it up before E3, when we all assumed we'd see Metroid Prime 4. Luckily for them, we didn't get anything, but I wouldn't be surprised if they just shut them down wholesale and stick with Discord, since it's free and requires less maintenance.

Compared to many forums, such as MDb, this site is much more active. And while I only joined a couple months ago, I can assume the lull in activity since Brawl to be due to two major factors:

1. Smash 4 came out during a time when Nintendo was the least popular they've ever been, with the Wii U living in the shadows of the PS4 and Xbox One, and in the middle of the years-long period where they were marketing to casual audiences, as opposed to the hardcore fans that would be on forums. Smash 4 wasn't as popular as Brawl, thus whatever activity it brought was proportionate. Brawl sold almost 14 million copies, Smash Wii U barely sold over 5 million.

2. It's been a while since Smash 4, and Ultimate is generating unprecedented hype, but it's not out yet. Right now, we're all just discussing our excitement, and only getting into concrete discussions on the rare occasion we get new information. We've only had two Directs and some gameplay here and there to sink our teeth into, and nothing else. Once the game is out, we can have more tangible discussions, and this place will be bustling. I expect Ultimate will sell over 10 million units in its lifetime, so there will probably be even more activity than there was for Smash 4, provided people opt for forums instead of Discord and Reddit.


What's ironic is that the "too big" meme was taken out of context. The full extent of what Sakurai was saying was "This character is a large boss in the games, able to pick up Samus and toss her around and do huge amounts of damage, so how do we size the character down and retain that essence?" When Sakurai said "It wouldn't be Ridley anymore," he means in the sense that if Ridley was just a reskinned Charizard, it would be Ridley about as much as Dark Samus is Dark Samus as an Echo Fighter. That is to say, it's better than nothing, but not doing the character real justice.

That's why Ridley as we've seen him is so impressive. Sakurai overcame that hurdle and made the character smaller, but still Ridley. The awesome grab move, the tail attacks, the design. It's all perfectly done. The character looks and feels like Ridley, but isn't too powerful as to be unfair.

But people watered down what he said to the "too big" meme and lost what the actual argument was. It wasn't about size as much as it was making the character balanced while still being faithful.

You bring up a lot of great points, and it makes me a bit sad that forums are making way for chats and social media, it feels inevitable that eventually it'll be a relic of the past. I've spent so much time on various forums ever since I first acquired an internet connection at all, for me it's just a much better platform to discuss things as I can take my time and not have to rush myself to be part of a conversation, since English isn't my first language it can be a challenge to be part of a natural conversation without being misunderstood or using poor grammar, so I never quite feel confident on Discord and the like. Forums also allow me to write long posts for when I really have a lot on my mind, I obviously haven't done that a lot since Ridley got confirmed as he's always been my main point of discussion on this site, but I felt like I got a lot out of it during the Smash 4 days, even if it was fruitless at the end.

I do use Reddit too, a lot even, but since I'm European I miss a lot of the more interesting discussions as they happen while I sleep, and by the time I wake up the thread is more or less done and dusted. It's also something I mostly just use for throwaway thoughts and banter, it's a horrible place for more insightful posts, and I really dislike the karma system overall as I feel that it discourages healthy discussions.

Not all forums are slowing down of course, Resetera is always booming because of how it's relevant for pretty much the entire gaming community, and while Smashboards isn't quite as active as it used to be it's still a very healthy community. How long it'll last post-release is a concern, but I'm not sure how long I'll be here after that anyways, although I want to do everything I can to learn as much about Ridley and be as good with him as possible speculation has of course always been the main draw for me, so this is more of a comment about the overall state of forums.

All of you bring up great points. I remember Smashboards to be more active during speculation of Smash 4. After the DLC, I did take a break from Smashboards and I am not sure how active it was during the period between the ending of Smash 4 DLC and when Ultimate was first unveiled back in March. I've only heard of this Discord recently, not sure what it's like. Reddit has become more popular in recent years and Twitter is still big.

How could I forget about the Ridley thread of Smash 4. A lot of days occurred when the thread page count jumped up around 10 per day and I had to catch up every single day. It's been four years since I created an account here on Smashboards. K. Rool and Ridley are the main reasons I joined this site in the first place. Meeting people who have similar interest in the character was quite the joy. I do miss the days when the thread used to be bustling with activity. Interacting and socializing plus counteracting detractor arguments made things fun. Also, AndreaAC 's art has and will always be a big part of my stay with the Ridley threads.

Everything feels so different now since Ridley was confirmed in June. I'm just glad we don't have to worry about leaks, detractor arguments, the suspense of not knowing whether Ridley was in or not. It feels so calm after the turbulent storms of speculation. I mean, who would have ever thought that my top two newcomers would get in in the same game. It is mind-blowing I tell you! Talk about a dream come true. I hope this place is still active maybe moreso when the game launches. I met so many great people here and hopefully I can continue to interact with you all down the road.

 

[AndreaAC]

Also, AndreaAC AndreaAC 's art has and will always be a big part of my stay with the Ridley threads.

; u ; Aww, I couldn't feel any more honored and happy to know that. I am glad my sketchy work was entertertaining for you all. That is why I wish I had the motivation and time to do more! Though for one reason or another, one being having too many ideas I don't know which one to make, I haven't been able to. So, I sincerily apologize for that.

I think the moment the game comes out (and well, if the order of the unlocking is a thing) and we are able to use Ridley to have some fun killings, this place will get lively.

 

[MasterOfKnees]

Super Metroid is a masterpiece in every sense of the world. It's one of my favorite games of all time, and is quite possibly my favorite in the whole series. It's the kind of game that would undoubtedly stand the test of time because of its incredible level design, its ways to test the ingenuity of the player, its atmospheric music, and memorable boss designs. I'd dare say it should even be one of those games that everyone should play at least once until they die, or at least the first Metroid title if they want to get into the series. It's truly among the greatest titles on the SNES, alongside games such as Super Mario World, EarthBound, Final Fantasy VI, and Mega Man X.

Agreed, it was my favorite game for the longest time, it turned me from a Metroid fan into a Metroid fanatic. It's one of those games that despite its age it just doesn't need a remake, it's aged incredibly well, even the muddy SNES graphics were utilized to create this gritty and alien atmosphere that serves it incredibly well, they really caught lightning in a bottle with it. The only problem I actually have with it is that weapon switching is pretty janky, but that's a minor issue.

 

[Nameless Kot]

Nintendo Direct confirmed for tomorrow Space Pirates.
Do you think we will get some delicious and so much needed Metroid Prime 4 trailer????

Smashwise, I am expecting one newcomer and one echoe (Isaac and Isabelle) and best case scenario 2 newcomers and 2 echoes (Isaac and Skull Kid /// Isabelle and Shadow)

 

[Jovahexeon Joranvexeon]

Nintendo Direct confirmed for tomorrow Space Pirates.
Do you think we will get some delicious and so much needed Metroid Prime 4 trailer????

Two things I would love in that department. One, confirm that Ridley's back for it. And secondly the pipe dream: that it takes place after Fusion for once.

 

[IsmaR]

I'm expecting the usual nothing until much later.

What I am hopeful for is an updated demo build (online testfire-style, down the line or otherwise) that will finally have Meta Ridley available for public use.

 

[Diem]

The Direct is likely going to be about:

• Nintendo Switch Online (for sure)
• Super Mario Party
• Pokemon Let's Go
• Some 3DS games
• Splatoon 2 update
• Dark Souls Remastered (since it's finally coming out, gotta remind people)
• Yoshi?
• One surprise for the end

I doubt there will be anything Smash related. We still have two or three newcomers and at least one substantial mode to reveal. People expecting Smash announcements tomorrow don't understand that Nintendo has quite a few other things to talk about, too. They already spent most of E3 on Smash, and then spent an equally long amount of time discussing it two months later. They need to also bring up their other games, especially the one that's launching in just a month. It's the cycle of people overhyping Directs that reasonably shouldn't get this much hype. I can't imagine what kind of whining there might be if there isn't a single Smash-related announcement tomorrow. I'm expecting another dedicated Smash Direct in a month from now, and that's where we'll get the rest of our info.

The only Smash related items might be some detailing of the online functions, or a surprise newcomer trailer, which would be the surprise at the end. Three of the most-requested characters are still in the running: Isaac, Skull Kid, and Geno. Whichever one is left out is going to create a really sore spot in the community, and if they all got as much support in the ballot 3 years ago as they're getting now, I don't think one of them would be excluded. Since it'd be difficult to reveal all three in a single Direct (with one at the beginning and one at the end, that'd mean another has to be awkwardly put in the middle somewhere), revealing one tomorrow would solve that issue.

That's the most reasonable expectation to have, but it's nowhere near a guarantee.

I also don't expect Metroid Prime 4 to be shown off. With all of the above, more pressing items, Metroid Prime 4 is best reserved for E3 or something bigger, not something to be crammed in with a bunch of other, smaller announcements. Especially since this Direct will likely be more multiplayer-focused. Metroid Prime 4 isn't too relevant.

 

[Cosmic77]

I'm kinda hoping we don't get any Metroid Prime 4 footage in the Direct. Unless it's coming out before next spring, I think it should be held off a little while longer, possibly until E3 2019.

As far as Ridley and Smash goes, there's not much else I'm dying to see. It would be pretty cool to see him fight against K. Rool, but that's likely not going to be in the Direct.

 

[OmegaX5000]

Well, the direct is going to wait for a little while due to some unfortunate natural disasters that happened over at Japan within the past 24 hours. There was an earthquake that caused massive damage, with at least 8 people that have been confirmed dead and 40+ are still missing, and I'm not sure how many are injured. I'm hoping that the survivors will be alright, and for things to get back to a safer state soon enough.

As disappointing as the direct being delayed is, I'm glad Nintendo did the respectful thing by postponing it so it wouldn't be released in bad taste. Besides, there are probably a lot of employees of theirs who have family over in the affected areas.

 

[PF9]

This would be a perfect theme song for Ridley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBmS342OQcI (yes it's finally uncensored)

 

[RidleyDX]

Seem like the No Dream Too Big youtuber made another great vid for King K Rool

Nice to see them acknowledge the camaraderie between the two fan bases

 

[IsmaR]

Down air quickly going from being slept on to being one of my favorite moves.

 

[Giga Kaiju]

And like that, soon enough Ridley will be a master at overturning the tides in a match, being a part of compilation videos of combos. This a nice timeline~

.

 

[AndreaAC]

And like that, soon enough Ridley will be a master at overturning the tides in a match, being a part of compilation videos of combos. This a nice timeline~

.

XP It took a milenia for that to finally happen (well, half a milenia because of Bagan's great Ridley mod), but yeah.

I don't know how I am even gonna feel after being so out of practice with Smash.

 

[AustarusIV]

So what is everyone here looking forward to in Ultimate besides playing as Ridley?

I’m really curious about that new ‘boss rush’ mode that Spirits mode seems to be building up to, especially since it apparently has Dracula and Rathalos as enemies to face. Bosses in Smash were something I’ve dreaded for the longest time since they always seemed to involve Ridley in some way, but now that he’s in I don’t have any worry about who you’d have to face in them. For the first time, I can wholly enjoy boss battles in Smash, playing through them with all the characters in the game, and potentially try to beat it at the highest difficulty, which I never did manage to do in Brawl because the Ridley bosses always bummed me out.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

So what is everyone here looking forward to in Ultimate besides playing as Ridley?

I loved Squirtle in Brawl, so his return is absolutely the best thing I’m looking forward to. Also loved playing all three in one, so I’m so excited to have the tram back.

Plus, now I have Squirtle vs. Mewtwo on Saffron City as a possibility.

I’m also going to have to spend ages getting all of the music set up properly. I hope all of the music is unlocked at the beginning too - I really don't like grinding for CDs

 

[Hippopotasauce]

It's a miracle that Ridley got into the Smash Bros game that seemingly has a dedicated boss fight mode. I'm so happy he's here.

 

[Diem]

So what is everyone here looking forward to in Ultimate besides playing as Ridley?

I’m really curious about that new ‘boss rush’ mode that Spirits mode seems to be building up to, especially since it apparently has Dracula and Rathalos as enemies to face. Bosses in Smash were something I’ve dreaded for the longest time since they always seemed to involve Ridley in some way, but now that he’s in I don’t have any worry about who you’d have to face in them. For the first time, I can wholly enjoy boss battles in Smash, playing through them with all the characters in the game, and potentially try to beat it at the highest difficulty, which I never did manage to do in Brawl because the Ridley bosses always bummed me out.

Take a guess.

That said, Ridley's probably going to be my secondary. R.O.B.'s been my main since Brawl, since none of the new characters in 4 were ones I really cared about. I like Mega Man, but he's like #4 or #5 on my list.

R.O.B. might get knocked to #3 this game, and Ridley might be my #2. Especially with that awesome Meta Ridley alt costume.

It's funny, because I might have played Samus more in Smash 4 if I liked her appearance. Not too big a fan of the Other M design. If she had her Prime 2/3 design, or if she at least had her Samus Returns design in Ultimate, I'd probably care about her more. And I know a lot of other people feel the same way. It's kind of unfortunate, but hopefully we get some DLC alt costumes post-launch. Too many characters deserve more, but are neglected.

As for bosses, I really hope we see some of the bosses from Brawl make a return. Tabuu would be awesome. Though I wonder what else there could possibly be, since characters like Bowser, Ridley, King K. Rool, Ganondorf, and Dedede are all playable. Giga Bowser might show up, what other characters from franchises might work? Kraid's part of a stage, so he's out. We're probably going to get some Fire Emblem boss, but I don't know enough about the series to guess who. Earthbound might get something, like Porky or someone else. Maybe Kirby will get Dark Matter, Marx, or Magolor.

The most awesome boss they could add, though, is Mike Tyson. Just a straight-up photorealistic Mike Tyson. Just do it you cowards.

 

[MasterOfKnees]

So what is everyone here looking forward to in Ultimate besides playing as Ridley?

I’m really curious about that new ‘boss rush’ mode that Spirits mode seems to be building up to, especially since it apparently has Dracula and Rathalos as enemies to face. Bosses in Smash were something I’ve dreaded for the longest time since they always seemed to involve Ridley in some way, but now that he’s in I don’t have any worry about who you’d have to face in them. For the first time, I can wholly enjoy boss battles in Smash, playing through them with all the characters in the game, and potentially try to beat it at the highest difficulty, which I never did manage to do in Brawl because the Ridley bosses always bummed me out.

I'm really looking forward to Squad Strike, this game has way too many fantastic characters, so being able to duke it out with several in one match is going to be great, it's something I really hoped would be implemented after having played DBFZ. Similarly Tournament Mode coming back is fantastic, just duking it out in an all-random Tournament with friends can pass a lot of time and gives you the opportunity to try out characters you might otherwise not have done, and you'll also have a motivation to really give it your all.

I'm also looking forward to unlocking every character, I'm sure that whatever streamlined way they've planned for it is going to be exciting to do the first time around.

 

[IronTed]

So what is everyone here looking forward to in Ultimate besides playing as Ridley?

I’m really curious about that new ‘boss rush’ mode that Spirits mode seems to be building up to, especially since it apparently has Dracula and Rathalos as enemies to face. Bosses in Smash were something I’ve dreaded for the longest time since they always seemed to involve Ridley in some way, but now that he’s in I don’t have any worry about who you’d have to face in them. For the first time, I can wholly enjoy boss battles in Smash, playing through them with all the characters in the game, and potentially try to beat it at the highest difficulty, which I never did manage to do in Brawl because the Ridley bosses always bummed me out.

Character-wise I'm really looking forward to Wolf returning, He was my secondary in Brawl and his exclusion from 4 still saddens me to this day. Dark Samus also looks really cool, Samus is in my pool of mains, so I'll be playing DS quite a bit.

Mode-wise squadstrike looks great, as does classic. I would spend hours upon hours messing around in Brawl's single player modes, so once again this is an area where 4 disappointed me. A robust amount of single player content is something I'm hoping for this time around.

Mechanic-wise the Final Smash meter looks neat, as does the changes to dodging and air dodging. A more aggressive Smash is something I'm looking forward too.

 

[AndreaAC]

So what is everyone here looking forward to in Ultimate besides playing as Ridley?

xD Playing as Rids trying not to shed tears of joy is gonna be complicated for me. And of course, contain myself from squealing similarly to when I got to the Omega Ridley fight for the first time.

Aside from that, I especially want to take silly snapshots, entertain myself with certain characters I use as punching bags and...I dunno, test every single stage, especially Norfair and HD Brinstar Depths. And draw stuff afterwards.

 

[meleebrawler]

So what is everyone here looking forward to in Ultimate besides playing as Ridley?

Assigning thematically appropriate songs to stages.

 

[SmashKeks]

The most awesome boss they could add, though, is Mike Tyson. Just a straight-up photorealistic Mike Tyson. Just do it you cowards.

I hadn't actually considered Punch Out! for a series that could have a boss, but thinking about it, that would actually be pretty cool. Mike Tyson would be awesome, but incredibly unlikely. That said, I could see Mr. Dream happening, or possibly Sand Man, the final fight in the original arcade stand Punch Out, and the Wii sequel. King Hippo would also be an iconic choice.

 

[soviet prince]

ridley could be a boss to, when you play as ridley you fight Alphonso instead

 

[Strider_Bond00J]

So what is everyone here looking forward to in Ultimate besides playing as Ridley?

I’m really curious about that new ‘boss rush’ mode that Spirits mode seems to be building up to, especially since it apparently has Dracula and Rathalos as enemies to face. Bosses in Smash were something I’ve dreaded for the longest time since they always seemed to involve Ridley in some way, but now that he’s in I don’t have any worry about who you’d have to face in them. For the first time, I can wholly enjoy boss battles in Smash, playing through them with all the characters in the game, and potentially try to beat it at the highest difficulty, which I never did manage to do in Brawl because the Ridley bosses always bummed me out.

I'm curious to see how Classic Mode turns out, but I'm also looking forward to playing this "Spirits" mode if it turns out to be some sort of Adventure Mode. Outside of that, I'm also looking forward to other fun modes like Squad Strike and Smashdown when I have people over or bring my Switch to my uni's Anime Club's weekly game days, so there's plenty to keep me busy outside of the online mode, which was where most of my Smash 4 play time went on the Wii U.

 

[StormC]

So what is everyone here looking forward to in Ultimate besides playing as Ridley?

I’m really curious about that new ‘boss rush’ mode that Spirits mode seems to be building up to, especially since it apparently has Dracula and Rathalos as enemies to face. Bosses in Smash were something I’ve dreaded for the longest time since they always seemed to involve Ridley in some way, but now that he’s in I don’t have any worry about who you’d have to face in them. For the first time, I can wholly enjoy boss battles in Smash, playing through them with all the characters in the game, and potentially try to beat it at the highest difficulty, which I never did manage to do in Brawl because the Ridley bosses always bummed me out.

Well, besides Ridley, my most wanted were K. Rool, Snake, and Wolf... so obviously I feel like I'm being catered to.

I'm really hoping "Spirits" is an enjoyable single player experience that, if not as long as Subspace Emissary, is something I'll want to revisit over and over. This game is putting in everything (and everyone) Smash 4 was lacking, and truly great single player experience would round that out perfectly.

I'm looking forward to attempting to unlock every song (all 800 of them... geez...), since I didn't do that with Smash 4 but I'll feel motivated to do so here.

Whatever DLC comes at this point is a plus. More content, yes please. Especially now that the core game has basically all bases covered, give it to me.

 

[Arcanir]

So what is everyone here looking forward to in Ultimate besides playing as Ridley?

I’m really curious about that new ‘boss rush’ mode that Spirits mode seems to be building up to, especially since it apparently has Dracula and Rathalos as enemies to face. Bosses in Smash were something I’ve dreaded for the longest time since they always seemed to involve Ridley in some way, but now that he’s in I don’t have any worry about who you’d have to face in them. For the first time, I can wholly enjoy boss battles in Smash, playing through them with all the characters in the game, and potentially try to beat it at the highest difficulty, which I never did manage to do in Brawl because the Ridley bosses always bummed me out.

Character-wise, I'm definitely trying out King K. Rool, Dark Samus, and Richter. All three of those are characters that I've loved from playing their games and the fact that I can have all three plus Ridley as newcomers in the game almost feels unreal. I'm also going to use Wolf and PT as both were characters I liked playing as in Brawl that I missed in Smash 4, and I'm really happy with the updates both have gotten between games.

In terms of the modes, I'm definitely trying out Squad-Strike as that will be a lot of fun to mess around with friends and family. Depending on how Spirit Mode turns out, I may also mess around with that, particularly if speculation is correct and Dracula is any indication for the direction behind it.

 

[soviet prince]

smash dis on the internet has been slow since the delay