Media Ridley Match Analyses, Tips/Discussion

[Tortfeasor]

After a year I'm still fully devoted to Ridley, although I admit that I've been more than tempted to pick Shulk or Samus/Dark Samus up instead. I love everything about Ridley in Smash (except that he's a low/mid tier), but what absolutely kills me is the amount of effort you have to put in every single match - especially when you have people who main Palutena (and other easy characters) show up to tournaments and place well while seemingly putting zero effort into the game. When I'm on my game playing Ridley is the most fun I've ever had with any game in the series, but when I'm not it's a living hell and unfortunately that's really just the nature of the character.

I had the same feeling with Ridley the other night in my Arena. I love using Ridley, but the difference between using a low/mid tier character versus the top tiers is rather stark, notwithstanding how balanced the game is overall. It gets disheartening when your fighting against characters (with a decent player behind them) that just shut down Ridley and have an answer for everything Ridley can do.

I think I'm getting to a point where the difference in potential between the tiers is a lot more pronounced. I certainly could do a lot better with Ridley, but it just feels like I could grow a lot more with other characters. For example, I like using Mega Man as a secondary and while I can't say I'm better with Mega Man (I'd have to look at my stats with each character), I get the sense there is a lot more potential there. I don't generally find myself being dominated when using Mega Man, like sometimes happens with Ridley. For example, if I'm in a bad matchup as Ridley and I lose, I can lose hard, but with Mega Man, even if I lose it's usually pretty close. Also, with Mega Man I feel like I can answer most options available to other characters, whereas with Ridley it just feels like I don't have any against some characters (especially a decent zoner, both character and player).

Hell, I even messed around with Palutena the other night and even not really knowing the character, it was pretty liberating to have safe moves I could toss out without much thought. I could really see her potential and why she is such as attractive character. Still, I'll stick with Ridley as I have wanted him in Smash since Melee and I could never bring myself to jump on the top tier bandwagon.

 

[ChrisMDB]

So I was recently looking back at previous techs posted or found... And this one here actually feels more relevant now with the shield buffs Ridley got in 7.0. While you don't see it, parry size is always slightly bigger than one's shield size, so with the buffs to Ridley's shield, parry size should've also increased theoretically.

Either way, after practicing the above tech, found out that you don't actually have to shield SDI like the tweet comment suggested, though it can help at times, but is easier to just buffer your dash during the parry animation. Works like a charm and you'll immediately close in on zoners you parry. Got my confidence back again with Rids.

edit: Seems the above link doesn't work here because the person's username which is in the link has a swear word that's censored, but hopefully I got the point across still. /shrug


For other tips, since I never saw it brought up here and don't think it's as well known, if you press or hold down B during Space Pirate Rush, you will release the opponent immediately, which either allows for another SPR by the time they get up, or a landing aerial. Also if you hold down on the left stick before SPR releases, Ridley's forward momentum comes to a full stop and you get a chance to do an immediate followup attack which the opponent likely won't expect, or if they back up, hit them with forward wing blitz because of the distance created (just be careful with it depending on stage position of course).

Recent further labbing has also made Ridley's triple throw combo more realizable. D-throw Nair > D-throw IRAR Nair > D-throw with whatever finishing followup you want. A visual of the 2nd throw part can at least be seen here, but it's basically an attack cancel nair with some forward momentum, and you get plenty frames after the reverse nair to followup with a 3rd grab. The combo matchup chart will have to be kinda redone because of this finding, but Rid's combo game evolving couldn't of come at a better time, considering.

Do you know of anywhere I could find a tutorial on that tech? Looks sick, and I'd love to add it to my arsenal.

 

[Ridley_Prime]

Do you know of anywhere I could find a tutorial on that tech? Looks sick, and I'd love to add it to my arsenal.

If you mean the first part, found an alternate video on it here. Of course, can be done with any character; the parry into early dash thing, but with the recent shield/parry buff for Ridley, should be even easier now.

If you mean the last bit with the triple throw combo, here's a full visual on it. Is not in youtube format yet from what I know, but the link still works.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/533414241651392522/684680627014205441/1080p.mov

To actually do the IRAR Nair part (whether after the d-throw or just in general), the way I have it set up and would recommend is setting a bumper button to jump such as ZR, and

Input while facing right: D-throw -> flick analog stick to dash forward (short foxtrot dash) -> let go of analog stick -> f-tilt left -> jump

It will result in the forward momentum attack cancel reverse nair. Key note is to provide enough of a gap between the f-tilt input and jump input so as not to result in a reverse f-air. Took a decent deal of practice for me at first, but is almost 2nd nature now.

As far as a general tutorial vid for IRAR, I guess there's this, but I'd might use it for learning the IRAR b-air first which is easier, and then the Nair. IRAR is what makes d-throw > b-air true and possible for Rids as shown in like this clip here.

 

[ChrisMDB]

If you mean the first part, found an alternate video on it here. Of course, can be done with any character; the parry into early dash thing, but with the recent shield/parry buff for Ridley, should be even easier now.

If you mean the last bit with the triple throw combo, here's a full visual on it. Is not in youtube format yet from what I know, but the link still works.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/533414241651392522/684680627014205441/1080p.mov

To actually do the IRAR Nair part (whether after the d-throw or just in general), the way I have it set up and would recommend is setting a bumper button to jump such as ZR, and

Input while facing right: D-throw -> flick analog stick to dash forward (short foxtrot dash) -> let go of analog stick -> f-tilt left -> jump

It will result in the forward momentum attack cancel reverse nair. Key note is to provide enough of a gap between the f-tilt input and jump input so as not to result in a reverse f-air. Took a decent deal of practice for me at first, but is almost 2nd nature now.

As far as a general tutorial vid for IRAR, I guess there's this, but I'd might use it for learning the IRAR b-air first which is easier, and then the Nair. IRAR is what makes d-throw > b-air true and possible for Rids as shown in like this clip here.

Thanks a million! All of that is invaluable and I'll be sure to study up, I had no idea any of this had been found.

 

[Ridley_Prime]

My worst kept secret is revealed, grab any item from a ledge jump as any character.

Don't want to see anyone complaining about gyro at ledge any more! pic.twitter.com/Hs5arjnh6i

— Spuddles (@MrSpuddles) April 7, 2020

This is more universal and not exclusive to Ridley, but damn, mastering this will help with a number of worst matchups.

 

[Gamer Cube]

I've also been labbing Ridley a ton and I have some tips. With the DThrow -> FTilt, if you angle the tail upwards it tends to hit pretty consistently. Also, if you hit a dragdown nair there is a possibility for a down tilt if they're grounded, and down tilt can lead to a forward air chain. A good starting combo if you can get it is DThrow -> Nair -> DTilt -> Fair. An easy way to get that grab at the start if they aren't paying attention is just sending out a single fire ball at the start of the match. Like mario's fire ball, if they drop through the platform at the very start, the fireball will hit them. This stuns them so you can get a grab and a ton of percent from the resulting combo.

Also, you can be the best Ridley player in the world if you press nair. Nair is insane.

 

[Ridley_Prime]

Okay, didn't know about this before, but you know how you can do like the thing with upward wing blitz where you shark past the platform and not grab it when you hold down on left stick prior, thus hitting whoever's edgeguarding you with it? Well the same thing works with using forward wing blitz towards a platform, except you'll still grab it as you hold either down or forward during it, and it makes your hitbox extend a bit further into the stage when recovering that way, allowing you to hit those close to the ledge. It also prevents Ridley from bonking his head against the wall part of the platform when trying to recover which sometimes happens when recovering that way. This was labbed kinda recently, but I guess it's time more wing blitz/recovery stuff like this was found out.


Also, falling f-air into jab 3 (holding A instead of mashing it which leads to the rapid jab) is a neat less known kill confirm. Jab 3 by holding A is a good kill option in general at higher %'s, which as you know is slept on with how much rapid jab tends to be used instead.

Fastfall f-air can also lead into a reverse up smash with how quick it is. The opponent can technically DI out of you following the f-air, but with how quick up smash is, can still catch them off guard, as they likely won't expect it. Clip of it here.

 

[RomanceDawn]

Man Ridley-Prime every time you post I feel like it's something that will help me up my game. But gadzooks do I have a hard time implementing actual combos or just all around good habits. I live on the West Coast in the United States, can we play some time? Not Ridley dittos but my others against your Ridley just to be in matches with a player like you.

 

[Ridley_Prime]

Man Ridley-Prime every time you post I feel like it's something that will help me up my game. But gadzooks do I have a hard time implementing actual combos or just all around good habits. I live on the West Coast in the United States, can we play some time? Not Ridley dittos but my others against your Ridley just to be in matches with a player like you.

I thank you for the kind words, but to be honest I'm more of a mid/average player whose on and off from the game, though since I finally just finished and caught up on my gaming backlog for the most part during these quarantine times, was planning to get back into things like Smash again here and there as we draw closer to the ARMS character release/update...

And yeah, anyone like myself or you can pull off those combos and techs though practice in training mode, but making a habit out of them in actual matches is a whole other thing... That said, yeah, I'd be down for playing sometime which would help improve myself as well. Just tell me your Switch FC sometime since I still don't see it listed in your profile.

 

[Ridley_Prime]

Gonna start practicing this soon I guess. Need a new tech to try and practice (well, new for me) during this new patch where Ridley didn't get much again aside from the mixed Skewer tradeoff. Nair footstool actually seems promising.

Our matchup with Min Min is fairly average I guess; not as bad as I initially thought/feared because of her range.

 

[Ridley_Prime]

I guess to some extent, up throw is the new normal for tech chasing on platforms with skewer since we can’t do it with d-throw anymore (the demonstration against the Ike there was beautiful), but d-tilt can lead into it and other things better (platform or not).

I tried finding a possible replacement for the old noob killer combo (down throw > skewer), and what I got was

d-throw > jab 1 & 2 > skewer
d-throw > n-air > skewer
d-throw > f-air > skewer

If people could sometimes fall for the old d-throw > skewer, chances are those ways could work on them too. The middle one would probably be the most consistent though.


I also labbed the % ranges in which d-tilt > skewer sweetspot would connect versus everyone. Basically just do a point blank down tilt and immediately buffer skewer (standing), and you'll land the sweetspot on the characters within the mentioned damage range. Took me quite a few hours to finish and some of the number ranges are likely more an estimation, but still, should work for those who don't tech after getting launched by down tilt. The same way down throw > skewer used to sometimes work on people at 0%, but d-tilt requires a specific but simple % range per character.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1szuvO5KYYrXjwnHdf4oLqO0hgzauaKR9dD2GQbaEeVs/edit#gid=0

Down tilt into aerial aerial skewer is a thing too obviously, but would be trickier to lab out solo, and basically goes hand in hand with the platform tech chase stuff anyway; i.e. knocking the opponent into an upper platform with d-tilt followed by skewer or something, since we can no longer follow up a skewer with d-throw.


But yeah, enjoy the slight damage increase for down B with this new knowledge, and happy tail swiping/stabbing.

edit: D-tilt can also potentially frame trap into skewer, because if they do a neutral airdodge after being launched from the d-tilt, you can still skewer them. Likewise, you can punish them doing a landing techroll behind with a dash in and reverse skewer after the d-tilt, and shorthop forward skewer to punish techroll away. Also too, can do an EDC down tilt to d-tilt them from a distance if need be, and for platform tech chases, the percent range for d-tilt following into skewer is generally from 15 to 35%.

 

[Ridley_Prime]

Miss tech + Air Choke + Body Blocking + Ledges = pic.twitter.com/y6g4R80o4t

— MGK (@MGK_Ganondorf) July 21, 2020

What if I said this also works with Ridley's side B command grab after getting the incentive to try it out? Because it does.

Anyone who doesn't tech and just waits to get up while on a battlefield platform near a ledge or just near any ledge in general, will be punished by space pirate rush and presumably any command grab this way, long as they're near the ledge while downed.

 

[Ridley_Prime]

Fastfall f-air with sourspot (when you get up close with it as opposed to spacing it for the sweetspot) surprisingly combos well into a number of moves and things. It doesn't knock them too far away, and you have enough frame advantage to act on plenty followups afterward. One such thing I tested and confirmed was fastfall f-air > up tilt > up air. Can also use it as a setup for leading into a dash attack kill at high %, or as another option for leading into a grab.

Just remember to fastfall by holding down during the f-air animation (making you land back on the ground sooner) to maximize the time you get for your followups after. Test what works for you and try it out!

 

[RomanceDawn]

How in the heck are we supposed to fight Bayonneta with Ridley? I just played an amazing Bayo and can't figure that match up out at all.

 

[Ridley_Prime]

How in the heck are we supposed to fight Bayonneta with Ridley? I just played an amazing Bayo and can't figure that match up out at all.

I suppose if I had to guess, play it more safe and defensive in neutral (retreating nairs and such). She can still be edgeguarded as effectively as before with her recovery when we're in the advtanage, but when she's in the advantage state and has us in disadvantage like with the air kill combos from her recent buffs, we're kinda ****ed there.


Sorta relevant, but was gonna post this.

You could be getting combo'd because you tried to airdodge and not even know it pic.twitter.com/BfV4BOQt6W

— mash (@MashSSB) August 2, 2020

The DI down out of combos part specifically was kind of an eye opener, seeing how it was done there with the Dedede, and was said it can be done with all characters, so... If Ridley's do this, he may not be combo food as much or as often, at least during earlier percents.

 

[Ridley_Prime]

Ridley Landing Fair Tip:

If you Fair + Fastfall at the peak of your full hop, you will consistently land with the 3rd hit. Allowing you to hit even small targets. You can do this to avoid accidentally mistiming and landing with Fair 2, which can get you punished. pic.twitter.com/46phEWrxa7

— Vreyvus (@Vreyvus) August 10, 2020

... So that's another way to get around the little guys pancaking you.

For the shorthop version, if you want to land with just the 1st hit of fair, you can do so by doing shorthop fastfall + fair at the peak. Will also get fair 1 should you fastfall through a platform. What helped me do this one more consistently alone though after going back to it recently was doing one of the two jump button macros (X + R for a shoulder jump button in my case), pressing forward on the right/C-stick, then immediately holding down and you'll get fair 1 basically every time. When close enough with the hitboxes of fair 1, combos into jab > tech chase, grab (do a nair regrab if they're at 0%), and such (can u-tilt on some characters), and if you do fair 1 max spaced, can safely do mid range moves like tipper f-tilt or d-tilt. Can also do fair 1 > gentleman jab > EDC d-tilt.

Whereas with the fullhop version it was usually me inputting fair + fastfall at the same time, but if you do so for shorthop you'll usually land before the first hit of fair can even come out, so do those last couple inputs one right after the other, not at the same time.

Landing fair 3 also combos into dash grab at 0-10% on most characters, and combos into dash attack at mid %. Useful for Pikachu and other short characters as aforementioned, since you can auto space fair 3 if you use it at the apex of a fastfall fullhop. As such, I got this over 50% combo on Pikachu after a little quick labbing, starting at 0%.

Fullhop fastfall fair 3 > dash grab > d-throw > fastfall fair > dash attack

For off stage, while the fair train is just a DI knowledge check or a 50/50 with fair followed by SPR or another fair, against heavies or floaties that can't fall out that fast, Ridley can mix in a fastfall after the first fair (especially if they are dead set on recovering low) while giving a tight window to react and continue the string. For anyone else, just do a falling nair when they fall to escape the fair train and thus gimping them, or down angle Wing Blitz if you're facing the ledge so you can snap to it after.

Another option is double nair off stage since there are some characters that can simply double jump out of the fair train and nair gives a better shot to still catch them because it's faster and hits higher.


Also remember Flickshot and Holdshot f-air. When safely landing with a tipper f-air on shield, can do some Slingshot option afterward too.

 

[Ridley_Prime]

This makes things like down throw > u-tilt much easier for Rid, or just approaching with u-tilt in general, and helps connect with it at higher percentages. Tested it, and the range you get from doing what basically becomes a sliding up tilt with him is nothing to sneeze at.

 

[Ridley_Prime]

Tested without DI cause I'm a scrub pic.twitter.com/0yVZbYKNPz

— PEPPERMAN (@acroraptor) September 15, 2020

Another thing that was labbed more recently, but using down tilt on someone that's hanging from ledge works well for off-stage followups. Most notably, the b-air kill. The opponent can technically DI away after the d-tilt, but with how big the hitbox of Ridley's b-air is to begin with, will be pretty hard to avoid, along with making it harder for them to recover by jumping further away from stage just to try avoiding it, which would also just allow Ridley to followup with another punish with his offstage game.

This whole setup's pretty similar to how Mewtwo's tail with its d-tilt on ledge hangers leads into possible followup kills or kill confirms depending on the move used afterward. With Ridley's already well known arsenal of ledge guarding though, I guess something like this be slept on, but d-tilt from ledgehang can be good in leading into potential kills at earlier percents, but otherwise just use f-tilt on a ledgehanger if they're at much higher %.

p.s. Sorry for the multi-posting, but these posts were like days/weeks after one another, and not like this forum's active now anyway.

 

[ChrisMDB]

Tested without DI cause I'm a scrub pic.twitter.com/0yVZbYKNPz

— PEPPERMAN (@acroraptor) September 15, 2020

p.s. Sorry for the multi-posting, but these posts were like days/weeks after one another, and not like this forum's active now anyway.

Don't feel bad about multi-posting, the resources and information that you repeatedly bring to the site are very much appreciated.

 

[Ridley_Prime]

Thanks. I guess slow forums such as this be good for archive purposes now if nothing else.

Oh yeah, for the Steve matchup, aside from us being able to slam him into walls with side B, we can use our tilts on him through the blocks.





Skewer sweetspot won't connect though despite the tail going through the block. However, standing on the blocks will cancel the end lag of Skewer, after the animation at least. On that note, since items make hitboxes last longer, having a crafting table makes 2-framing (in the case of our forward smash) and roll catching easier vs Steve.

For recovering against him, if a block is placed right next to ledge, Ridley will snap with his up B just fine, but if the block is a square below the ledge he'll bonk. Only Steve's d-tilt and TNT really hits us from onstage when we're trying to recover. This is a character who made everyone have to rethink their recovery game, but Ridley wasn't especially screwed in that regard imo. The teleporters have had the worst learning curve in dealing with Minecraft, if you ask me.

Other than that, this might be a MU to skewer from ledge jump more, with how often we'll be camped. Was also found that using a fireball from off-stage after Steve knocks you with his minecart can be a good camp counter for you to get back on stage, and you’ll want to f-tilt poke him into wherever his TNT’s are placed for an easy punish.

This is kinda the first DLC character whose edgeguarding and planking puts even Ridley's to shame, but despite Steve's advantage game, he doesn't deal with pressure all that well, so not a total losing MU; we have almost as much jank against him as he does against us. Apart from him, we finally got that parry projectile fix in 9.0, so remember the silver linings.

 

[Ridley_Prime]

Dthrow>upair>upair
Works on all plateforms (I didn't try on SV)
Don't looks true until 3% pic.twitter.com/GULY2BY5MW

— R-B | Human (@Human_ssb) August 22, 2020

... So that’s how you make uair > uair a reliable combo. Question is how long it lasts for and if it kills well at a certain point. Might be matchup dependent but still, cool setup.

 

[Ridley_Prime]

Seriously dtilt onto plat -> sweetspot nair needs to become a bnb for Ridley mains. There are so many possibilities off of such a big move and it's easy to land from defensive positions which is huge pic.twitter.com/u3BErP4fXx

— PEPPERMAN (@acroraptor) December 4, 2020

He's right. Saw him do those kind of combos before on occasion, but this particular setup or bnb with platforms is the kind of nuance separates a high level Ridley from a lesser one. Also gives better advantage and position than always just up smashing under a plat. That's a good punish too especially if charged, but you get more out of this.

Gonna try that more again next time I'm in training mode.