So what do you think of Ridley's body shape/proportions now?

[KingBroly]

He's NES Metroid sized. If you took a screenshot of where he blew up Samus' ship during his Final Smash, you'd say 'that Ridley is Amazing and Perfect and I totally accept that' without knowing how big he truly is, then you should accept him when his true size becomes apparent.

 

[Quillion]

He's NES Metroid sized. If you took a screenshot of where he blew up Samus' ship during his Final Smash, you'd say 'that Ridley is Amazing and Perfect and I totally accept that' without knowing how big he truly is, then you should accept him when his true size becomes apparent.

We're talking about his body shape, not his size.

Sorry for double post, but I found a fantastic image that compares the sizes and designs of all Ridley in all canon games and then some (meaning Smash games). Thanks to Dalek_Kolt (even though you posted this on r/Metroid; sorry if you already posted it on this site).

As you can see, this image illustrates the various issues in regards to making Ridley playable.

• Metroid 1: Looks nothing like Ridley does now.
• Super: Wings are too small, head is too big, awkwardly curled up.
• Fusion: Limbs are too long, body is too long and awkwardly curled up.
• Zero Mission: Arms and hands are too long, wings are still small.
• Prime Trilogy: Wings are enormous
• Other M: Wings are enormous and tail is too long. Also, the muscles make him look ugly in my opinion.
• Samus Returns: Wings are still too big, tail is still too long. That said, limbs and torso are nearly perfect here.

 

[pupNapoleon]

They did a great job. I wouldn't mind him slightly bigger. But they did amazing with him

The "too big" crowd... I have no idea who these people are, or what ****hole country they are from, to have lacked the brain power to imagine the Ridley that we now have in smash

Hey man, it's chill. I agree with the sentiment, but not all people have the same strengths. A lot of people are very literal and dont have the same vision of creativity. They took Sakurai's words of "he is too big to fit" and felt it was true.

 

[soviet prince]

it's amazing, sakurai has my thanks

 

[Dalek_Kolt]

I've been mentioned twice on this thread, so my two cents:

I'm of the mind that if Ridley proves popular enough going forward that he starts appearing playable in more spinoffs that he should be split into two characters: a "Boss" Ridley that is usually twice Samus's size or as large as the game needs him to be to be fun to fight, and a "Playable" Ridley that's around Ultimate's size and can actually hold tennis rackets/Smash brothers/race karts without feeling like he was originally huge but just had his model shrunken down.

Kind of like Bowser.

 

[LittleMissEevee]

I like it, caught me off guard because I expected more bulk like how he was in legacy xp but its alright, I like it still

 

[Uffe]

When I first saw Ridley from Brawl modded into Sm4sh, I thought he looked awkward. His frame was too thin, so my support for Ridley being in Smash was changed. When someone modded Ridley from Other M into Sm4sh, my mind was changed. The thicker physique really made a difference, so I was for Ridley being in the next Smash, even if it seemed impossible at the time. How they made Ridley in Ultimate looks fine. It really works, he still looks intimidating, and I'm definitely going to try him out.

 

[Sean Wheeler]

Well, he's okay. I mean, at least we have a Metroid rep that isn't Samus. And at least Ridley is the tallest in the game, right? And if Olimar is supposed to be three quarters of an inch but had to be scaled up to fighter size, I don't see why it couldn't have worked with Ridley. But I prefer his Brawl design over anything.

 

[Quillion]

When I first saw Ridley from Brawl modded into Sm4sh, I thought he looked awkward. His frame was too thin, so my support for Ridley being in Smash was changed. When someone modded Ridley from Other M into Sm4sh, my mind was changed..

You mean this thing?

Putting aside the animations being WIP, he's certainly an improvement over Bagan's PM mod, but he's just too curled. Why does he have to uncurl slightly when he walks?

 

[Uffe]

You mean this thing?

Putting aside the animations being WIP, he's certainly an improvement over Bagan's PM mod, but he's just too curled. Why does he have to uncurl slightly when he walks?

Not that particular video. There is one where he's fighting and it looks fine. Maybe it was Brawl or PM? I don't know. Who is curled? The official Ridley in Ultimate, or the modded one? I'll have to watch Ridley in Ultimate.

 

[Quillion]

Not that particular video. There is one where he's fighting and it looks fine. Maybe it was Brawl or PM? I don't know. Who is curled? The official Ridley in Ultimate, or the modded one? I'll have to watch Ridley in Ultimate.

If you're talking about Bagan's Ridley mod for PM, then no, that Ridley was too poorly designed (body shape-wise) as a playable character to work. It was a valiant effort, yes, but not a good attempt.

 

[LittleMissEevee]

Well, in general, the characters that debuted in Smash 64 and Melee are generally less reflective of their canon selves than those that debuted from Brawl onward. Mario doesn't have his hammer, Samus only has projectile specials, Zelda got her signature weapon for her Final Smash then lost it, Sheik literally shouldn't exist other than her OoT design, DK doesn't have his Coconut Gun nor his Barrel Throw, Ness has no healing moves, Roy is a hotblooded anime warrior, and, of course, Ganondorf has a whole legion of whiners that will everything.

Really, the only two 64/Melee characters that I feel are just as faithful to their canon selves as the Brawl-onward characters are Kirby and Yoshi.

But then again, they need to respect older Smash fans by keeping these oddities. Plus, once you really look at the characters, these "oddities" actually respect the characters in different ways. None of Nintendo's other developers seem to object to the way that Sakurai portrays the earlier characters.

Um wouldnt samus only have projectile specials? like... she only really used projectiles in her games, the only reason she a
has the physicals she does is because aside from her specials she doesn’t have that big a physical arsenal nor does she have as many moves as megaman that would reasonably work, shinespark was repped by her tackle tho

 

[BaganSmashBros]

I think Ridley's proportions are fine and I've never seen them as a problem aside from the Metroid Prime and Other M designs. There is one thing that's really weird though and that is why they kept his tail so long. If needed, it can stretch, but they went through the trouble of having it be long all the time. It's not that I don't like it, but it's really weird after seeing everyone try to somehow make it curl around him or make it shorter.

You mean this thing?

Putting aside the animations being WIP, he's certainly an improvement over Bagan's PM mod, but he's just too curled. Why does he have to uncurl slightly when he walks?

For the record, this is a port of my mod, so, not an improvement (I wonder if it went anywhere since that video). And he's curled up because that's how he is in the games even when flying. It's a part of his design.

 

[Quillion]

I think Ridley's proportions are fine and I've never seen them as a problem aside from the Metroid Prime and Other M designs. There is one thing that's really weird though and that is why they kept his tail so long. If needed, it can stretch, but they went through the trouble of having it be long all the time. It's not that I don't like it, but it's really weird after seeing everyone try to somehow make it curl around him or make it shorter.

Oh hey, Bagan! I was wondering when you would give your two cents.

Honestly, I think they dealt with the tail quite beautifully. They gave him a pose similar to Smash 4 Bowser that has him stand diagonally to the playing field, which allows him to have his "good side" to the camera. It gave them room to stick his tail behind him so that it doesn't make his hitbox too confusing. I personally never would have thought of what they did.

For the record, this is a port of my mod, so, not an improvement (I wonder if it went anywhere since that video). And he's curled up because that's how he is in the games even when flying. It's a part of his design.

Yeah, I don't know. He seems more practical for being playable in that Smash U port than he does in your most recent version. Just my opinion, but I think his wings are too voluminous and his tail sticks out way too much in your design.

Again, no offense to you, and I really appreciate the effort you put into your mod. The body shape just didn't cut it for me, personally.

 

[BaganSmashBros]

Oh hey, Bagan! I was wondering when you would give your two cents.

Honestly, I think they dealt with the tail quite beautifully. They gave him a pose similar to Smash 4 Bowser that has him stand diagonally to the playing field, which allows him to have his "good side" to the camera. It gave them room to stick his tail behind him so that it doesn't make his hitbox too confusing. I personally never would have thought of what they did.

It still sticks out when he moves, but it is a nice way of getting it out of the way when he stands still when it actually matters. He's going to clip through things when moving anyway.

Yeah, I don't know. He seems more practical for being playable in that Smash U port than he does in your most recent version. Just my opinion, but I think his wings are too voluminous and his tail sticks out way too much in your design.
Again, no offense to you, and I really appreciate the effort you put into your mod. The body shape just didn't cut it for me, personally.

The one in this video isn't the most recent version. It's a separate mod I've yet to finish. The one you prefer was finished a while ago (even if it is severely outdated now). In Legacy XP, they are usually called Modern Ridley (the one with modified Other M design) and Classic Ridley (the one with modified Brawl model) to differentiate them.

 

[Quillion]

It still sticks out when he moves, but it is a nice way of getting it out of the way when he stands still when it actually matters. He's going to clip through things when moving anyway.

The one in this video isn't the most recent version. It's a separate mod I've yet to finish. The one you prefer was finished a while ago (even if it is severely outdated now). In Legacy XP, they are usually called Modern Ridley (the one with modified Other M design) and Classic Ridley (the one with modified Brawl model) to differentiate them.

Well at least for Classic Ridley (since I can't find the most recent Modern Ridley), I still think that the wings are still a huge problem with the model. It feels like his model almost doubles in size when he gets in the air.

 

[LancerStaff]

Honestly I think he looks hideous in every regard. Like, when he stands up straight... That’s not Ridley, that’s a man in a Ridley costume with the leg stilts like clowns have. Everything about him looks off...

 

[Quillion]

Honestly I think he looks hideous in every regard. Like, when he stands up straight... That’s not Ridley, that’s a man in a Ridley costume with the leg stilts like clowns have. Everything about him looks off...

I see you bring your famous contrarianism yet again...

Well too bad. It's either what we got now or

• He's quadrupedal, making him look short.
• He gets a really long torso, making him walk on his hind legs in a really awkward manner.

They had to effectively portray his tallness somehow, and compromising between a humanoid stance and a monstrous primal stance was the way to do it.

 

[Scicky]

I feel like his size is fine but that he doesn't "appear" big enough. Like, he's larger than DK, but due to his lankiness I feel like he's slightly less menacing than I want him to be. That's a perception thing though and not an actual issue with his model, since honestly I think if he got much larger it would start to become a little impractical. Maybe just a touch larger would be nice, but whatever.

 

[Dalek_Kolt]

I drew Ultimate Ridley.

I like how it's basically a standing version of the Zero Mission sprite.

 

[Quillion]

I drew Ultimate Ridley.
View attachment 151293
I like how it's basically a standing version of the Zero Mission sprite.

Huh. Now that you put them side by side, they really do look similar, just with Ultimate Ridley not having those comically small wings. That said, his hands and feet don't seem as enormous in Ultimate as they do in ZM.

 

[LancerStaff]

I see you bring your famous contrarianism yet again...

Well too bad. It's either what we got now or

• He's quadrupedal, making him look short.
• He gets a really long torso, making him walk on his hind legs in a really awkward manner.

They had to effectively portray his tallness somehow, and compromising between a humanoid stance and a monstrous primal stance was the way to do it.

Congratulations on the weird Ridley cosplay man, I suppose. Yaknow, it’s okay to complain about his looks or how he functions... Because if you ask me he looks really meh all around.

 

[BaganSmashBros]

Honestly I think he looks hideous in every regard. Like, when he stands up straight... That’s not Ridley, that’s a man in a Ridley costume with the leg stilts like clowns have. Everything about him looks off...

Ridley isn't supposed to stand up straight, so, it's bound to look odd (hence the "mom said it's my turn on the xbox" jokes), but I don't see where you're getting the stilts thing from.

 

[LancerStaff]

Ridley isn't supposed to stand up straight, so, it's bound to look odd (hence the "mom said it's my turn on the xbox" jokes), but I don't see where you're getting the stilts thing from.

I mean... That’s kinda why. It’s really awkward and out of place.

 

[Erimir]

But Ridley under most of his designs would look weird adopting that pose.

So is the problem his design or is the problem the taunt?

 

[meleebrawler]

The taunt is a meme. What did you expect? Ridley even does his best attempt at a troll face while doing it.

Edit: His standing taunt is a serious mocking gesture if you think about it. In all the Prime games he appears in, getting him to stand up (by shooting him in the mouth) is how you make him vulnerable, as he tries to keep his chest down and covered. By standing up in Smash, he is deliberately lowering his guard just to show how puny you are compared to him.

 

[ShroomEL]

Ridley turned out just *mwah* magnifique! They dialed down his size in a way that kept him still looking ferocious as ever even at smaller size. He has a much more humanoid form in Ultimate and he isn't in any weird or uncomfortable positions. Ridley was returned to his original height state from the original Metroid on the NES (In the first Metroid, Ridley was only slightly taller than Samus) which suits him better. He's more Bowser in terms of his size, and his wings are a reasonable Ridley size. I'm so excited to play Ridley! He looks amazing in Ultimate!

 

[meleebrawler]

I've always felt there was a strong ressemblance, both in appearance and personality, between Ridley and Firebrand from Demon's Crest/Gargoyle's Quest. The latter is basically what Ridley would be in an anti-villain role.

And this costume representing Firebrand in his ''Ultimate Gargoyle'' form, even bears Ridley's purple hue and spikes.

 

[Mc.Rad]

Real talk, I think this whole sort of rework of Ridley is better for the character. I get a feeling like they wanted to take away some of the more animalistic things that Ridley had and try to make him more human like. I think it's a good change since Ridley is supposed to be intelligent as well, so him being bipedal suits him being more intelligent than animalistic.

 

[Dalek_Kolt]

Cursed image

 

[Mc.Rad]

Cursed image
View attachment 151795

Ridley and his son Ridley Jr visit his old friend from work.

 

[vVv Rapture]

Real talk, I think this whole sort of rework of Ridley is better for the character. I get a feeling like they wanted to take away some of the more animalistic things that Ridley had and try to make him more human like. I think it's a good change since Ridley is supposed to be intelligent as well, so him being bipedal suits him being more intelligent than animalistic.

I think it's just because they wanted him to work as a fighter that was relatively close to the size of the other characters and not make him an oversized hitbox. Plus Ridley was already bipedal. They just made him more humanoid in shape so making him a fighter would be easy.

 

[BaganSmashBros]

Ridley in Ultimate is actually not any more humanoid than he normally is. They didn't change his proportions much either aside from maybe his wings (I'm saying maybe because it's hard to tell their true size when they are folded or he's moving).

 

[vVv Rapture]

Ridley in Ultimate is actually not any more humanoid than he normally is. They didn't change his proportions much either aside from maybe his wings (I'm saying maybe because it's hard to tell their true size when they are folded or he's moving).

I'd argue making him a bit more compact, less lanky, a bit beefy to a degree, and having him in the stance he's in is making him more humanoid.

 

[MasterOfKnees]

Not sure how I haven't commented in this thread yet, but I think he looks perfect. I like that he's not bigger than every other heavy weight, I love his idle pose, his design, that he's standing on two legs, it's everything I could have wished for. It was just as important to me that they nailed him as it was getting him into Smash at all, so I'm extremely grateful that he turned out like he did.

 

[Peeton]

Well what is there to really say? He's Ridley shrunken down to a playable size, ie. the only feasible way to implement him. Nobody who was anti-Ridley(like myself) thought that it was impossible to shrink him. Everyone knew this was possible across the board. The disagreement was whether it should be done, and I still believe it shouldn't have been done from a design standpoint. The only reason this should have happened was because fans wanted him so bad. That is literally the sole reason he should be in as he is in my view. Ridley looks, as I predicted and reiterated many times before his reveal, bastardized.

The new meme isn't that Ridley is too big...it's that he's too small. I personally can't get past the idea that he has been reduced to such a stature, but I'm glad people have their favorite character and are happy about it. To me, he looks very improper. My current "logic" is to trick myself into believing this is Ridley's newly hatched son that hasn't grown up yet, Ridley Jr.

That said, his proportions look acceptable...for that size. Although if you look at his character video, when he does his taunt at 0:04 he looks very disproportionate and weird. When he stands up it seems like his legs are awkwardly long in comparison to his torso, ultimately making him look skinny and not imposing AT ALL. They need to remove that taunt with something else because of how jarring it looks honestly. That was the worst possible pose to make him do, lol. He only looks somewhat proper when he is hunched over, giving the illusion he is larger than he truly is. When he is hunched over he's at his best in Ultimate. Because once he stands up straight, it becomes very evident how tiny this "big" dragon really is.

I would rather him be bigger, like clearly bigger. But it's probably next to impossible to balance him at a size a bit bigger than Bowser(which I would prefer). I will say that Ridley looks great to those who are unfamiliar with the character which is nice.

Well what is there to really say? He's Ridley shrunken down to a playable size, ie. the only feasible way to implement him. Nobody who was anti-Ridley(like myself) thought that it was impossible to shrink him. Everyone knew this was possible across the board. The disagreement was whether it should be done, and I still believe it shouldn't have been done from a design standpoint. The only reason this should have happened was because fans wanted him so bad. That is literally the sole reason he should be in as he is in my view. Ridley looks, as I predicted and reiterated many times before his reveal, bastardized.

The new meme isn't that Ridley is too big...it's that he's too small. I personally can't get past the idea that he has been reduced to such a stature, but I'm glad people have their favorite character and are happy about it. To me, he looks very improper. My current "logic" is to trick myself into believing this is Ridley's newly hatched son that hasn't grown up yet, Ridley Jr.

That said, his proportions look acceptable...for that size. Although if you look at his character video, when he does his taunt at 0:04 he looks very disproportionate and weird. When he stands up it seems like his legs are awkwardly long in comparison to his torso, ultimately making him look skinny and not imposing AT ALL. They need to remove that taunt with something else because of how jarring it looks honestly. That was the worst possible pose to make him do, lol. He only looks somewhat proper when he is hunched over, giving the illusion he is larger than he truly is. When he is hunched over he's at his best in Ultimate. Because once he stands up straight, it becomes very evident how tiny this "big" dragon really is.

I would rather him be bigger, like clearly bigger. But it's probably next to impossible to balance him at a size a bit bigger than Bowser(which I would prefer). I will say that Ridley looks great to those who are unfamiliar with the character which is nice.

i think that taunt is the funniest thing ever. He just stands. He shows his dominance over you. He’s taller than every character and it makes me laugh every time! Especially the gross bone and muscle crackles. It’s great!

 

[vVv Rapture]

"The only reason this should have happened was because fans wanted him so bad. "

This is such a dumb argument. It's not like fans wanted him for so bad for no reason or because it's a meme. It became a meme later. Ridley is highly requested because he's Metroid's major antagonist, and one of Nintendo's main villains in a game pretty devoid of actual antagonists. It's like not having Bowser or Ganondorf when you have Mario and Link. Those are major reasons why he was desired, plus considering Metroid barely had any reps in Smash up until this point.

Anti-Ridley people seem to conveniently ignore this and strawman or literally have no idea what's coming out of their face lol

 

[Dalek_Kolt]

Made a mockup of Super Mushroom Ridley for fun. It's pretty close to what I see is ideal.

 

[AustarusIV]

Made a mockup of Super Mushroom Ridley for fun. It's pretty close to what I see is ideal.
View attachment 151847

I'm a little surprised at how close Super Metroid Ridley is in terms of size when compared to Zero Mission Ridley. I always thought Super Metroid Ridley was the 'smallest' of the "big boss" Ridleys and that most Ridley appearances later on were following the Prime/Zero Mission Ridley in terms of height. Turns out they're mostly identical, huh.

I'd still love to see a comparison of Super Mushroom Ridley and all the other past Ridley appearances, though.

 

[Dalek_Kolt]

I'm a little surprised at how close Super Metroid Ridley is in terms of size when compared to Zero Mission Ridley. I always thought Super Metroid Ridley was the 'smallest' of the "big boss" Ridleys and that most Ridley appearances later on were following the Prime/Zero Mission Ridley in terms of height. Turns out they're mostly identical, huh.

I'd still love to see a comparison of Super Mushroom Ridley and all the other past Ridley appearances, though.