Dedede is more or less a mixed character. He harasses the opponent on the ground with his projectiles, quick and ranged hits, good grab range and annoying chaingrab, and he even has his Inhale to catch opponents off guard. But once he gets his foe in the air, he goes after them with more direct attacks. He's not fast enough to chase anything down in the air, but he's also very difficult to challenge while airborne.
With Ridley, I see him working somewhat like a mix between Jigglypuff, Peach, and Dedede.... I should explain...
Like Jigglypuff, he has above-average aerial speed and can control his height very well with short but consistent midair jumps.
Like Peach, he can harass opponents with a mix of multi-hit attacks and moves that knock away, all off a few jumps.
Like Dedede, his moves would also have considerable range. This would be due to his tail and other appendages.
With all of this, Ridley seems like a terrible threat. But the tricky part would be actually getting people to face him in the air. On ground, Ridley would be slow and sort of clumsy, relying on staggered tail attacks, simple claw and bite moves, and fireballs to control space. In actuality he would be lacking in upward launching moves and would have to rely on finding ways to rack up damage to get his opponent into a danger zone where it's easy to get them airborne. Ridley would have throws as options, but only at lower percentages. Afterward they would launch the opponent a considerable distance and limit opportunities to go to work in the air.
BUT... once in the air, Ridley's chances of scoring a KO significantly increase. Optionally, Ridley can just stick to the air as often as possible and harass the opponent until they make a bad move. On the other hand, if they do get in, Ridley's huge frame and MODERATELY heavy body can quickly reverse the momentum against him.
I thought this would escalate... glad it didn't.
