Important The Ridley for SSB4 Thread - End of an Era

[Ridley_Prime]

Hopefully by the time Smash 5/6 rolls around, we'll have a new Metroid game that does the character of Ridley justice and actually makes people see him as more than a big purple obstacle.

Space Pirates to the end!

Apart from maybe the pre-evolution crap, I thought Other M did him justice as a character (ignoring people's dislike for the design). The kind of intelligence, trickery, and cunning shown during any of the clone's lifecycles though was a force to be reckoned with, and made him more than just another boss really...

Honestly, after seeing how Ridley fights on Pyrosphere, I am not impressed. He doesn't look unique... okay, so he uses his claws to scratch, that's never been done before in Smash... he breathes fire, that's totally original... really, what makes him unique? What new stuff does he has to bring to the table? I mean, yes... Ridley's inclusion would make (certain) people want to buy the game... but I am not seeing how Ridley would be unique nor does he fit into the style of Smash... nor does he contribute to the game balance (IMO, he's too big that it's like playing a permanent Giga Bowser with wings).

If custom moves have shown us anything, it's that even something as seemingly redundant as fire breath can be made different in various ways; the custom variations for Bowser and Charizard's phire are completely different, so I have little doubt a playable Ridley's phire, or his clawz and other things that might normally feel like "been there, seen that" could be changed up significantly from others' versions of those moves. Plus no one's used their tail for attacks in ways that Ridley has (not Charizard or anyone). Tail drilling, etc. They could even have Ridley using ice breath as a custom variant to his regular fire as a nod to Ice Ridley from Metroid Blast/Nintendo Land, and stuff like that. Then there's his cybernetic weapon and Phazon arsenals, etc...

As for him on Pyrosphere, it's not like bosses even have to be unique themselves (take Melee Giga Bowser who was just Bowser on steroids), and there's generally less thought that have to be put into a boss's moveset (full of predictably overpowered attacks that you gotta dodge!) than there is a playable character's moveset. So, I don't think it's entirely fair to even judge Ridley's moveset potential based on how he is on Pyrosphere as a boss even though that Rids has some properties of a playable, but whatever I guess.

Only saying this much since you asked what else Ridley could bring to the table... At any rate, so what if he would even happen to be a semi-clone or somethin' in moveset? I mean wouldn't you gladly still take Dixie Kong as a character even if she was a Diddy clone apart from the hair twirling? That may be beside the point though, since whenever Sakurai puts his full efforts into a character, he'll surprise us like with Rosalina whom most thought would be a Peach clone... Plus there's creative liberties to take into consideration for a playable Ridley moveset; even as a boss Sakurai has done creative liberties with Ridley (in both this game and Brawl), and it was he of all people who introduced Ridley's now sorta infamous wall grinding/dragging move.


Anyway, as for last words before the thread closes, don't have too much to say that I haven't said already. No regrets here on returning to speculate Ridley and other wanted characters. What we got in the end still made it worth the experience, so it was no waste of time or anything. And while I can't speak for everyone, I'm happy with how he was handled as a stage boss compared to the slow floaty pinata that explodes like Yellow Devil that I was expecting (yeah, there's things like his tail taking damage unlike in Metroid games, but it was to be expected with how characters translate into bosses in Smash, where anywhere can be hit/be a weak point). It seems more and more with each Smash game, he gets closer and closer to the role of a playable character, so maybe the extra last mile will be done for him next time? ( ) Chin up, fellow pirates. Never lose your conviction! And uh.. yeah. What others said for what to do in the future.

My goodwill comments even extend to you Arcadenik, and others who may have been indifferent or whatever on Ridley before. Letting bygones be bygones, and I wish y'all equally good luck on getting your other wanted characters in next time (especially Toad in your case who I still wouldn't mind seeing ).

 

[RidleyDX]

Well I prefer my last post to not end in anger so ill try to make this brief. Yeah it sucks Ridley is not a playable character, and yeah Sakurai should have stated this months ago like he does with every character that has a snowball's chance in hell to be in this game but whatever, that's reality. That said, I don't regret supporting Ridley and hanging out here, its been tons of fun and I wouldn't trade it for anything. So until next time My fellow Ridley comrades, it's been one heck of a ride.

 

[AbioFlesh]

Last words, eh? Well, the was one heck of a ride. I promise, next time when Sma5h comes around things will be different.
If you want something, make your voices heard (and don't forget to be respectable in the process) We have prolly another got another 7 yearsdeargodihopenot until the next game and there is always DLC. So during that time you have, do whatever you can do (project m, whatever) or else it'll be the same thing over again.

 

[Cyberguy64]

Apart from maybe the pre-evolution crap, I thought Other M did him justice as a character (ignoring people's dislike for the design). The kind of intelligence, trickery, and cunning shown during any of the clone's lifecycles though was a force to be reckoned with, and made him more than just another boss really...

My beef with how he was handled in Other M was that he does nothing for the overall plot, except make Samus look bad whenever he shows up (Which, of course, is the running theme of the game.) Once he's finished humiliating her, he runs off before she can kill him and he gets eaten offscreen by the Metroid Queen. It's the absolute least fitting way for him to go out.

Ridley should not just be a plot device. He should be an active character with an agenda. He has to be more than simply a cunning and powerful monster, or else nobody will think of him as anything beyond that. Super Metroid did a good job of showing him swiping the Baby Metroid, giving him the kickstart to his personality. Zero mission showed him preparing to take on Samus personally in cutscenes, and showed us his more technical and vain side with Mecha-Ridley.

Show us that he's got a master plan. Don't just make him a "clever girl."

 

[Jeanne]

do you ever plan on continuing the drawings?

It really depends. I could but I drew them back when I thought there was no doubt ridley was gonna be in the game so I depicted him feeding on characters to grow stronger for smash. Would Birdly eating characters still be relevant now?

 

[NATGamer]

I really did not post here a lot or lurk a lot, but I will say, Ridley was one of my most requested characters. I am not someone who is grasping at straws and saying he still has a chance for DLC, but still am a tad bit dissapointed with how he was dealt with. All I can say now is never lose hope my friends! Characters who have been requested for years like Mega Man and Little Mac finally got in so I know Ridley will eventually get his day.

Appreciate Smash 4 for everything it has and when (or if) Smash 5 (technically 6) comes out, let the speculation run rampid yet again. Character speculation for Smash 4 was truly a blast, hope to see many of you online! And remember to NEVER falter

 

[AGreatProcrastinator]

Sorry guys, really thought he'd be in this time. To me several things about the way Ridley was implemented make it kind of look like they tried to make him playable, couldn't work it out for whatever reason and decided to include him as best as they could with their completed assets.
It's been fun to lurk here on occasion; keep alive hope for 5!

 

[AuraShaman]

And now, I present to you a memorable part from "How the Shokio stole Ridley" by Dr. Brain.

*ahem*


"What wonderful luck!" said the Shokio. "Ridley is deconfirmed, once again he's proven too big!" He did not hesitate to publish his recap video, pulling as many insults onto the Ridley fans as he could. "I cannot wait to see the snobbling looks on their faces! Their tears will be so satisfying, and I will savour them all crying "boo-hoo!" >:D

And when he had finished publishing his video, he searched the internet to collect Ridley fan tears. He searched and searched...but there was only silence. Not even Etika had made a single reaction that would satisfy him. The Shokio knew there would be a downpour of tears at the Ridley thread, so he wasted no time to see.

He heard in, and to his surprise...he heard something else... The Ridley Thread did not sound sad...why, it sounded rather glad. Condolenses from all over, including detractors, and fans actually enjoying the boss mechanic. "Have they lost their marbles?" thought the Shokio. "Ridley isn't playable AGAIN! Their speculation was worth nothing! Sakurai had plenty of time to program him as a playable character, but chose not to!" He could not take it anymore. "WHEN ARE THEY GONNA GET RIDLEY IS TOO GODDAMN BIG?!"

The Shokio screamed as loudly as he could towards the fans. He spat out more profane words than he ever did his entire life. The Ridley fans did not pay attention, as they were too busy dancing to the music; music that he could not hear.

The Shokio puzzled and puzzed until he could puzzle no more. He had trouble figuring out why the Ridley fans were celebrating in their defeat; it just didn't make sense. It was then he had a thought he never had before. "Maybe Ridley isn't something you find in his appearance and character" thought the Shokio "Maybe...Ridley means something a little bit more..."


...."Ah, I may be overthinking it~"


Oh... Well what the hell, man?



Thank you for reading!

Parodied from Dr. Seus' "How the Grinch stole Christmas"

 

[Headcrab Jackalope]

Hey you guys stole my thread title I used on the Plasm Wraith thread a while back.

Gosh. It's really depressing seeing the Ridley thread finally die for good. I've had a lot of fun in here.



What can you say about Ridley? Most would say he's BIG, and I would agree. But not just physically. Ridley has a big heart, a big mind, a big soul, and a big fanbase. May he find peace among the stars until his time comes again.

Also just want to give some shoutouts to some of the coolest Ridley peeps in this thread:

@Phaazoid for being hilarious and professionally straw grasping until the end.
@AndreaAC for your amazing art.
@ Snagrio for being an all-around great guy.
@BaganSmashBros for your Ridley PSA awesomeness.
and finally @ IsmaR for keeping the peace.

And of course, all the rest of you were fantastic.

Stay frosty my friends.

 

[Snagrio]

Wait, how was this thread reopened?

 

[Welshy91]

Wait, we're saying goodbye? I would say it's been a pleasure but I would be lying. Smash 4 speculation was rather long and grueling and I grew to dislike a great many of you. Just kidding. You guys are alright (for the most part). I'll be back for Smash 5 speculation and we can go through this all over again.

 

[IsmaR]

Wait, how was this thread reopened?

http://smashboards.com/threads/ssb4-characters-discussion-re-opened.367102/

Wait, we're saying goodbye?

As many probably figured, it's been decided that it is in the best interest of both the support group and staff for this thread and all further discussion on Ridley is to be put on (possibly permanent) hiatus until further developments arise, and it has either been shown that he can realistically become a downloadable fighter in the future, or that there are no chances/plan for him to be playable.

This is in accordance with some new guidelines regarding DLC/future content and SSB4 3DS/Wii U Character Discussion overall.

1. We reopened character discussion on the news that DLC characters were possible

2. This section is now concerned with possible DLC inclusions, and although there are no rules or precedence for something like this, in general we feel that this section should now be clear of characters which are already implemented into the game (Assist Trophy, Pokeball, stage boss/hazards, character movesets/victory screens, etc.).

While all things considered, Ridley would by popularity be a must wanted inclusion, and it could still happen. However, we have nothing to go on, and Ridley discussion being in a public space is very prone to trolling and flaming, as has been seen thus far with it's reopening.

tl;dr

Ridley discussion unfortunately attracts negative discussion (flaming/trolling/general salt and off topic posting) from both sides. Whilst this thread could be left open to discuss Ridley's inclusion as a stage hazard, or his slim chances as a DLC-add-on, this would be better covered in either a specific Stage Discussion thread, or in the tried-and-true Social Group section.

Discussions in a private space/social group have been more tame and less volatile and we would like to support and approve of people still using them for their favourite characters.

With the recent closing/disbanding from the Forgotten All-Stars Alliance group, the majority of us have relocated here for the time being:

http://smashboards.com/social-forums/space-pirates-luxurious-mansion.1760/

See @ Chrollo. about getting an invite.

I'm giving it a brief time for everyone to get their last posts in, but it will most likely be within 24 hours.

T-minus 4 hours.

 

[Strider_Bond00J]

Thank you for letting me join the Space Pirates.

When Super Smash Bros 4 was first announced, all I wanted was Roy, Shulk and Little Mac, Chrom... Those were the characters I wanted the most to appear. It wasn't until after Robin's confirmation that I actually started to take an interest in SmashBoards, and set up this account. Until then, every time I saw Miiverse requests for Ridley, I was more like "How? I can't see Ridley as a playable character." (My logic was only 10% size, 90% what will he bring to Smash Bros if playable)
I wasn't sure what the Ridley thread would be like, but after coming here, I started to see more and more potential for Ridley in Super Smash Bros, and soon, he was a character that I'd love to see myself playable. Who would have thought I'd become part of Team Ridley?

Sadly, he's down for the count as a playable character, but I still don't think Sakurai didn't hear us when thinking of Ridley. Perhaps they had planned Ridley to be a stage boss all along, but because of his demand, they catered for that by making him an assist-boss character. He had, and still has a lot of potential in Smash Bros. Once again, thank you for changing my views on this character. For now, I'm putting Ridley and Takamaru close to my next most wanted lists for the next Smash instalment, and leaving my DLC spaces open for the Boy Roy and King K. Rool, with the occasional other potential character in Inkling and sometimes Impa. Regardless, thank you all for changing my views on Ridley.

See you next mission!

 

[yosharioIII]

I've not been the most consistent Ridley-threader, but it's been an absolute pleasure speculating with the lot of you. May the world someday understand our cause and/or at least not be total d*cks about it. Y'all are rad~

 

[Snagrio]

Well, guess I must give my final thoughts. I'll start out by saying that my time here was overall full of positive memories. We laughed and cried together, shared off-the-wall fanfictions and art, devotingly analyzed every bit of info to the ground all out of our passion for the space dragon. I've never met such an adamant yet lovable group like this one when it comes to Smash, and being a part of it was quite the wild ride.

But now I must also be brutally honest with the negatives. This has nothing to do with anybody here just to throw that out now btw. The turmoil this journey has put me, and all of us, through has potentially turned me off from ever speculating Smash ever again. It was my first time, but after witnessing the events that have gone down, all the uncalled-for hate and disgust from the outside, it almost made me regret joining Smashboards as I was completely indifferent to the hype three cause beforehand. I would've been blissfully unaware of this tragic injustice, completely satisfied with the roster and everything. But ultimately by the time Smash 5 rolls around I will likely be a married man, possibly with children, so I won't even have time for this by then, so I musn't think too bitterly on the matter.

So all that said, thanks to all of you. This was the first time I actively followed the development of my favorite video game series, and this group made it more interesting then I ever thought possible. May Ridley find his way to rosterhood some day, be it next year or decade.

 

[Chrollo.]

Since the thread is closing, might as well say a few things:
It's been a fun and wild ride my fellow Space Pirates, although I haven't been in this thread much since it's been reopened, quite a few of you seem like wonderful people and I'll be glad to interact with you all in the group I made. Now for something very serious: Having salt over this is okay, I understand where you are all coming from, hell, I was a bit upset about it too but if we mope around whining about it for the next few months, it makes us no better than the people we dislike: The detractors. It's not the end of the world my fellow Space Pirates, DLC will always be an option, no matter how much faith you lost. Ridley may have very well been playable during development as he has tons of similarities to a playable character. If you're down about this, think about the good times we've had, whether it was in this thread or the alliance thread, think about the good times we've had, speculating and joking around. For me, it isn't about supporting Ridley anymore, no, it's now about supporting Ridley along with YOU GUYS. You guys were the reason why I haven't lost faith. You guys are the reasons why I'm supporting him right now. Hell, truthfully, I (quietly) didn't believe Ridley would get in, not because he's "too big" and all that silly stuff, it's because I just couldn't see Ridley getting in (for an unknown reason I might add. Even to this day I can't remember what the exact reason was), but after seeing this thread and meeting you guys, my opinion changed and it felt great. See you guys in the group I made, if you haven't joined yet, message me or quote me for an invite. Space Pirates NEVER Falter.

Also, I'd like to publicly thank @ IsmaR for all the things she has done for us, putting up with our **** must've been stressful, especially after this thread was reopened. If I was her, I would've abandon ship by now with what went on in this thread once it reopened. Nonetheless, thank you for everything IsmaR. Thanks for being a wonderful mod (You're actually the best mod I've met on any forum I've been to), thanks for putting up with our ****, and thanks for being a nice person. There will always be a spot for you in the group I made, but you probably need a LOOOOOONGGGGGG break from us, so if you ever want to join just shoot me a message and I'll invite you, I'm sure everyone will be glad to have you.
And don't worry, I'm not one of those people who will beg you to mod the group, I could tell you already have a lot on your plate.

 

[AuraShaman]

.....DAAAAAAAAGH!!! I can't wait for the next page to be made! I have to bring it out!

First off, I dunno why I'm linking this again.


This will be the last time I thank this thread for making a better, more open-minded person. The turmoil and controversy is what opened my eyes to the cruelty in the Smash community, and that something must be done about it. You've shown me that persistency and faith will always reward in the end, no matter how long you may have to wait. Fan favorites like Mega Man, Little Mac, Shulk, and Mewtwo were all rewarded for the persistency of their fans. I know Ridley will get his chance, and only then will it either make him, or brake him. We must all work together in building a better reputation, and to...just support Ridley.


And if Shokio is reading this...beware. You have gotten yourself involved in a situation bigger than you can control, and you will suffer the consequences of your actions in the end. You started this flame war...now we are going to end it. This future of equally respected opinions must be achieved if the Smash community is to survive from being plagued by bias, prejudice, and bullying; something you've given example of multiple times. You best be lucky we never meet; I will respect your thoughts of Ridley being "too big"...but I will not let you enforce those on anyone else ever again! You do not get to control what the fans want, and I will not let you bully anyone else ever again! Mark my words, Shokio...I will make that future!


This will be my very last post on this thread. Thank you all for helping me find my path.



See you next mission!

 

[Deleted member]

Last words, huh?

Well, it was an honor serving as an anti-Too Bigot, and disappointing as it is that the end result wasn't the ultimate STFU to them, it's still pretty good, all things considered.

Despite all the **** I've been given for jumping ship after the April Direct, never once have I considered gloating about it to those arrogant SOBs (you know who you are). Instead, I give condolences to those who only kept out the hope and optimism I couldn't hold on to myself.
It was a wild ride filled with fun times and heated moments, but nothing lasts forever.

Sayonara, Ridley the Character Thread.

 

[RavenKingSage]

Last words, huh?

Well, it was an honor serving as an anti-Too Bigot, and disappointing as it is that the end result wasn't the ultimate STFU to them, it's still pretty good, all things considered.

Despite all the **** I've been given for jumping ship after the April Direct, never once have I considered gloating about it to those arrogant SOBs (you know who you are). Instead, I give condolences to those who only kept out the hope and optimism I couldn't hold on to myself.
It was a wild ride filled with fun times and heated moments, but nothing lasts forever.

Sayonara, Ridley the Character Thread.

That's probably the part that hurts the most. Ridley's portrayal in 4 has given ammunition to little brats in front of their webcams who yell "TOO ****ING BIG! UR A ****** IF U DON'T AGREE!" (I wish that was hyperbole...) They're the ones who continue bullying, and I was hoping for Sakurai to justify us in the end.

Still, it is what it is. Ridley's fandom is a resilient group if I ever saw one. We have proven that we're able to take all that BS in stride, and hopefully that will continue until we see our dream fulfilled.

 

[ChronoBound]

This really is the end of an era. Ridley not making it this time stung worse for me than Ridley failing to make it in for Melee or Brawl. For Melee, it was "well Metroid is still a series in hiatus. Metroid will likely warrant a new character once Prime and Fusion are released." For Brawl it was "there were so many higher priority characters that had to make it in that its understandable Ridley got left out. The good news is that he is unveil caliber newcomer for Smash 4."

Now? I don't know. I can't think of a good reason about why Ridley's time for inclusion was not with this installment. K. Rool and Isaac at least you could say had a decent reasoning for being passed over (unlike nearly all of the newcomers, K. Rool had no prominent role in a game released after Brawl, and for Isaac, Dark Dawn woefully underperformed and his heyday is now a decade ago).

Though to be fair, there were only THREE (arguably four if we count Villager) newcomers for Smash 4 that had sizable fanbases during the pre-Brawl era (Mega Man, Little Mac, and Bowser Jr.). This roster was more a roster about "recency" than any other.

However, Ridley has now reached a point where the only way he can have a more important role than he did over the previous game is solely playable status. Ridley's role in Smash Bros. has progressed ever since the first installment in the series. He went from being a cameo in the background to a stage, to having an appearance in the intro and being a trophy, to having two boss fights, and now a boss that can become an ally that has quite a few attributes of a playable fighter.

There is really nowhere else for Sakurai to do with Ridley aside from promoting him into being a playable fighter. At this point, there is really no one else Sakurai could draw upon for Smash 5 that could get people as hyped as the likes of Mega Man, Little Mac, or Pac-Man did for Smash 4. Ideally, Ridley would be amongst the first characters unveiled for Smash 5.

However, at this point, I have been with the Ridley fanbase since 2001, and frankly, I have been around for long enough. The whole main reason why I even anticipated Smash 4 since the day Brawl was released was because of Ridley. Sure there were some other newcomers I was interested in such as Mega Man and Little Mac (as well as the possible return for Mewtwo and Roy), but it was far and above all about Ridley, as it has always been. Ridley has been a character I have been hoping would some day be playable since the very beginning of the Smash Bros. series.

At this point, a lot of the old guard is growing up. Many of us were in our college years during the pre-Smash 4 period, and now we are trying to get our lives together for the possibility of career and family. I remember one female Ridley fan from the pre-Brawl era lamenting how by the time Smash 4 was released, she would be married and have kids so it was a shame how Ridley's time was not with Brawl. Its a shame again that all those years later Ridley again has not made it.

The Ridley fanbase is very impressive for this reason. It not only has some of the most veteran members of the Smash Bros. community, but also among the youngest. Bagan, the biggest hope we have for a playable Ridley within this decade, is only 14. This is a community that has managed to keep finding fresh blood. For this reason, that perhaps despite Ridley failing to make it again, that he might just have a sizable fanbase again for the pre-Smash 5 era. For many Ridley fans, this is their first disappointment of Ridley failing to make it, as opposed to second (or third for the very few).

There is really no character quite like Ridley in regards to Smash Bros. He has become legendary.

Unlike Brawl's release, I have no interest in seeing out the pre-Smash 5 period for Ridley's inclusion.

The Ridley fans who will continue on will need all the patience and fortitude you can get as the detractors and too bigots are intoxicated on their own victory more so than ever.

At this point I am basically done with the Smash Bros. community, and the only thing I am really around for is seeing towards the DLC of Smash 4 and the final release of Project M (both of which will probably be concluded by the end of 2015).

I want to support Bagan's work to the best of my ability as I feel his work is the best stake we have to drive into the heart of the Too Bigots in regards to Ridley's feasiblity into being made into a well-made fighter. My personal hope is that Bagan's Ridley mod will be able to find its way into Project M, that way it can both be polished even further as well as have the maximum amount of exposure that a fan-made Smash Bros. creation could have.

I hope someday that I will learn of Ridley becoming playable in a Smash Bros. game, and I am sad to say that this "end of an era" was not the conclusion I was hoping for since 2001 when I first thought the possiblity of playable Ridley would become a reality (it was really Ridley's appearance in the E3 2001 Melee trailer that was the inception of the Ridley Smash Bros. fanbase).

I have been a fan of Ridley for 20 years, have been wanting him playable in Smash Bros. for 15 years, and have been involved with the Ridley fan community for over 13 years. Ridley has and always will be one of my favorite video game characters of all time.

Ridley... no mater how many times he has been defeated. He always comes back. No matter how final it appears to be... the Cunning God of Death always finds a way. We as Ridley fans have been defeated more times than any other fanbase, yet unlike any other one, we have also come back more than any other. We will keep fighting until this distant dream gets realized.

RIDLEY FOR SMASH BROS!

 

[AuraShaman]

This really is the end of an era. Ridley not making it this time stung worse for me than Ridley failing to make it in for Melee or Brawl. For Melee, it was "well Metroid is still a series in hiatus. Metroid will likely warrant a new character once Prime and Fusion are released." For Brawl it was "there were so many higher priority characters that had to make it in that its understandable Ridley got left out. The good news is that he is unveil caliber newcomer for Smash 4."

Now? I don't know. I can't think of a good reason about why Ridley's time for inclusion was not with this installment. K. Rool and Isaac at least you could say had a decent reasoning for being passed over (unlike nearly all of the newcomers, K. Rool had no prominent role in a game released after Brawl, and for Isaac, Dark Dawn woefully underperformed and his heyday is now a decade ago).

Though to be fair, there were only THREE (arguably four if we count Villager) newcomers for Smash 4 that had sizable fanbases during the pre-Brawl era (Mega Man, Little Mac, and Bowser Jr.). This roster was more a roster about "recency" than any other.

However, Ridley has now reached a point where the only way he can have a more important role than he did over the previous game is solely playable status. Ridley's role in Smash Bros. has progressed ever since the first installment in the series. He went from being a cameo in the background to a stage, to having an appearance in the intro and being a trophy, to having two boss fights, and now a boss that can become an ally that has quite a few attributes of a playable fighter.

There is really nowhere else for Sakurai to do with Ridley aside from promoting him into being a playable fighter. At this point, there is really no one else Sakurai could draw upon for Smash 5 that could get people as hyped as the likes of Mega Man, Little Mac, or Pac-Man did for Smash 4. Ideally, Ridley would be amongst the first characters unveiled for Smash 5.

However, at this point, I have been with the Ridley fanbase since 2001, and frankly, I have been around for long enough. The whole main reason why I even anticipated Smash 4 since the day Brawl was released was because of Ridley. Sure there were some other newcomers I was interested in such as Mega Man and Little Mac (as well as the possible return for Mewtwo and Roy), but it was far and above all about Ridley, as it has always been. Ridley has been a character I have been hoping would some day be playable since the very beginning of the Smash Bros. series.

At this point, a lot of the old guard is growing up. Many of us were in our college years during the pre-Smash 4 period, and now we are trying to get our lives together for the possibility of career and family. I remember one female Ridley fan from the pre-Brawl era lamenting how by the time Smash 4 was released, she would be married and have kids so it was a shame how Ridley's time was not with Brawl. Its a shame again that all those years later Ridley again has not made it.

The Ridley fanbase is very impressive for this reason. It not only has some of the most veteran members of the Smash Bros. community, but also among the youngest. Bagan, the biggest hope we have for a playable Ridley within this decade, is only 14. This is a community that has managed to keep finding fresh blood. For this reason, that perhaps despite Ridley failing to make it again, that he might just have a sizable fanbase again for the pre-Smash 5 era. For many Ridley fans, this is their first disappointment of Ridley failing to make it, as opposed to second (or third for the very few).

There is really no character quite like Ridley in regards to Smash Bros. He has become legendary.

Unlike Brawl's release, I have no interest in seeing out the pre-Smash 5 period for Ridley's inclusion.

The Ridley fans who will continue on will need all the patience and fortitude you can get as the detractors and too bigots are intoxicated on their own victory more so than ever.

At this point I am basically done with the Smash Bros. community, and the only thing I am really around for is seeing towards the DLC of Smash 4 and the final release of Project M (both of which will probably be concluded by the end of 2015).

I want to support Bagan's work to the best of my ability as I feel his work is the best stake we have to drive into the heart of the Too Bigots in regards to Ridley's feasiblity into being made into a well-made fighter. My personal hope is that Bagan's Ridley mod will be able to find its way into Project M, that way it can both be polished even further as well as have the maximum amount of exposure that a fan-made Smash Bros. creation could have.

I hope someday that I will learn of Ridley becoming playable in a Smash Bros. game, and I am sad to say that this "end of an era" was not the conclusion I was hoping for since 2001 when I first thought the possiblity of playable Ridley would become a reality (it was really Ridley's appearance in the E3 2001 Melee trailer that was the inception of the Ridley Smash Bros. fanbase).

I have been a fan of Ridley for 20 years, have been wanting him playable in Smash Bros. for 15 years, and have been involved with the Ridley fan community for over 13 years. Ridley has and always will be one of my favorite video game characters of all time.

Ridley... no mater how many times he has been defeated. He always comes back. No matter how final it appears to be... the Cunning God of Death always finds a way. We as Ridley fans have been defeated more times than any other fanbase, yet unlike any other one, we have also come back more than any other. We will keep fighting until this distant dream gets realized.

RIDLEY FOR SMASH BROS!

Dammit... You won me over. :')


Okay, now I swear this will be my last message...*slips out*


Ridley is love, Ridley is life

 

[Zhadgon]

Good bye my dream, until Smash 5 I will see you again in hopes that you will be a playable character.

.n_n.

 

[Kalimdori]

*Musing on good times in the past*
*Exasperation of how much longer we'll get harassed for this*
*Heartfelt goodbye*

Yeah, I'm to lazy to post an entire monologue.

I don't think Ridley will be DLC, but I would love to see him, especially since with the release of Smash 4 I've lost all interest in Project M.

 

[NintenRob]

At least Ridley got more effort put in then the other bosses.

RIP Ridley Discussion, may he jump some day in the future
(also, does he have an extra toe now then what he had in the April Direct?)

 

[GreatRagnarok]

I don't know why this thread was opened regarding Ridley's role, but perhaps it's for the best that the topic is laid to rest for good.

It was a fun ride. And perhaps they were right, maybe we were a bit "delusional" for thinking that Ridley still had a chance to make it after appearing after the Yellow Devil in the direct, but we still believed to keep going until the end was near no matter what happened.

As for someone who pretty much figured out that the worst case scenario for Ridley being just a stage hazard, this didn't leave much of a impact on me, but I still believe Ridley may have a chance in the future being a playable character in Smash Brothers. And the role he plays in the stage gives us a bit of hope in that. He feels like a incomplete playable character in this game and it shows us that with some tweaks and reworks, Ridley can be a unique playable character. I had hope that maybe Ridley would have perhaps a dual role (which sounds very unlikely) or a surprise by Sakurai, but that wasn't the case.

I am proud of you guys, we still kept our hopes up and enjoyed talking about anything relating to Ridley to keep us from going insane. While I feel a bit embarrassed by some of our supporters (not in this forum, but other places) for being a bit immature in their posts sometimes, but we do have a big fanbase and perhaps if we keep asking Sakurai to put Ridley in for future Smash Bros (in a nice way mind you), maybe our dreams will come true.

As DLC for Ridley seems to be nigh-impossible, we all should perhaps accept that Ridley is a stage hazard and if the case he is DLC by pure surprise, then we can celebrate, but now, it's time for rest and growing.

So a few things for the next time we come together for Ridley support in Smash Generation 5 and for new supporters too.

1) More maturity in our supporters. While some of us seem to get a bit frustrated when people come in and tell us things, we shouldn't try to fight them, but be understanding in their statements, sure maybe they were right that Ridley is pretty much confirmed for Stage Hazard, but we should be accepting that and understand that even though it may possibly be true, we're going to stick it out until the bitter end, even if it means in defeat. This can also apply if we see things that seems to not support Ridley in our favor and kinda pulls away from our goal, we should understand it and move on. With each defeat, Ridley Detractors will grow and become more stronger. In the case, their insults will become more harsher and more happy with our defeat, in that case, ignore them. Sure it will be painful to see them, but we must not let our weakness show, it just makes them attack more. But I believe alot of your supporters here have a good amount of maturity in here so I don't have to worry about that much.

2) Better skills when it comes to debate. If you want to debate on support threads with supporters or other people, it's fine, as long as your not being rude and bashful in your posts, if it gets to that case, take it to the conversations. I don't want to see people banned for things like that. It also makes us look bad to many people when they come on here and see our posts. So hopefully we can have nice debates the next time we come back.

Other than that. It was fun being with you guys and I hope the next time we come back. We are stronger and more wiser to discuss our glorious space pirate leader. Til then, See you next mission.

(This will possibly be my last post for quite a long long time. So you probably won't see me post anymore. So take care guys and maybe i'll see you all in the future.)

 

[Croph]

I wasn't a big supporter of Ridley, so him not being playable doesn't affect me in the traditional sense. However, taking into account his popularity, importance in the Metroid series, moveset potential, and the fact that I really would have loved to see Metroid get a newcomer, I am genuinely disappointed that he isn't playable.

It's been a crazy ride, and I just wanted to say all you Ridley fans/supporters that stuck through this wild ride 'till the end have my respect. It's that determination that always puts a smile on my face. The Ridley we have in Smash 4 is a unique concept, and I'm curious what will happen to that space dragon in the future. Who knows... but keep supporting the characters you like peeps!

 

[Xzsmmc]

At least Ridley got more effort put in then the other bosses.

Not saying much. He's still just a big, stupid target that everyone is encouraged to beat up. Absolutely disgraceful.

I was never much of a Metroid fan, and as a result, not much of a Ridley fan. But I supported his inclusion regardless, as he deserves it far more than many other newcomers who have made it over the years. Not to mention it would finally stop the ridiculous vitriol you guys have to put with. Unfortunately, it seems that Sakurai simply does not see him as playable material, as he's been a boss for two games in a row. While he may reconsider like he did with Villager, it's daunting to think that it may be another 7+ years before that day may come.

Still, if there's one thing I've learned from being a sports fan, it's that the most soul-crushing losing streaks can be broken, and the impossible can eventually happen. All of your continued support is extremely impressive, and I hope beyond hope that one day, you can finally cut lose as everyone's favorite pirate space dragon. Keep at it guys.

 

[Strider_Bond00J]

I'll say once again. Thank you, all Ridley supporters.

 

[IsmaR]

Anyone expecting another heartfelt post from myself is unfortunately leading themselves on (much like many of us here about the whole situation).

Everything I've had to say about the matter/the character/fanbase, and my time here has already been said last time I closed this.

...However it would be remiss for me to let this go without one last word, for old time's sake.

Everyone's paths may branch out from here. We were joined for what may have only briefly been our joint mission. Be it hardcore Smash fans, die-hard Metroid fans, or even casual fans that simply liked the idea, even if they didn't put much thought into it past "I like dragons," or just simply wanted the majority to see their mission be successful to make the rest of them happy.
Point was, we wanted more. Dared to dream. And really got overly-passionate about it, and didn't care what others said about it.

As stated several times, some of us are at an end here. We don't even know if there will be future Smash, at the very least for a long time to come. It doesn't matter whether you're staying a supporter until the promised day (that may never come) or moving on and simply looking back to these days with fondness (or contempt). I thank you just the same for bearing with all the turmoil, disappointment, and all the good that's come of this thread, this fanbase, and for the character himself. There's no "wrong" opinion, whether you like how he turned out or not. Ridley is Ridley. Perfectly understandable if you wanted more or think he got the best representation he could hope for. For the hassle/pleasure of seeing us sad/salty detractors get, really don't matter much in the end.

With that said, I repeat my beating-a-dead-space piratehorse message that like Ridley, we never truly stay dead, for long at least.

Speculation's over for the time being, some continue support elsewhere, others part ways/end it here, Only one place left for me.

Also, I'd like to publicly thank @ IsmaR for all the things she has done for us, putting up with our **** must've been stressful, especially after this thread was reopened. If I was her, I would've abandon ship by now with what went on in this thread once it reopened. Nonetheless, thank you for everything IsmaR. Thanks for being a wonderful mod (You're actually the best mod I've met on any forum I've been to), thanks for putting up with our ****, and thanks for being a nice person. There will always be a spot for you in the group I made, but you probably need a LOOOOOONGGGGGG break from us, so if you ever want to join just shoot me a message and I'll invite you, I'm sure everyone will be glad to have you.
And don't worry, I'm not one of those people who will beg you to mod the group, I could tell you already have a lot on your plate.

The captain goes down with their ship. Someone's gotta stay here/be Strong enough to keep grasping at the last, toobiggest straw.

See you next sequel mission. Never falter.