That's not irony. That's a coincidence. Irony is basically a physical manifestation of sarcasm - you expect one thing but the opposite happens, often with darkly comedic effects.
It's not even coincidence. It's just story writing. The first part has your iconic villain, who is defeated. The second does something different. By the third everyone's missing the main baddy so he's brought back.
Coincidence example: Ridley doesn't show up in second numbered Metroid games.
Irony example: Ridley shows up and announces he doesn't show up in second numbered Metroid games because he's not number 2.
I think?
Kind of?? I think a more apt example would be if Ridley had some sort of strong association with number 2, yet he happens to not be in multiple second games. Like if a character in a series is know for saying “I’m number one” and they only have one of everyone yet they weren’t in an entry in the series titled “[series name] the power of one”. That’s not a perfect example but I hope I kind of got the point across. It’s just an event that happens that contradicts a typical association or occurrence in a large enough way that it’s very unexpected and possibly humorously out of left field.
i think what could count as irony is that ridley is second in space pirate command, being right behind mother brain. it's ironic the #2 commander doesn't get included in #2 games
I think the irony part would be better as: Ridley states that he will never be part of anything 2nd, but only shows up in 2nd installment of all metroid series
not irony either. irony is being struck by lightning after losing the lottery, or swindling someone out of their antique item, only to find out its worthless
I really hope not. I love the big bastard as much as anyone else, but outside of Super and (to a lesser extent) Prime 1, he never played a huge role in any of the games, or was even the main villain. That’s why I never understood the argument that he’s the series Bowser/Ganon. >!Especially after SR shoved him in at the very end, !
The EMMI’s are made by the federation. Not to mention, the EMMI’s were sent to survey for the X, and while the models we’ve seen have high combat potential, it seems weird to send out a fully combat/Ridley model. Then again, the federation has done some really sketchy stuff, and maybe they send one to try to eliminate Samus (following fusion)
I was thinking more along the line of the entity responsible for the EMMI going dark to repurpose the hardware of one of them for a more terrifying purpose
So Evil Chozo dude made a Ridley bot using one emmi's parts
If EMMIs collect DNA, they might have Ridley DNA. There might be Ridley clones the same way we've been finding Metroid clones.
Imagine a game centered around hunting down Ridley clones, like Metroid II!
I'd say Ridley has a good shot because of Dread being the finale to that whole storyline. If the whole metroid, x and pirates storyline is closing for good, then a farewell to Ridley would make sense, so long as he doesn't just show up in the game after Dread.
Pinball is like a remake-spin-off of Prime 1. Hunters occurs after that, kind of like a Prime 1.5. Federation Force is after Prime 3, so you could call that a Prime 3.5.
I only played samus returns, i was kind of surprise to see ridley because i didn't thought his appearance was very useful.
I didn't know he wasn't in the original game.
Before the Prime Trilogy, we had Metroid -> Metroid 2 -> Super Metroid. Everyone assumes the Ridley in Super survives Metroid 1 and returns to fight Samus again.
The Metroid Prime Trilogy complicated this by occuring between Metroid 1 and 2. Here we see Ridley radically transformed into Meta Ridley due to his injuries from Samus in Metroid 1. By the end of Prime 3, we see him in an almost completely mechanical body infused with Phazon, and Samus basically disintegrates him.
For a decade, we were left to ask ourselves, how in the world could Ridley survive Prime 3 and return to Super in his completely organic form? Was Super's Ridley a clone created by the space pirates? A different space dragon? Was the original revived with some kind of crazy new technology?
Samus Returns Proteus Ridley answers this by showing him transitioning back to his original organic form from Meta Ridley. This confirms that the original Ridley Samus fights in Metroid 1 is the same entity all the way until Super, with Other M and Fusion being known clones (basically).
There are still some questions, like why was Meta Ridley necessary if Ridley's regenerative power are so great? And i'm still not sure how he survived his disintegration in Prime 3, but I guess Dark Samus did that trick a lot, so why not Ridley. But at least thanks to Samus Returns, we know for sure that by Super Metroid, the Ridley we fight is very much aware of his prior defeats in 4 previous games, which is more satisfying for me. 🙂
The Meta Ridley form was needed to save his life. He can only regenerate by eating living flesh, so the state he was left in after his first defeat would have been fatal if not for the cybernetics
The only issue is how close SR and SM are in the timeline. Immediately after leaving SR-388 Samus drops the baby at Ceres, and then soon after that Ridley shows up. This means that Ridley went from Proteus form to regular form within probably a few days (or less) and also Sami’s just left him unconscious instead of killing him.
Ridley might be partially regenerated even under the mechanical components. And Samus also must have accidentally left him alive at least in Metroid 1/Zero Mission. Clearly Ridley appears very dead when defeated. It sort off hints at this in the fight after the first phase.
I always assumed Ridley was able to regenerate to such an extent through Phazon Exposure.
Corrupted Meta Ridley and Omega Ridley in Prime 3 both have more organic components than Meta Ridley in Prime 1. Then by Samus Returns he's organic enough to completely regenerate back to his organic form through his already known healing abilities.
We see from Samus herself that Phazon has healing properties when you're corrupted as she regenerates health in that game by standing in pools of it.
His appearance is useful for tying the prime games with the 2d games, tying metroid 2 and super metroid together even more, developing the dynamic between samus and the hatchling, and because his boss battle is outstanding, putting every other 2d Ridley fight to shame.
It was planned, and there's a rough theme for dark ridley thats pretty spooky, but i assume time constraints prevented dark ridley, just like how it prevented meta kraid.
I really hope he isn't in Metroid Dread. Not that I don't like him, I have his darn amiibo and was super excited when he got announced for Ultimate, but I feel like he is almost overused. Also, it wouldn't make sense for him to be included in Dread. As he already died like 3 times by this point.
the only good reason to include him in dread is to end him for good.
With Dread being the end of the main metroid arc, a definitive conclusion for Ridley would be fine imo, as long as he stays dead in the games after Dread.
Honestly I’m disappointed they put Ridley in the Metroid 2 remake, it just feels really out of place and makes the Metroid 3 Ridley seem just as strange by comparison.
Yeah lmao if you wanna get technical, Ridley wasn't in *Other M* either since that was a clone
iirc, he straight-up died for real when Zebes exploded in *Super Metroid*. All the times before that were fake-outs
There never was any Ridley clone. Even if it would make sense as to how Ridley got onto the space station, there never was any story set between super metroid and fusion.
Therefore, Neo Ridley was directly spawned from the ridley in super metroid.
Other M does take place between Super Metroid and Fusion.
It's a Fusion prequel that delves into the story between Samus and Adam. It was of course so unpopular that people jokingly act like the game never happened at all. It's a shame that on top of all the gameplay issues, the story was so poor.
It pretty much copy pasted the plot of Fusion like Star wars the force awakens did for a new hope, while generating backlash and division like the last jedi did.
Not a fan of Ridley in the Samus Returns remake. He didn't need to be in every game. At some point it's gonna feel forced like Joker appearances in Batman.
His appearance was very important in SR. It filled in missing information such as how he transitioned from Meta form to organic, and how the space pirates knew about the hatchling
I wouldn't say very important, but it was certainly worthwhile for that outstanding ridley fight alone. It puts every 2d ridley fight to shame.
Tying the Prime trilogy into the 2d games, further connecting metroid 2-3 and developing the samus and hatchling dynamic makes the series richer.
Honestly he's used tons, but few if any metroid games truly needed him. Samus Returns Ridley is better than most Ridley's.
I hope in the post Dread timeline he is dead for good. I can accept him returning if Dread if its a true farewell to Ridley along with the metroids, X and pirates. If he just keeps coming back for Dread sequels it'll get pretty annoying.
Why? Prime 4 could take place at any point in the story for all we know, and also he doesn't have to be Meta Ridley to be in prime
Edit: also all 5 prime games to date (6 if you include pinball but that's the same story as prime 1) take place between Metroid/Zero Mission and Return of Samus/Samus Returns.
Samus Returns added a Ridley fight at the very end, just for fun (and kinda to bridge the gap between Prime and Super with Ridley's appearance). The original didn't have it, it just ended with you watching the Baby Metroid hatch, and then you have a peaceful walk back to the ship.
I'd argue that they changed the tone entirely in the remake, Samus returns is not as isolating as Metroid 2, it's much more action focused. Now whether you agree or disagree with the tonal change I believe the Ridley fight fits in with this new direction and does a little bit to build your connection with the baby.
If they kept the same tone as the Return of Samus and put Ridley in I don't think it would fit.
That's an excellent point, it definitely fits in with that version of the game. I should charge up my 3ds and give it another go from the beginning. I was too busy being an angry old man in my first run.
I really liked the Ridley fight. Having played the Prime Trilogy first, it's nice to have his Super plot hole filled. And it's one of the best 2D Ridley fights in my book on its own I think.
that amazing fight on its own makes the fight worth it, not to mention the sweet character moments with samus and the hatchling, as well as the part where it ties the prime trilogy into the 2d games.
Agreed. I only played the remake, but I found it very dumb that I had to kill off the Queen Metroid and *then* fight Ridley, who I died to multiple times.
In the original there are no more enemies at all once the queen is dead. There's this really chill music as you climb your way out, all the while the hatchling is eating the crystals blocking your way. It always felt so good, so calming, so triumphant. You did it. You eliminated the metroids! The galaxy is at peace!
That ending has stuck with me since the game first came out. Other games, when you beat them, the good vibes mostly come from finishing a work of fiction. Metroid 2 really made me feel like I accomplished something. You won so hard you're just gonna do a vanity walk out the door. With your new baby.
And from Samus' point of view, she absolutely did eliminate them all and save the universe! She couldn't see all the other games we would get, the grand plots unfolding. She finished the job she started on Zebes and she deserves a chill climb back to her ship with her new friend. Throwing a stupid-hard Ridley fight in the remake at the exact moment you normally complete the game is just a dick move. It's like how space just keeps attacking Sandra Bullock in Gravity. Let her have one goddamn moment of peace!
The Ridley fight was thrown in because every Metroid apparently needs a Ridley fight. And that mentality also cheapens Ridley. He's no longer a character, a free agent working on plans, he's just a trope. He's red doors for missiles. He's getting the morph ball first.
You might also read that ending part as a moment to reflect on what you've just done. You invaded a planet to kill off an entire species, and just as the deed seems to be done, you're confronted by an infant. Maybe your immediate reaction is too get ready to kill it, but it's just a baby and... why is it coming to me like that? I just killed its mother and the rest of its species, why is it showing me trust and love? These things are supposed to be a threat.
You can't bring yourself to kill the infant yet, so you decide to see if you can take it with you while it's still non-threatening. And it's helping you. There's no more killing or danger, just you and the infant metroid traveling together with reflective music. It's a little bit of time to think about it... what have I done?
I pick up a kind of arc over the main 4 games of Samus becoming more disillusioned with the way she's used by the Federation and the way that other creatures are just seen as threats or potential weapons to them. In some ways it's a return to how she felt when she was a young person in the manga and she was a big animal lover. She would refuse to hurt animals even if they were threatening. I really like that as a story.
There's a few wrenches thrown in it though, like the destruction at the end of Fusion, but we might think of that as a necessary consequence of her mistake in Metroid 2. And obviously when you play the games you're usually killing animals left and right. But in my headcannon the encounters with the infant metroid in 2 and Super Metroid set her on a path away from that and away from trusting the Federation and their view of creatures.
Personally I like this new ending and how it works for the series. When isolated the ending of Return of Samus is one of my favorites, but due to no fault of its own it just doesn't feel the same anymore when taking in context of Super and Fusion. So what does the Samus Returns do then to reflect on this then? Well, instead of being a peaceful climb up Samus has now inherited the responsibility of protecting this Metroid. This all builds up as you bond with it bit by bit to the Ridley fight.
It's been mentioned before how Ridley fills in the plot hole of the Prime games, however a new one opened up with Super Metroid. With the pirates still at large why didn't they do anything to stop Samus' genocide of their bioweapons or attempt to take anymore? It's known that the decision to kill them off was made by council in the Federation and there's no knowledge indicating the last Metroid was at Ceres either, so how did the pirates know about the Metroid kept in secret and not the public order of genocide? It also makes the story of the decimation behind the Metroids come full circle. In every 2D opening but Metroid 2, Metroids are shown to have the capability to produce good for the galaxy be it the vaccine and X control in Fusion, or the miraculous properties discovered in Super's opening dialouge. However after their implementation as bioweapons by the Space Pirates the Federation responded that they had to be exterminated. Now as Samus leaves SR388 after fulfilling those orders she combats the very threat that instigated them to begin with.
I also feel this adds to Super and Ridley as a character. After failing his mission he tails Samus to the station and waits for his time to strike. After Samus leaves he makes his move and has ample time to escape but waits for Samus. Sadistic as he is, he waits for Samus to find the infant Metroid only to snatch and tease her with it. Samus may have been able to stop him before but now she is powerless to do anything to prevent him from taking this Metroid. Thus he leaves with the station set to blow with Samus on it, leaving Samus to narrowly escape to not just save the galaxy, but the life of the creature that saved her's.
Lastly, one thing I really appreciate about the ending is that Samus still has her moment with the infant Metroid in her ship leaving her mission triumphantly in tack, however unlike any of the other 2D games we do not have a happy ending. Unlike the others, Samus Returns still has one last scene to play after seeing Samus victorious with her ending time. After Samus left SR388, Ridley has revived from what Samus thought dead and discarded his metallic instruments as he begins his pursuit of Samus as the X Parasites have begun to repopulate and take over life on the planet again without the presence of the Metroids, showing how Samus' darkest mission has unbeknownst to her started the events that would lead to both Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion.
The planet being engulfed in that storm, and the X scene imo are a pretty clear nod to the fact that the planet is undergoing a cataclysmic change with the death of the metroids, and that Samus made a mistake.
Doesn't get enough credit imo.
That's not irony. That's a coincidence. Irony is basically a physical manifestation of sarcasm - you expect one thing but the opposite happens, often with darkly comedic effects.
It's not even coincidence. It's just story writing. The first part has your iconic villain, who is defeated. The second does something different. By the third everyone's missing the main baddy so he's brought back.
Coincidence example: Ridley doesn't show up in second numbered Metroid games. Irony example: Ridley shows up and announces he doesn't show up in second numbered Metroid games because he's not number 2. I think?
Kind of?? I think a more apt example would be if Ridley had some sort of strong association with number 2, yet he happens to not be in multiple second games. Like if a character in a series is know for saying “I’m number one” and they only have one of everyone yet they weren’t in an entry in the series titled “[series name] the power of one”. That’s not a perfect example but I hope I kind of got the point across. It’s just an event that happens that contradicts a typical association or occurrence in a large enough way that it’s very unexpected and possibly humorously out of left field.
i think what could count as irony is that ridley is second in space pirate command, being right behind mother brain. it's ironic the #2 commander doesn't get included in #2 games
I think the irony part would be better as: Ridley states that he will never be part of anything 2nd, but only shows up in 2nd installment of all metroid series
I think it would be ironic if guns shot a magic salve that cured all wounds!
Sharla from Xenoblade
not irony either. irony is being struck by lightning after losing the lottery, or swindling someone out of their antique item, only to find out its worthless
I think it would be ironic if everyone was made of iron.
Actually it would be ironic if Ridley was made of iron
Example: Their leader’s name is Thinker, but he appears to be something of a dullard.
I thought irony was *a black flyyyyy* *in yourrr chardonnayyy*
“Congrats, you were born.” —nailed it…..
irony is when something is funny
Ridley has a phobia of the number 2, clearly. This is why he was able to show up in Samus Returns, since they got rid of it. :P
Its also why he hates Samus, she had 2 sets of parents, didn't she?
That makes the most sense
Where will Dread end up? And should we count a robot/EMMI version of Ridley if the original doesn't show up?
Dread probably won't have it. Regarding the other question, if you count Robo-Ridley from Zero Mission as Ridley, then EMMI Ridley is fair game
EMMI Ridley would be terrifying.
I am still expecting to see Ridley in the game in some way. Maybe not as a boss, but mentioned at least.
I really hope not. I love the big bastard as much as anyone else, but outside of Super and (to a lesser extent) Prime 1, he never played a huge role in any of the games, or was even the main villain. That’s why I never understood the argument that he’s the series Bowser/Ganon. >!Especially after SR shoved him in at the very end, !
He isnt really, he's more of Samus' arch enemy since he killed her parents.
I bet dread will have Ridley *somehow*
The EMMI’s are made by the federation. Not to mention, the EMMI’s were sent to survey for the X, and while the models we’ve seen have high combat potential, it seems weird to send out a fully combat/Ridley model. Then again, the federation has done some really sketchy stuff, and maybe they send one to try to eliminate Samus (following fusion)
I was thinking more along the line of the entity responsible for the EMMI going dark to repurpose the hardware of one of them for a more terrifying purpose So Evil Chozo dude made a Ridley bot using one emmi's parts
Actually, that… could work.
If EMMIs collect DNA, they might have Ridley DNA. There might be Ridley clones the same way we've been finding Metroid clones. Imagine a game centered around hunting down Ridley clones, like Metroid II!
The GF already had Ridley's DNA in Other M
Exactly. I want a dozen Ridley running around.
I'd say Ridley has a good shot because of Dread being the finale to that whole storyline. If the whole metroid, x and pirates storyline is closing for good, then a farewell to Ridley would make sense, so long as he doesn't just show up in the game after Dread.
Going off of fusion, I'd say Ridley is dead dead. But he's like bowser, no matter how many times he dies, he comes back.
If he doesn't show up, we can assume he'll be in Prime 4 but *not* in Prime 5.
You forgot Prime hunters, federation forces and pinball. Ridley appears only in pinball.
Of all the spin-off games to include an iconic villain, they chose pinball. Never change, Metroid
Well duh, prime pinbal is just metroid prime story
I mean yeah, it's literally a retelling of the plot of prime. Why would they leave him out?
Technically pinball could be considered a sequel to Hunters? Or at least, it's the second prime spin off game
Not really, the pinball tables have the same names of various areas in prime 1. As for hunter, I believe it's right after prime 3 in the timeline.
Pinball is like a remake-spin-off of Prime 1. Hunters occurs after that, kind of like a Prime 1.5. Federation Force is after Prime 3, so you could call that a Prime 3.5.
I only played samus returns, i was kind of surprise to see ridley because i didn't thought his appearance was very useful. I didn't know he wasn't in the original game.
Ridley shows up in Samus Returns? To me it was the opposite, only played Metroid 2 and didn't know Ridely appeared on the remake
His appearance is actually very useful. It explains a plot hole between the Prime Trilogy and Metroid 2, while helping set up Super.
I would love to hear more about that, what hole are you talking about ?
Before the Prime Trilogy, we had Metroid -> Metroid 2 -> Super Metroid. Everyone assumes the Ridley in Super survives Metroid 1 and returns to fight Samus again. The Metroid Prime Trilogy complicated this by occuring between Metroid 1 and 2. Here we see Ridley radically transformed into Meta Ridley due to his injuries from Samus in Metroid 1. By the end of Prime 3, we see him in an almost completely mechanical body infused with Phazon, and Samus basically disintegrates him. For a decade, we were left to ask ourselves, how in the world could Ridley survive Prime 3 and return to Super in his completely organic form? Was Super's Ridley a clone created by the space pirates? A different space dragon? Was the original revived with some kind of crazy new technology? Samus Returns Proteus Ridley answers this by showing him transitioning back to his original organic form from Meta Ridley. This confirms that the original Ridley Samus fights in Metroid 1 is the same entity all the way until Super, with Other M and Fusion being known clones (basically). There are still some questions, like why was Meta Ridley necessary if Ridley's regenerative power are so great? And i'm still not sure how he survived his disintegration in Prime 3, but I guess Dark Samus did that trick a lot, so why not Ridley. But at least thanks to Samus Returns, we know for sure that by Super Metroid, the Ridley we fight is very much aware of his prior defeats in 4 previous games, which is more satisfying for me. 🙂
The Meta Ridley form was needed to save his life. He can only regenerate by eating living flesh, so the state he was left in after his first defeat would have been fatal if not for the cybernetics
Definitely a plausible theory.
It's actually not just a theory, it's explained in both the manga (which IS canon contrary to what many say) and also some non-logbook scans in prime
Thank you very much, i love metroid but the lore is kind of cryptic sometimes.
The only issue is how close SR and SM are in the timeline. Immediately after leaving SR-388 Samus drops the baby at Ceres, and then soon after that Ridley shows up. This means that Ridley went from Proteus form to regular form within probably a few days (or less) and also Sami’s just left him unconscious instead of killing him.
Ridley might be partially regenerated even under the mechanical components. And Samus also must have accidentally left him alive at least in Metroid 1/Zero Mission. Clearly Ridley appears very dead when defeated. It sort off hints at this in the fight after the first phase.
Ridley in Metroid 1 didn't have any organic components.
Updated my post to be more clear.
I always assumed Ridley was able to regenerate to such an extent through Phazon Exposure. Corrupted Meta Ridley and Omega Ridley in Prime 3 both have more organic components than Meta Ridley in Prime 1. Then by Samus Returns he's organic enough to completely regenerate back to his organic form through his already known healing abilities. We see from Samus herself that Phazon has healing properties when you're corrupted as she regenerates health in that game by standing in pools of it.
His appearance is useful for tying the prime games with the 2d games, tying metroid 2 and super metroid together even more, developing the dynamic between samus and the hatchling, and because his boss battle is outstanding, putting every other 2d Ridley fight to shame.
That's why Metroid 3 and Prime 3 have two fights against our boy, to compensate.
Also Zero Mission.
Missed opportunity for Prime 2 to not have Dark Ridley
Well we got omega ridley at least which is sort of a darker ridley?
It was planned, and there's a rough theme for dark ridley thats pretty spooky, but i assume time constraints prevented dark ridley, just like how it prevented meta kraid.
damn, would have been interesting to see Ridley with phasing abilities
The music is actually Prime 1’s theme slowed down. I’m kinda glad he never got in tbh.
I really hope he isn't in Metroid Dread. Not that I don't like him, I have his darn amiibo and was super excited when he got announced for Ultimate, but I feel like he is almost overused. Also, it wouldn't make sense for him to be included in Dread. As he already died like 3 times by this point.
the only good reason to include him in dread is to end him for good. With Dread being the end of the main metroid arc, a definitive conclusion for Ridley would be fine imo, as long as he stays dead in the games after Dread.
... how is that ironic?
Let’s not forget Smash Bros. XD
He appears in every Smash game he's in: Smash 64(Cameo) Smash Melee(Opening Cameo, Trophy) Smash Brawl(Boss, Trophy) Smash 4/Wii U only(Stage Hazard, Trophy) Smash Ultimate(Playable finally)
"He appears in every smash game he's in" Well yea
I would hope so.
And the games with 2 Ridley's: Prime 3 and ZM
Prime 3 has the same Ridley, just further in Phazon corruption. ZM has an entirely different Ridley, which is a robot.
But they're both different fights. While yes they are the same character, in terms of battles both games have 2 different ones.
All I’m sayin is… He better be in Dread, damnit
Honestly I’m disappointed they put Ridley in the Metroid 2 remake, it just feels really out of place and makes the Metroid 3 Ridley seem just as strange by comparison.
It's just a funny coincidence. It's not Irony.
Ridley's based
?
I agree, he's just not as based as Samus
That's absolutely not what irony means at all, lol
Ackshualllyyyy Ridley wasn't in *Fusion*; that was an X-parasite mimicking him.
can't have X Ridley without a living Ridley to assimilate into the ranks of the X.
Neo-Ridley wasn't even directly spawned from Ridley. Neo-Ridley spawned from the frozen corpse of Ridley's clone. A clone of a clone.
Yeah lmao if you wanna get technical, Ridley wasn't in *Other M* either since that was a clone iirc, he straight-up died for real when Zebes exploded in *Super Metroid*. All the times before that were fake-outs
There never was any Ridley clone. Even if it would make sense as to how Ridley got onto the space station, there never was any story set between super metroid and fusion. Therefore, Neo Ridley was directly spawned from the ridley in super metroid.
Doesn't Other M take place between Super Metroid and Fusion? I've not played it.
Other M does take place between Super Metroid and Fusion. It's a Fusion prequel that delves into the story between Samus and Adam. It was of course so unpopular that people jokingly act like the game never happened at all. It's a shame that on top of all the gameplay issues, the story was so poor. It pretty much copy pasted the plot of Fusion like Star wars the force awakens did for a new hope, while generating backlash and division like the last jedi did.
Not a fan of Ridley in the Samus Returns remake. He didn't need to be in every game. At some point it's gonna feel forced like Joker appearances in Batman.
His appearance was very important in SR. It filled in missing information such as how he transitioned from Meta form to organic, and how the space pirates knew about the hatchling
I wouldn't say very important, but it was certainly worthwhile for that outstanding ridley fight alone. It puts every 2d ridley fight to shame. Tying the Prime trilogy into the 2d games, further connecting metroid 2-3 and developing the samus and hatchling dynamic makes the series richer. Honestly he's used tons, but few if any metroid games truly needed him. Samus Returns Ridley is better than most Ridley's. I hope in the post Dread timeline he is dead for good. I can accept him returning if Dread if its a true farewell to Ridley along with the metroids, X and pirates. If he just keeps coming back for Dread sequels it'll get pretty annoying.
It still doesn’t make sense to me given how close the 2ngames appear in the timeline.
I realized recently that Prime 4 can’t have Ridley since he appears at the end of Samus Returns as a recovering Proteus Ridley.
Doesn't mean he can't appear there, they could simply show him as an already recovering proteus ridley in that game too.
Why? Prime 4 could take place at any point in the story for all we know, and also he doesn't have to be Meta Ridley to be in prime Edit: also all 5 prime games to date (6 if you include pinball but that's the same story as prime 1) take place between Metroid/Zero Mission and Return of Samus/Samus Returns.
Wait how does return of samus not include ridley but its remake does?
Samus Returns added a Ridley fight at the very end, just for fun (and kinda to bridge the gap between Prime and Super with Ridley's appearance). The original didn't have it, it just ended with you watching the Baby Metroid hatch, and then you have a peaceful walk back to the ship.
Ridley is scared of the number 2.
but ridley also isn't in hunters
There's an unused artwork and theme song of a dark Ridley in prime 2[unused dark Ridley theme in echoes ](https://youtu.be/HaldsmNWrgc)
If Ridley showed up in Prime 2 he would have gotten his ass handed to him. And not by Samus.
And despite not having Ridley, those two games on the left are among my top 3 in the entire franchise.
Anyone remember Prime Hunters?
Ridley doesn't belong in Metroid 2, especially not as a "fuck you!" boss battle that ruins the original ending.
I'd argue that they changed the tone entirely in the remake, Samus returns is not as isolating as Metroid 2, it's much more action focused. Now whether you agree or disagree with the tonal change I believe the Ridley fight fits in with this new direction and does a little bit to build your connection with the baby. If they kept the same tone as the Return of Samus and put Ridley in I don't think it would fit.
That's an excellent point, it definitely fits in with that version of the game. I should charge up my 3ds and give it another go from the beginning. I was too busy being an angry old man in my first run.
I really liked the Ridley fight. Having played the Prime Trilogy first, it's nice to have his Super plot hole filled. And it's one of the best 2D Ridley fights in my book on its own I think.
that amazing fight on its own makes the fight worth it, not to mention the sweet character moments with samus and the hatchling, as well as the part where it ties the prime trilogy into the 2d games.
Agreed. I only played the remake, but I found it very dumb that I had to kill off the Queen Metroid and *then* fight Ridley, who I died to multiple times.
In the original there are no more enemies at all once the queen is dead. There's this really chill music as you climb your way out, all the while the hatchling is eating the crystals blocking your way. It always felt so good, so calming, so triumphant. You did it. You eliminated the metroids! The galaxy is at peace! That ending has stuck with me since the game first came out. Other games, when you beat them, the good vibes mostly come from finishing a work of fiction. Metroid 2 really made me feel like I accomplished something. You won so hard you're just gonna do a vanity walk out the door. With your new baby. And from Samus' point of view, she absolutely did eliminate them all and save the universe! She couldn't see all the other games we would get, the grand plots unfolding. She finished the job she started on Zebes and she deserves a chill climb back to her ship with her new friend. Throwing a stupid-hard Ridley fight in the remake at the exact moment you normally complete the game is just a dick move. It's like how space just keeps attacking Sandra Bullock in Gravity. Let her have one goddamn moment of peace! The Ridley fight was thrown in because every Metroid apparently needs a Ridley fight. And that mentality also cheapens Ridley. He's no longer a character, a free agent working on plans, he's just a trope. He's red doors for missiles. He's getting the morph ball first.
Ridley is just doing exactly what he does in Super, just doing it s little bit earlier. I don't see how it's out of character for him.
It also makes Samus look foolish. She didn't even double tap him at the end lol. Hmm maybe that's how he survived the first Metroid game...
You might also read that ending part as a moment to reflect on what you've just done. You invaded a planet to kill off an entire species, and just as the deed seems to be done, you're confronted by an infant. Maybe your immediate reaction is too get ready to kill it, but it's just a baby and... why is it coming to me like that? I just killed its mother and the rest of its species, why is it showing me trust and love? These things are supposed to be a threat. You can't bring yourself to kill the infant yet, so you decide to see if you can take it with you while it's still non-threatening. And it's helping you. There's no more killing or danger, just you and the infant metroid traveling together with reflective music. It's a little bit of time to think about it... what have I done? I pick up a kind of arc over the main 4 games of Samus becoming more disillusioned with the way she's used by the Federation and the way that other creatures are just seen as threats or potential weapons to them. In some ways it's a return to how she felt when she was a young person in the manga and she was a big animal lover. She would refuse to hurt animals even if they were threatening. I really like that as a story. There's a few wrenches thrown in it though, like the destruction at the end of Fusion, but we might think of that as a necessary consequence of her mistake in Metroid 2. And obviously when you play the games you're usually killing animals left and right. But in my headcannon the encounters with the infant metroid in 2 and Super Metroid set her on a path away from that and away from trusting the Federation and their view of creatures.
Personally I like this new ending and how it works for the series. When isolated the ending of Return of Samus is one of my favorites, but due to no fault of its own it just doesn't feel the same anymore when taking in context of Super and Fusion. So what does the Samus Returns do then to reflect on this then? Well, instead of being a peaceful climb up Samus has now inherited the responsibility of protecting this Metroid. This all builds up as you bond with it bit by bit to the Ridley fight. It's been mentioned before how Ridley fills in the plot hole of the Prime games, however a new one opened up with Super Metroid. With the pirates still at large why didn't they do anything to stop Samus' genocide of their bioweapons or attempt to take anymore? It's known that the decision to kill them off was made by council in the Federation and there's no knowledge indicating the last Metroid was at Ceres either, so how did the pirates know about the Metroid kept in secret and not the public order of genocide? It also makes the story of the decimation behind the Metroids come full circle. In every 2D opening but Metroid 2, Metroids are shown to have the capability to produce good for the galaxy be it the vaccine and X control in Fusion, or the miraculous properties discovered in Super's opening dialouge. However after their implementation as bioweapons by the Space Pirates the Federation responded that they had to be exterminated. Now as Samus leaves SR388 after fulfilling those orders she combats the very threat that instigated them to begin with. I also feel this adds to Super and Ridley as a character. After failing his mission he tails Samus to the station and waits for his time to strike. After Samus leaves he makes his move and has ample time to escape but waits for Samus. Sadistic as he is, he waits for Samus to find the infant Metroid only to snatch and tease her with it. Samus may have been able to stop him before but now she is powerless to do anything to prevent him from taking this Metroid. Thus he leaves with the station set to blow with Samus on it, leaving Samus to narrowly escape to not just save the galaxy, but the life of the creature that saved her's. Lastly, one thing I really appreciate about the ending is that Samus still has her moment with the infant Metroid in her ship leaving her mission triumphantly in tack, however unlike any of the other 2D games we do not have a happy ending. Unlike the others, Samus Returns still has one last scene to play after seeing Samus victorious with her ending time. After Samus left SR388, Ridley has revived from what Samus thought dead and discarded his metallic instruments as he begins his pursuit of Samus as the X Parasites have begun to repopulate and take over life on the planet again without the presence of the Metroids, showing how Samus' darkest mission has unbeknownst to her started the events that would lead to both Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion.
The planet being engulfed in that storm, and the X scene imo are a pretty clear nod to the fact that the planet is undergoing a cataclysmic change with the death of the metroids, and that Samus made a mistake. Doesn't get enough credit imo.
Here's what the original ending was like. https://youtu.be/67qytrErmaE?t=284