Metroid Database Bestiary

The Commanding Officer of the Space Pirate Legion, and Samus’s nemesis. Ridley has been destroyed time and time again by Samus, but somehow he keeps coming back in every game. He is a highly intelligent creature resembling a mythical dragon. Ridley can achieve flight through outer space, and can also breathe fire.

In the prologue to Super Metroid, Ridley steals the Metroid Hatchling that Samus left in the hands of the scientists on Ceres Space Colony. Samus was able to return to the station after a distress call, but she was too late; Ridley escaped along with the Baby Metroid canister and activated the Space Colony’s self-destruct sequence.

Samus would encounter Ridley once again in his newly-constructed lair, located in the scorching, acidic depths of Norfair’s deepest subterranean caves.

Ridley is fought two times.

CERES SPACE STATION: Ridley can be shot at, but cannot be killed. After Samus gets hurt enough to make her low energy alarm sound, Ridley makes his escape and flies away, forcing you to also escape Ceres before it blows up.

LOWER NORFAIR: Ridley is quite possibly the strongest and most difficult boss in the game. When you enter his room, he seems to be gone, but use this time to charge up your Beam. When he appears, immediately release your charged beam, and then charge again, and release. You may be tempted to use Super Missiles or normal Missiles, and while they can be effective, they are not nearly as effective as fully-charged Plasma Beam shots.

Ridley has a much more advanced arsenal than his original Metroid incarnation. Beyond shooting fireballs, he now flies around the room, swooping down at you while trying to pick you up in his clutches. He can also swing his tail around and do a downward bounce-attack with it. When he bounces, kneel and aim directly upward while blasting him with more charged shots.

Keep charging your beam and let them loose as soon as you can. Use the Screw Attack coupled with Space Jump if you want to avoid any of his attacks. Ridley will be toast in no time.

If you shoot Ridley enough times and avoid his attacks during the Ceres prologue, you can make him drop the baby Metroid canister. Unfortunately, he picks it right back up and makes his exit shortly after. During the Norfair battle, sometimes Ridley will pick you up right before he dies, and then falls apart with you in his clutches.

Ridley was given a vast redesign in Super Metroid, and this look has since stuck in every one of his reincarnations.