Ridley's Contest History

Who is Ridley?
Every major gaming series has a token or recurring boss fight, and Ridley takes this honor in the Metroid series. Samus/Ridley duels are among gaming's best, and Ridley is almost always one of the harder bosses in any Metroid title. He and Samus simply beat the hell out of each other until someone wins. Ridley didn't start off as being particularly strong in the first Metroid, but Nintendo fixed that over the years.

But Ridley is much more than a simple recurring boss fight in the Metroid games; Ridley also happen to be the leader of the Space Pirates that manage to cause Samus grief in every Metroid title. At the beginning of Super Metroid, it's Ridley that is able to steal the final Metroid before sending Samus on a wild goose chase -- culminating in one of the best Samus/Ridley fights in the entire series, especially if you're one of those lunatics that tries doing a reverse boss run through Super Metroid and thus fights Ridley without the Varia Suit on. And you're a better gamer than I if you've ever managed to pull that off.

Samus manages to kill Ridley in Super Metroid, but her battles with Ridley were far from over, as Samus finds out eight years later at the beginning of Metroid Prime. The destroyed space station in the beginning of the game is caused by none other than Ridley himself. As fate would have it, the Space Pirates went Darth Vader on Ridley in Metroid Prime and augmented the hell out of him. Metroid Prime leaves Samus stuck facing a bigger, stronger, faster, metallic version of the same Ridley that had caused her so much grief through the years.

This culminates in yet another Samus/Ridley clash in which Samus has to resort to burning off Ridley's new wings before fighting him at close range in what may be the hardest fight in the game, though Samus's efforts were rewarded with access to Metroid Prime's lair and a chance to stop the Space Pirates' influx of Phazon onto the Chozo's old world of Tallon IV. Ridley has also yet to return from his defeat in Metroid Prime, but it's only a matter of time before the Space Pirates figure out another way to resurrect their fallen leader.

Of course, this is only the order of events if you play the games chronologically. Metroid Prime actually comes before Super Metroid, hence why Metroids aren't believed to be extinct in Prime. Not that this explains how Ridley is a much tougher fight in Prime, but that's the magic of odd timelines for you. Ridley also causes Samus grief in Metroid: Zero Mission in two occasions, the latter of which being very difficult if you get 100% of items beforehand.

Ridley didn't make an appearance in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, but who knows if Ridley is actually gone for good?

"The reconstruction of geoform 187, code-named Ridley, was recently completed. After his defeat on Zebes, Command ordered a number of metagenenic improvements for him. Though aggressive, we were able to implement these changes in a cycle. The metamorphosis was painful, but quite successful in the end. Early tests indicate a drastic increase in strength, mobility, and offensive capability. Cybernetic modules and armour plating have been added as well. We believe our creature, now called Meta Ridley, will become the mainstay of our security force, a job he will certainly relish." - Metroid Prime Scan

Ridley's Contest History
Win-Loss Record: 0-2

Spring 2005 Contest - Ruin Division - 2 Seed
 * Ruin Round 1 --- Lost to (7) Diablo, 31438 [42.35%] - 42796 [57.65%]
 * Extrapolated Strength --- 10th Place [24.66%]

Without a doubt, one of the biggest disappointments of Spring 2005 had to be Ridley. The flagship villains of the Zelda and Mario series were ready to kick ass, but for some reason Metroid's main villain never managed to take off in a division that many felt he could coast his way through. People knew that Diablo would be strong, yes, but most didn't expect Diablo to pound Ridley into the ground so badly.

Ridley's disappointing showing may have a lot to do with the fact that he isn't nearly as well-known as other Nintendo staples like Ganondorf or Bowser, plus the fact that Ridley never shows any character in Metroid games. He has a story to him, but you really have to search for it. Casual Metroid players just see Ridley as "the guy you fight in Metroid games", and many people probably have no idea that Ridley is the leader of the Space Pirates.

Being cool in your games may help you get into a contest, but you need prominence in your games to be successful once you get there. Ridley doesn't have this working for him, and it cost him in this contest. It's not that Ridley is flat-out fodder, but people tend to stop nominating characters once they flop in contests this badly. Nothing short of being a playable character in a Smash Brothers title will get Ridley back into one of these things.

Summer 2007 Contest - Division 6 - Fourth Group
 * Division 6 Round 1 --- 3rd place, 24297 [18.88%] - Leon Kennedy, 51641 [40.13%] - Vivi Ornitier, 39729 [30.87%] - Spyro the Dragon, 13031 [10.13%]

Ridley ended up in one of the most boring fourpacks of the contest. There was nothing interesting about this match whatsoever, other than being the closest match to pulling a 40/30/20/10 in terms of percentage. The only thing this match proved was that Ridley is still where the Villains Contest says he was. He won't be beating anyone worth anything anytime soon.