Neo-Ridley^[1] (ネオ リドリー, Neo Ridorī^?)^[2][3], known as simply Ridley in English guides^[4][5], is the tenth boss that Samus Aran battles aboard the Biologic Space Laboratories research station in Metroid Fusion. This creature is an X Parasite mimicking a clone of Ridley, which Samus has encountered previously in Metroid: Other M. It is Ridley's final chronological appearance.

Biography

Presumably around the time the B.S.L. station loses its power, an X Parasite of either the standard or Core-X type manages to break inside the sealed chamber within the Sub-Zero Containment room on the Main Deck, where it infests the frozen body of Ridley's clone to obtain his DNA. During the aforementioned power outage, Samus also enters the very same chamber while making her way back to her Starship, and witnesses the clone's eyes suddenly flare up, recalling the original Ridley's previous encounters with Samus. Instead of breaking out of the ice to attack Samus, however, the eyes cease to glow and the entire frozen corpse crumbles onto the floor as a Core-X flosts away from it.

Later on, this Core-X settles into the Tourian-like section of SRX and imitates its last host; without the freezing temperatures of the containment room, the imitation reveals that the body of Ridley's clone is in a particular state of decomposition, just as he was left in when last seen in Other M. Samus eventually finds the room where the mimic is located and the eyes glow when she approaches it, before it morphs a second time into the being known as Neo-Ridley. This "new" Ridley has a substantially altered appearance from the original Ridley, including enlarged talons and a somewhat grotesque visage. These modifications are likely the Core-X manipulating his DNA to create a more intimidating and efficient version of him, much like how other victims of the X such as the Arachnus have their capabilities improved upon.

Battle

Neo-Ridley tends to alternate between two attack styles. The first involves him oscillating up and down as he flies back and forth across the room with his extremely harmful tail swinging slightly with his movements, as he occasionally breathes three large fireballs that home in on Samus's position. In Neo-Ridley's second attack style, he uses his classic tail attacks first seen in Super Metroid, which primarily involves using his tail to serve as both an offensive and defensive measure due to its invulnerability; when Samus is facing his front, the tail attack will spin and thrust directly at her like a whip while he slowly advances. If she is facing him from behind, then the tail attack will spin once and be used in a manner similar to a pogo-stick as he rapidly moves in. Contact with Neo-Ridley's front claws at almost any point will result in Samus being grabbed, causing her energy to steadily drop; she can still shoot him while in his grip, and he will only drop her if she inflicts enough damage.

Neo-Ridley's massive size makes it difficult for Samus to evade him, even when using the Space Jump since he will begin to chase her if she reaches a higher altitude than him. If Samus manages to reach the room's ceiling, he will keep a short distance away and shoot his homing fireballs as he flies around without oscillating, requiring strict timing with her midair jumps to avoid falling onto him. Her Morph Ball ability is very useful for maneuvering under Neo-Ridley, especially during his tail attacks due to its smaller height and quicker turning speed.

All the battle involves is repeatedly firing Diffusion Missiles or the Charge Beam against Neo-Ridley, considering that unlike most powerful enemies Samus faces, he does not have a specific weak point, much like Ridley from Super Metroid, as any part of his body can receive damage except his invulnerable tail. The Charge Beam is the preferred method as it contains the Plasma Beam; this allows it to pierce through his body and inflict continuous damage. Each time a set amount of harm is dealt to him, he will utter a long shriek with his eyes shut and will tend to shift attacks, giving him some form of predictability as what to expect next. A well placed point-blank charged shot can immediately cause him to scream, with continuous fire ensuring the boss will almost never have a chance to strike back.

As he receives more damage, Neo-Ridley will change colors from blue to purple to red. Between the last heavy shriek and the death shriek, his remaining health is short compared to the rest of the battle. Once Neo-Ridley is defeated, he will emit multiple consecutive screeches before he reverts to his true Core-X form. Once Samus removes its protective membrane with several Missiles, she absorbs the Core-X and obtains the Screw Attack, the second-to-last power-up on the station.

Link to Metroid: Other M

The presence of both an X-infected Ridley and Zebesian Space Pirates onboard the B.S.L. station was considered enigmatic after Metroid Fusion's release, given that the Pirates are thoroughly routed and Ridley is permanently defeated in Super Metroid. Neither the game itself nor any of its associated media provide a direct explanation for the presence of Ridley and the Zebesians, with the offical website for Metroid Fusion merely calling it an alarming development. The events portrayed in the later-released Metroid: Other M, which serves as a prequel to Fusion, clarify this mystery: after Ridley's clone is killed by the Queen Metroid and becomes a dried, rotting corpse, the Galactic Federation intervenes in the game's ending. When Samus returns to the BOTTLE SHIP sometime later, the corpse has vanished from where she found it. The Federation eventually sends the Ridley clone's remains to the B.S.L. station to be preserved.

Considerable evidence supports the conclusions made by Other M; for example, the corpse of Ridley's clone in Other M is similar in color to the X-mimic in Fusion. Also, Ridley's clone would have been extremely fragile after being drained by the Queen Metroid, which certainly explains why the frozen corpse shatters when the Core-X leaves it. This theory is further supported by the presence of another specimen, codenamed Nightmare, aboard the B.S.L. station; Nightmare is also originally encountered on the BOTTLE SHIP and could easily have been transferred to the B.S.L. station in the same manner as Ridley's clone. The presence of Zebesian Space Pirates in both titles suggests the cloned variants featured in Other M could have been transferred to the B.S.L. station as well; notably, Zebesians appear on the BOTTLE SHIP even after the corpse of Ridley's clone is removed, indicating at the very least that not all Zebesians are transferred.

Official data

Palutena's Guidance

"Neo-Ridley was born when an X parasite absorbed Ridley's genes."

Trivia

• The sprites for the Ridley clone's original form prior to its transformation into Neo-Ridley (the frozen corpse and the X-mimicked "rotting" body found in Sector 1) seem to be directly based off of the Super Metroid Ridley sprite art.
• Metroid Fusion: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide depicts in the "X Collection" feature an image of Samus fighting a Core-X in a room resembling a blue version of Neo-Ridley's room, suggesting this is a beta screenshot.
• When Ridley's clone is frozen, his eyes glow as they do in Super Metroid (and on the later-released Corruption and Other M), suggesting that he is temporarily resurrected by the X. The corpse seen later in SRX also has his eyes glow; however, at this point, it is the X Parasite mimicking the clone of Ridley.
• For unknown reasons, the Core-X that infects the body locked in the Sub-Zero Containment room initially takes the form of the brittle corpse of Ridley's clone seen near the end of Other M before transforming into Neo-Ridley. According to Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion: Prima's Official Strategy Guide, Neo-Ridley is "playing possum",^[6] possibly to trick Samus into lowering her guard before the battle.
• It is not known if the X Parasite that infects Ridley's clone is already a Core-X prior to said act. A standard X is stated to become a Core-X when it either infects a powerful host, or when it absorbs a Power-up; if the latter scenario occurs to Neo-Ridley's X Parasite, it may have acquired the Screw Attack item before finding the frozen clone.
• Neo-Ridley is the only boss in Metroid Fusion that does not seem to use the upgrade that Samus acquires from him. However, Neo-Ridley's spinning fireballs and/or his invulnerable tail which he often spins around his body could be traits of the Screw Attack's spinning energy blade. Samus might have restored her ability by absorbing these natural characteristics from his DNA (the original Ridley also uses these attacks in Zero Mission and Super Metroid), akin to how she used the innate abilities of Serris and Arachnus for her Speed Booster and Morph Ball, respectively.
• On Easy mode in the Japanese version of the game, Neo-Ridley's health is halved.
• A rare glitch can occur when fighting Neo-Ridley. If Samus is being grabbed by Neo-Ridley for too long near the edge of a wall, when she escapes, it may become possible for Samus to become stuck inside said wall or out-of-bounds off the map.
• It is unknown whether or not Ridley's clone from Other M retains any memories of Samus Aran from the original Ridley. If he did, Neo-Ridley would subsequently inherit all of these memories as well, since the X Parasites are known to acquire their hosts' memories. Regardless, Neo-Ridley assuredly obtains the clone's memories of the events that transpired on the BOTTLE SHIP.
• Neo-Ridley's head structure heavily resembles that of Ridley's forms (Meta Ridley and Omega Ridley) seen in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Coincidentally, Omega Ridley is also the antepenultimate (third from last) boss in Corruption, and both versions of Ridley are infected with a form of harmful substance.
• Neo-Ridley's battle music uses a slower tempo compared to most versions of Vs. Ridley. This stylistic choice would not be seen again until Boss Ridley Third in Metroid: Samus Returns.
• Neo-Ridley's sprite is so big compared to other bosses that it causes the Game Boy Advance to lag slightly during the fight.
• Excluding the non-Beam Core-X, Neo-Ridley is the fifth boss to change colors during the course of battle. The preceding four are the Barrier Core-X, Yakuza, Nettori, and Nightmare (if one counts its face). The sixth and final boss to follow after Neo-Ridley is the Omega Metroid.
  • Of these bosses, Neo-Ridley shares its color changes with Yakuza and the Omega Metroid; starting out a navy blue, then purple when at 50% health, followed by red when near death.
• One of Ridley's alternate costumes in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate resembles Neo-Ridley. Palutena also describes Neo-Ridley's origins in the Palutena's Guidance easter egg, providing the first official use of the name in an English source.
• Neo-Ridley's palms face upwards, which appears to be referenced in Metroid: Other M, as Ridley's clone in that game - after being reduced to a petrified corpse by the Queen Metroid - also has his palms facing upwards in a very similar manner. This clone is the very same one that the X mimics in the form of Neo-Ridley, although the corpse's palms are facing downwards and appears more in line with the original Ridley's appearances in past games. (This is likely due to Other M having been released after Fusion despite taking place before it, thus meaning that the former retconned elements in the latter.)
• Neo-Ridley is notorious for his loud screams throughout the entire battle, especially when receiving damage. These screams were later reused for the actual Ridley in Zero Mission, albeit somewhat quieter.
• Neo-Ridley being the final chronological appearance of Ridley is shared with his comrade Kraid who also has an X Parasite mimic him during the events of Metroid Dread.

Audio

Gallery

Neo Ridley's Core-X, containing the Screw Attack when absorbed.

Samus behind the frozen Ridley clone.

The clone's eyes glow.

Its frozen body shatters.

Samus sees the rotting corpse of the Ridley clone.

The eyes glow.

The rotting corpse transforms into Neo-Ridley.

Samus battling Neo-Ridley.

Neo-Ridley while low on health

The corpse seen within the prototype variant of Neo-Ridley's room.

Neo-Ridley's in-game sprite

Ridley's alternate costume with Neo-Ridley's color palette

References