ps_
Banned via Warnings
Really, really bad. I made it into elite smash with him a day ago (I don't know what this means; it probably won't mean anything in a week) and I think he's bottom-tier.
Everyone who made "too big" jokes for two decades was 100% correct. I've been hit by forward-smashes while standing behind the opponent, things my opponent blatantly missed or aimed badly, projectiles launched from across the map, even things "I swear I air-dodged" still hit the tail-end of my hurtbox and inflicted damage. Fighting Ridley is basically like being given training wheels. He has no hope of escaping Luigi, Yoshi or slicey dicey eat-the-ricey characters (pretty much anyone with good forward air) because they will still be inside your hitbox while you're recovering, doing whatever attack they want. I've been carried to the blast zone by Bowser of all people because Ridley has no answers to anyone aggressive.
"So just space them out," you say. You can't do that either. Your projectile is decent for guarding ledges and harassment, but to make it efficient you have to hold the button down, charging it. You take 25% damage if hit during this. You can't "store" it like a Samus or Mewtwo special. You can never use it as a swift option, and characters like Sheik (who already benefit from the size issue I mentioned above) can use their own projectiles to earn a free twenty-fiver punish. They're easy to leap over, making them a poor option for keeping opponents away. Their chief (read: only) reliable use is pouring damage onto opponents trying to recover.
And the recovery. Where do I even start?
You get two jumps and what can only be described as "Fox's terrible Up+B, but even worse." It doesn't go anywhere. The places it does go are four given directions, making it wonky to use and easy to predict. It's telegraphed hard, so you shouldn't attack with it. If you do attack with it you'll get punished; pretty much any standard attack will trump it, you can swipe at it with a big forward smash and win. it only blows through projectiles (but not big ones, like Villager's gyro.) If you use it at a ledge "the wrong way" Ridley slams his face into it like a mental defective, bouncing off and leaving you a sitting duck. All of this plays into the above complaints about aggressive characters, where Ridley is reliably outplayed by simply running up and hitting him over and over. And if you parry or shield? Your jabs are still slow with no range, the best ones demanding a short hop, so any opponent has the time to get up and resume where they left off.
Ridley has too many problems to be any good. These aren't "just buff it" problems, these are fundamental flaws in his design. This is the same exact stuff that kept Bowser, DK and Ganondorf sitting in Melee's bottom-tier. Getting in on him is trivial, he can't get in on you, everything hits him, his toolset is extraordinarily limited and every inch of his play feels like someone at Nintendo said "let's make a . The fact that this is the case when the developers have cracked the code to making a good heavy, providing K. Rool with a wealth of amenities to compensate for his size, such as super armor, amazing recovery, reliable projectiles, good frame data, a wealth of meteor attacks and combo potential is beyond pathetic.
I'm going to play him but wow, did they **** up. Maybe they'll release Other M's steroid duck Ridley as DLC and I can pay $5 to get pro, just like all the Cloud and Bayonetta mains.
Everyone who made "too big" jokes for two decades was 100% correct. I've been hit by forward-smashes while standing behind the opponent, things my opponent blatantly missed or aimed badly, projectiles launched from across the map, even things "I swear I air-dodged" still hit the tail-end of my hurtbox and inflicted damage. Fighting Ridley is basically like being given training wheels. He has no hope of escaping Luigi, Yoshi or slicey dicey eat-the-ricey characters (pretty much anyone with good forward air) because they will still be inside your hitbox while you're recovering, doing whatever attack they want. I've been carried to the blast zone by Bowser of all people because Ridley has no answers to anyone aggressive.
"So just space them out," you say. You can't do that either. Your projectile is decent for guarding ledges and harassment, but to make it efficient you have to hold the button down, charging it. You take 25% damage if hit during this. You can't "store" it like a Samus or Mewtwo special. You can never use it as a swift option, and characters like Sheik (who already benefit from the size issue I mentioned above) can use their own projectiles to earn a free twenty-fiver punish. They're easy to leap over, making them a poor option for keeping opponents away. Their chief (read: only) reliable use is pouring damage onto opponents trying to recover.
And the recovery. Where do I even start?
You get two jumps and what can only be described as "Fox's terrible Up+B, but even worse." It doesn't go anywhere. The places it does go are four given directions, making it wonky to use and easy to predict. It's telegraphed hard, so you shouldn't attack with it. If you do attack with it you'll get punished; pretty much any standard attack will trump it, you can swipe at it with a big forward smash and win. it only blows through projectiles (but not big ones, like Villager's gyro.) If you use it at a ledge "the wrong way" Ridley slams his face into it like a mental defective, bouncing off and leaving you a sitting duck. All of this plays into the above complaints about aggressive characters, where Ridley is reliably outplayed by simply running up and hitting him over and over. And if you parry or shield? Your jabs are still slow with no range, the best ones demanding a short hop, so any opponent has the time to get up and resume where they left off.
Ridley has too many problems to be any good. These aren't "just buff it" problems, these are fundamental flaws in his design. This is the same exact stuff that kept Bowser, DK and Ganondorf sitting in Melee's bottom-tier. Getting in on him is trivial, he can't get in on you, everything hits him, his toolset is extraordinarily limited and every inch of his play feels like someone at Nintendo said "let's make a . The fact that this is the case when the developers have cracked the code to making a good heavy, providing K. Rool with a wealth of amenities to compensate for his size, such as super armor, amazing recovery, reliable projectiles, good frame data, a wealth of meteor attacks and combo potential is beyond pathetic.
I'm going to play him but wow, did they **** up. Maybe they'll release Other M's steroid duck Ridley as DLC and I can pay $5 to get pro, just like all the Cloud and Bayonetta mains.