Meta Ridley (SSBB)

Meta Ridley (, Meta Ridley), is an unplayable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and only playable in Boss Battles via hacking. He has no specific voice actor, simply screeching. He is one of two boss forms of Ridley in Brawl, the other being .
When playable, while his power will scale with difficulty, Meta Ridley is exceptionally weak — even weaker than his organic form — missing most moves that define his boss appearance, including most of his Falcon Flyer-based attacks. With very little KO potential outside of an admittedly quick Mega Fire Ball, Meta Ridley is among the weakest Brawl bosses and one of the worst characters in the game.
==Attributes==
Meta Ridley has seven moves, with four of them being unusable. Mega Fire Ball deals massive damage and is near-instant, but is effectively the only useful move he has, which sends him reeling back and forcing him to return the stage while being completely inactionable. Falcon Flyer Slam deals respectable damage but is easily avoided, and Swoop deals minimal damage. Because of his extreme end-lag in having to slowly return to the Falcon Flyer when using two of his moves, there is very little that Meta Ridley can actually do, which makes him difficult to evaluate.
==Health values==
HP Values 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Round 	1-3 	4-6 	7-9 	1-3 	4-6 	7-9 	1-3 	4-6 	7-9 	1-3 	4-6 	7-9 	1-3 	4-6 	7-9 	 	 	 	
Boss Battles 	137.2 	143 	157.8 	154 	165 	184.4 	172 	187.5 	211 	190 	205 	235.5 	226 	253 	292.5 	 	 	 	
Multiplied by 0.6× when a second player is present.	Multiplied by 0.6× when a second player is present.	Multiplied by 0.6× when a second player is present.	Multiplied by 0.6× when a second player is present.	Multiplied by 0.6× when a second player is present.	Multiplied by 0.6× when a second player is present.	Multiplied by 0.6× when a second player is present.	Multiplied by 0.6× when a second player is present.	Multiplied by 0.6× when a second player is present.	Multiplied by 0.6× when a second player is present.	Multiplied by 0.6× when a second player is present.	Multiplied by 0.6× when a second player is present.	Multiplied by 0.6× when a second player is present.	Multiplied by 0.6× when a second player is present.	Multiplied by 0.6× when a second player is present.	Multiplied by 0.6× when a second player is present.	Multiplied by 0.6× when a second player is present.	Multiplied by 0.6× when a second player is present.	Multiplied by 0.6× when a second player is present.	Multiplied by 0.6× when a second player is present.
==Moveset==
Like all bosses, Meta Ridley's moves are inputted using a set of commands with a GameCube controller, chiefly with the D-Pad. Move names are taken from the Japanese strategy guide for Brawl. Damage varies by difficulty, the following being taken from the game's files. 's Grapple Beam restores AI control. Unlike its boss appearance, Meta Ridley can't use Claw Sweep, Rapid Fire Shot, Falcon Flyer Pull, or Falcon Flyer Smash.
Image	Move 	Damage 	Input	Description
 	Mega Fire Ball 	30% 	/ + 	Meta Ridley shoots a massive fireball with huge KO potential, even OHKOing on Very Hard (depending on player's position) and Intense at low HP. It will hit anyone on the front of the Flyer, dealing up to 54%. Contact with Meta Ridley's beak will deal less knockback and damage than the fireball itself. It's notable that after use, Meta Ridley has to return to the stage, leaving him vulnerable for an upwards of 2-3 seconds.
 	Falcon Flyer Slam	20% 	+ 	Meta Ridley flies off the screen to the left, then attacks the Falcon Flyer, making it shake. Anyone standing on the Flyer will take damage (up to 32%). The left side swings beneath the blast zone, however every part of the attack (Meta Ridley's dive and the slam) launches the player away from the blast zone; this results in it only KOing players with intangibility (such as grabbing the ledge or dodging). It's best to jump as Meta Ridley flies away to evade the attack. When controlled by a human, he can only use this attack once.
 	Swoop 	8%, 12%, 16%	+ 	Meta Ridley quickly swoops over the Falcon Flyer, dealing high damage (up to 23% on the down swing, 47% along the length, 14% at the very end). However, its knockback is decidedly mediocre, making it strictly a damage-dealing attack.
 	Self-Destruct 	 	N/A 	KOs Meta Ridley.
==Codes==
Like all Brawl bosses, Meta Ridley can be accessed using a Gecko code that enables debug mode controls for Player 3 in Boss Battles. It is encountered randomly without additional external modifications, meaning other bosses need to be defeated or forced to self-destruct with their own codes to reach Meta Ridley's stage. The following codes are for the NTSC-U version of Brawl and both codes must be on.
Enable Boss Control	Enable Boss Control
4A000000 	810F1F3C
D2000000 	00000002
901F058C 	5400843E
90020070 	00000000
C277F780 	00000010
7CDFF050 	2C06414C
4082006C 	2C1C0002
40810064 	39820074
809E0038 	A0EC0000
7C043800 	41810050
A0EC0002 	7C1C3800
41820044 	3CC0804E
A0C6E4C0 	A8EC0004
2C070000 	41820030
A8EC0004 	7C063800
4082000C 	A38C0006
4800001C 	2C07FFFF
4082000C 	AB8C0006
4800000C 	398C0004
4BFFFFD8 	939E0038
60000000 	00000000
4A000000 	805A9320
14000078 	00000000
E0000000 	80008000
Meta Ridley control for Player 3	Meta Ridley control for Player 3
4A000000 	805A9320
30000070 	00005C07
16000074 	00000020
000A001B 	1080001B
0182000B 	0180000F
01800010 	0184000F
01810016 	FFFFFFFF
E0000000 	80008000
==In competitive play==
Because Meta Ridley is only playable through hacking, he's banned by default in all competitive Brawl tournaments. While some boss characters have arguments to be legalised, Brawl's bosses have unique challenges that make them particularly unlikely cases. They do not conform to the usual ruleset, are exclusive to Boss Battles and thus their specific stage, are subject to Boss Battles's random boss selection without further modifications, and have varying difficulty levels that would require rulings to decide on them properly. This boils down to a very clunky experience that would likely end up delaying tournaments due to the length of time it takes for them to be set up. Furthermore, 's Grapple Beam can reset the controls of Brawl bosses, which could cause further ruling issues. Ergo, Meta Ridley has seen little to no competitive experimentation outside of casual matches.
==In The Subspace Emissary==
Meta Ridley is encountered while among other characters escape from The Subspace Bomb Factory after being defeated in The Research Facility prior. He pursues the Falcon Flyer, assaulting it with various attacks, before eventually being brought down, careening away in flames. He later reappears in The Great Maze.
==Gallery==
Meta Ridley SSBB.jpg|Official artwork
Meta Ridley - Brawl Trophy.png|Meta Ridley trophy
MetaRidleyFalconFlyerSwoop.jpg|Meta Ridley rushes past the Falcon Flyer.
MetaRidleyTail.jpg|Meta Ridley grinds his tail along the Falcon Flyer.
MetaRidleyFireball.jpg|Meta Ridley spits multiple small fireballs.
MetaRidleyFlyerFireball.jpg|Meta Ridley, while clutching onto the Falcon Flyer and dragging it downwards, breathes out a large fireball.
MetaRidleyFalconFlyerDrop.jpg|Meta Ridley drops onto the Falcon Flyer, cauing it to briefly plummet offscreen.
MetaRidleySuperFireball.jpg|Meta Ridley prepares to release a very large fireball.
==Trivia==
*When accessed in Boss Battles, Meta Ridley spawns t-posing.
Category:Meta Ridley (SSBB)
Category:Subspace Army
Category:Meta Ridley
Category:Bosses
Category:Metroid universe