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REALTALK >
Before
In Super Smash Bros for the Nintendo 64, he was a background element. In Super Smash Bros Melee, he appeared in the intro cutscene as well as being a trophy. This appearance became more important when the "too big" argument came but this will be explained in its dedicated section. Finally, he was a boss enemy in Super Smash Bros Brawl.
The latest is what made a lot of people doubtful with his inclusion primarily because he has always been represented in his game as a boss canonically. Even tough he doesn't have to be a boss just because he is canonically, the way he acted as a boss was very questionable. In fact, the way he attacks seems very similar to Dynablade, a Kirby boss. Which could make sense as the master hand is also a Kirby boss so Sakurai wanted to include elements from his creations.
Where it gets interesting is that the whole Subspace Emissary (aka: SSE) was based on a Kirby game and it can even be considered as the "main" mode of the game since you can unlock everyone by beating it. This mode took a big amount of time to develop it and that, is a well known fact. I made a theory on this mode that basically says that because most of the elements of the game was centralized in a way or another with SSE, it affected the general representation of the whole game. For more details, you can read it
here but I will talk more specifically how it could've affected Ridley.
Since he was a Dynablade clone, it's likely that he ended up like Ganondorf which basically means that he was chosen to be the Dynablade of the game instead of Dynablade himself because of his appearance. Which makes sense because such a boss should have been planned for the needs of SSE. But this also means that if it wasn't for his appearance, he may simply ended up being a mere trophy since SSE wouldn't need him.
What is affecting his chances is that not only an SSE-like mode has been deconfirmed but also because of smash run. It just seems to fix those representation problem by having more rep for known series and proper rep for newer one. All this to say that because of that, it doesn't have to be a boss again since the needs he fulfilled before is no longer there.
So he could still be playable even if he was a boss before.
The biggest argument
In his games, not only he was a boss but most of the time, he was quite huge comparing to Samus. This lead some doubt that he couldn't be playable because he would be too big. The thing is, it's not because he was big in source material that you had to import his EXACT data to implement him in the game. Not only that, but it also already happened before in smash for him and other characters.
In SSBM, his appearance in the intro is clearly smaller than his usual boss appearances. And the trophy is even more obvious because you can rotate the model; it makes the comparison trusted. I know it's subjective but it could even be considered acceptable to see his trophy design as playable. He wasn't even designed to be playable and it seems like it could have with just minor adjustment like the size of his tail that would be required but mostly, he would be ok.
In SSBB and SSB4, Olimar got the exact opposite treatment. He's the size of a quarter and yet, he was upscaled to fit with averagely sized characters. It shows how you may need to alter the source material to fit the game's needs. This is true for characters but also for stages, assist and even music as some are remixed. I think it's clear that his size canon shouldn't matter to his chance in SSB4.
Complexity
The main problem with Ridley is his body structure. Being an agile dragon, his structure would be kinda hard to make and animate due to his complexity. Sakurai said that Ridley would've been slow and would be hard to make it work.
I think that would probably be impossible. [laughs] If we had put our best efforts into it,we may have been able to do it. But he might have been a little slow. Would that have been all right? [laughs]
Source:
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/633202-super-smash-bros-for-wii-u/66789493 (which source Nintendo Power May 2008 issue)
Notice how he said that "we may have been able to do it". This means that even though it would be hard, it COULD be possible. However, since it will require more work, it has to worth the results; that just makes sense. It turns out that Ridley is currently and was one of the most recognized and requested character. Just that could justify the works but also because he could bring a good uniqueness to the roster which is what Sakurai wants.
And on stating how he would be slow, remember that this quote was from melee development and Sakurai did change his mind on character's inclusion at least 2 times.
Villager:
Why did you go for the villager and the Wii Fit trainer?', Neither of them are fighting characters, certainly. In fact, we had previously removed the villager from Super Smash Bros. Brawl in the planning stages because he wasn't suited for battle.
Source:
http://www.polygon.com/2013/6/26/44...es-mega-man-smash-bros-s-other-new-characters
Pacman:
During development of Smash Bros. Brawl, Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo approached me and asked, 'Can't we have Pac-Man as a guest character?'" Sakurai recalled. "At the time, imagining the image of Pac-Man and his incomplete pizza shape, I thought to myself, 'Hmmm... That's a little too farfetched.'
Source:
http://kotaku.com/pac-man-almost-got-into-super-smash-bros-brawl-1599610742
If he changed his mind between SSBB and SSB4, he could have between SSBM and SSB4.
However, the speculation on the "too big" argument took an unusual expansion mainly because of a video released on July 20 2013...
The infamous Shokio's video
This video was known for being the point when the "too big" argument started to spread and created that much debates.
The video is here:
Despite his rude approach to present his toughs, there's a lot of issues in the way he does that.
First, he makes assumption by saying that THE ONLY reason supporter think that he could be properly resized is his NES game where he had to because the system was limited. I said that you don't have to put the EXACT data to use it so what does it have to do with his NES game?
And then, he shows his multiple appearance and claim that he's too big every time. Ironically, he's proving my statement above because they are clearly not the same size for all of the games. If it had to be changed multiple times, I don't see why he can't now.
But it gets worse: he says that resizing works for "certain people". Of course it does but the decision has to be at the developer's discretion which means that if for a design inconsistency he would have to be resized, it could be resized and works. He gets to a weird logic with comparison on Olimar since the goal of his resize was to fit in the game... PERIOD. It doesn't have to do with how taller he is with his Pikmin no, it's the whole game and so, the whole roster. If it can't make sense to play as someone who would take the whole stage, why it would for someone who is hard to see due to him being so small? Also, won't comment on the Bowser comparison for obvious reasons (it doesn't matter if he's a turtle).
Now this is where it gets to make people believe. He claim that Ridley was MADE to be a big boss and so, wouldn't make sense to contradicts that. The problem is that smash is known to not respect canon because of obvious inconsistencies. For instance, why can I play as Ganondorf in smash while I need to defeat him at the end of ocarina of time? It really doesn't limit to canon and the same is for every elements in the game. So, it doesn't matter that Ridley was made to be a boss in his games since it can be altered.
Now, you might think he follows a logical pattern by not being aware of what I just said but the next part is really asking more than just an opinion.
I don't know what the author of the mod had to say but that was forged evidence. He had to deliberately take THE mod made by using THE ORIGINAL MODEL of the game that was DESIGNED TO BE A BOSS to SHOW how awkward it would be if his size was changed. You take the model made in the INTENT of being a boss and try to show it as a playable character so I EXPECT THAT IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!!! You would need to show a model made in the intent of being playable to do such a preview. It's like me trying to prove that wav music doesn't make better quality because I converted from an mp3 music which doesn't changes anything.
This is so obvious that it really just trying to fuel flame wars but the end is unquestionably the goal of the whole video.
He tells that if you see anyone WANTING him to link that video.
That is pure propaganda and unfortunately, it worked. He claimed after on this very forum (smashboards) that he made that video as a troll but this isn't just "for making fun of" but it was the fuel that the small flame being the argument to spread and became probably is the most controversial subject as of now (even beating sal leak).
I put wanting in caps, that's because want and expect shouldn't be mixed. Now, it targeted EVERY SINGLE supporter and this thread being an obvious example (the Ridley support thread on smashboards). It definitely reached the point where it's a flame war and not an opinion video which was really unnecessary. That video explains why it shouldn't be as big as it became.
Reminder, I never said what he said was "wrong" but "don't make sense" and most of his statement are based on false belief.
So, the flame wars started and now, it became a lot more important through time because of the way Sakurai alluded to him. The first time was exactly a month after the release of that video and it's "the fateful day".
August 20: beginning of 50/50
Before going further, he did talked about how Smash doesn't stay true to scale in others Picture of the day (aka: POTD):
Pic of the day. This dog is huge… Wait, no, the playable characters are small. The Smash Bros. series doesn't always stay true to scale.
Source:
https://miiverse.nintendo.net/posts/AYMHAAACAADRUqFvxcSrIQ
There was other one like this that said the same thing but I mention them just because it might be related even though nothing clear can be said. Though, that just shows that they had to resize contents to fit with the game.
So, even with that video, before that day, I could say Ridley was somewhat likely due to request and importance in his series. However, that day changed forever what is something that is still true today: objectively 50% hazard and 50% playable. On that day, Sakurai released his usual POTD...
Now, the Japanese post referred the "Samus's enemy" as "Samus's trauma" which basically is undeniable: he was talking about Ridley. It made some people believe he was hazard but in theory, it just can't be sure for both side.
Check his sentence carefully: "An enemy from Samus's past may appear at any second…". "may appear at any second" isn't clear at all because it can either mean "may appear at a particular moment on that stage only" or "may appear at any second" as "whenever you feel like". The former is a valid interpretation while the later is the literal meaning. It's so ambiguous that it could even mean to just allude to Ridley appearing on that stage in his game but to even allude him at all in this way raise a red flag. It's subjective but it feels like he's trying to hide him by not even mentioning as "Ridley" which is literally what he's called.
Because of this, it created a weird chance situation by being completely unsure and this is why it's called since this day "an objective 50/50". With speculation, it changes depending on what you think but this means that saying 0% or 100% is objectively false.
Though, since it's been a month that the big controversy spread, it build enough so that this quote made it even worse. Now, haters use this as a definitive proof of him being an hazard while the supporters got that it can't be certain. This created even more controversy and so, more speculation and Ridley is more known. The statement wasn't clear that it did that on purpose but we had to wait until April to know that. I also want that you remember that it was at the same time that the stage was revealed, that will be useful to know later in my essay.
August 20 to April 8: denial of acknowledgement
This period for Ridley was... bland. Because it literally SHOWED nothing new about him. I said showed because for some reasons, a TONS of Pyrosphere images was released during that period. Even one that really has absolutely no reasons to be showed and it was that hole not supposed to be visible in the game. So, it's weird how he allude to him being a/an ??? and months after, no talks of him like he never alluded to him. Although, he already did something similar with the Super Mario Galaxy stage and several other instances that got their case in April 8. It shows that Sakurai likes to use teasing and time to create speculation and hype before revealing everything.
Usually though, we hear about almost nothing in that denial of acknowledgement period like several other reveals including the Super Mario Galaxy one, Palutena's Temple, living it now with Pokemon League and recently, the Ultimate Ghost as hazard. You could even add any newcomer reveal due to how much time he waited before revealing one after little mac. All those reveals had all in common one thing: Sakurai teased to left us in the dark so that it creates a surprise effect when revealed which bring more hype. He even stated in an interview that he doesn't like to mislead people while talking about games in general on twitter.
I don't like it when a tweet or whatever leads to needless speculation getting spread around," he wrote. "For example, when I tweet about playing some game, some people immediately get the idea that that character is in the new Smash Bros. Then people fan the flames on it, people start to think it's really true, people get angry about it. Nobody benefits.
Source:
http://www.polygon.com/2012/12/12/3...ling-twitter-whiners-and-oh-yes-the-new-smash
Why I'm telling this? Because hearing nothing in itself while showing the stage is weird. It seems like his waiting period was more on Ridley which we heard nothing and less on the stage which we keep seeing. If it was indeed true, it would mean that Ridley isn't necessarily on that specific stage but such a statement can't be proved and it's not even clear if he's teasing because the quote wasn't telling any sort of teasing. So, fishy but it doesn't change anything as both sides are still stuck in 50/50. The controversy rose again because of that which is history repeating: more talks, more speculation = more hype.
On April 8 however, it got forever frozen like that...
April 8: 10 seconds of footage, 10 times more controversy
Ok, I'm going to talk about the most talked footage and the most controversial thing Sakurai ever showed.
So, in April 8, with a 4 days tease, everyone is really hyped like RARELY hyped for a 40 minutes of info ONLY of SSB4. The whole direct was very entertaining to watch with Sakurai making jokes and revealing good stuff (which worked better due to previous teasing like smash run teased since the first trailer).
But that's not what made the biggest speculation; it was 10 seconds... of mystery.
When Sakurai talked about stages, he introduced in more depth than before yellow devil, a known hazard. He did showed him before and already told he was an hazard so he just told new info on him and there was no secrets on him now. Everything was usual since all his statement was objective and so, are true.
But RIGHT AFTER, he showed 10 seconds of Pyrosphere with Pickachu running away from...Ridley's...shadow??? All this while stating "Other boss characters make appearance in other stages, not just this one". It's implied that "not just this one" is yellow devil.
Now, most people (including myself) and I mean MOST people's first reaction was "Ridley is confirmed as an hazard on Pyrosphere". However, it just take a single re watch to tell that it still can't be proven.
The whole 10 seconds clip is filled with suspicious and ambiguous evidences. The only thing we really know is that because you can see his tail in some frames, you can tell that it's none other than Ridley from Metroid other M.
First, his size: it's not really what you think. I saw the SHADOW size, not the REAL size. In real life, a shadow can alter significantly sizes compared to their real elements but games with engines that simulates lights can produce a similar effect. Not only that it may not be his real size but research on it proved that he was actually smaller than what we tough.
Source:
http://smashboards.com/threads/the-...m-the-mod-squad.324284/page-637#post-16728288
It proves that he COULD be playable with this size. Though, even if it does prove that downscaling was done, it still doesn't clearly tell me if he's playable or not.
After, his behaviour: I don't know about you but it seems to move awkwardly. It gives a feel of being not fluid. Though, I saw some people claim he jumps or that he would grab Pickachu which wasn't clear for me but even if it was, it still doesn't clearly tell me if he's playable or not.
Next, the sound: why do I hear only Sakurai's voice and not from the footage but I hear both in the section about yellow devil? This is where it gets very suspicious because it seems like he was hiding what happened. Maybe I could confirm what happened if I did hear sounds that only one fate would make sense but because I don't hear it, I don't know what he was hiding if he did hide something. So, again, it still doesn't clearly tell me if he's playable or not.
Finally, Sakurai's word: they are double meaning like the rest. It's practically the same as August 20. It could be interpreted as "Other boss character (which includes Ridley) makes appearance on other stages (which includes Pyrosphere)". Now, this is valid because he's shown on Pyrosphere when he said that... like August 20. The other way is to literally take what he said: "Other boss characters (which MIGHT not be Ridley) make appearance on other stages (which MIGHT not be Pyrosphere)". Complete opposite but if the later was the right one, this would be technically true with ultimate ghost on find Mii. So, it could even implies that Ridley is NOT an hazard but again, because like August 20, it was too ambiguous to tell so, it still doesn't clearly tell me if he's playable or not.
Ok I think you got where I'm going. I keep repeating the same sentence at the end of every evidences explanation, even those that could implies hazard from first look. The keyword is CLEARLY. In no way those 10 seconds showed me anything clear about the role of Ridley in the game. However, don't you feel it's August 20 all over again? That quote though on the direct... it's way too obvious that it was made on purpose like everything in the direct was. The purpose? Hide him being a/an ??? in the game by using ambiguous and double meaning evidences. I still don't know about his role but I know he hides something about that said role. It might seems silly to think that such an elaboration could be done on purpose so, let's look at his behaviour generally.
Sakurai's behaviour
Yes, his behaviour shows clearly that he COULD have done that on purpose.
First, did he acknowledged Ridley and fans request? Well, he stated in the developer direct "at last, the long awaited villager" so he did for villager. Little mac was unpopular in Japan while it was the opposite in the West and he included him anyway so there's no favouritism here. What really tells that he cares about his fans is this:
"The amount of stress I feel, it's almost to the brink of death," Sakurai says of designing Smash Bros.'s character roster. "Because it's not just a matter of me personally thinking this character or that character is going to be in the game; it's that we also have the game balance, animation, graphics and sound to think about in order to make that character fully fleshed out in that universe. I have to think about all of that when I go through this decision-making process."
Source:
http://www.polygon.com/2013/6/17/44...director-masahiro-sakurai-character-selection
So, how could he have NOT know about him while it's one of the most requested character and is the most controversial one AT THE SAME TIME while he did for less popular character? Honestly, with what he knew, he would have to blind to not be aware at the slightest.
But the direct itself is so obvious here's a list:
- Both Iwata directly jokes
- Showing Waluigi figurine when talking about assist trophies (a reference to how he was deconfirmed despite people trying hard)
- The pseudo Palutena faking as Palutena
- The Zero Suit Samus (aka: ZSS) being deconfirmed for 5 seconds (this is the most obvious one)
- Showing figurine and objects of games (like showing a Pokeball instead of just talking about them)
- The little bye bye gesture at the end
Not only it tells you that he prepared his actions just for his fans but also tells that he did hide teasing playable character (ZSS for 5 seconds deconfirmed to then find her playable and Palutena as an almost deconfirmation and ended up playable). So it's not "silly" to say that he may have done that for Ridley but it's still a 50/50.
Ok, until now, I proved that it's still an objective 50/50 so you can't be sure about any side you pick. So, why I claim to find him "pretty likely"? It's because I talked until now about EVIDENCES based arguments. But if I view this from a LOGICAL point of view, it points to only one side despite still being subjective. The difference though is that it not only contradicts Sakurai himself which is our most trusted source but also makes the hazard possibility no sense.
So, the following is subjective but it's based on a hard and solid logic...
Let's assume he's an hazard from now on.
Most suspicious evidence: the existence of the shadow itself
Yeah you read that right: that shadow shouldn't be on the clip if he was an hazard. Why?
Remember that statement ha made about not liking to unintentionally mislead people on twitter? Well, the shadow would do the exact opposite as it misleads both sides. Not only that but that statement is true by the way he deconfirms.
And here, all, ALL deconfirmation was done with something that makes it CLEAR, UNDENIABLE and OBJECTIVE. It's so direct that's like killing you with a gun on your head instead of torturing you to then kill you slowly after. This was even true after the direct so it's still true today.
Saying Ridley is an hazard is a deconfirmation so I should expect to only see him with something like I don't know an assist trophy where he came from or a quote that would say "FYI, he's a stage hazard and attack players" or showing his trophy with a weird pose for render. THAT is solid.
But seeing Ridley's shadow with a quote that might claim the opposite IS NOT SOLID. If he was an hazard, I would've have been able to prove it now but I can't so why he's doing this if he doesn't like to mislead?
What raise the big red flag is between August 20 and April 8. That's MONTHS of pictures of Pyrosphere with no Ridley from head to feet in sight. We JUST receive pictures of it and I still don't see him from head to feet. The only thing I saw that was physical is his tail but that alone doesn't prove anything only that it's Ridley but not what he does.
I talked about how he showed more on stages than Ridley right? He does the opposite if it's teasing he should NOT have shown the stage. So, August 20, I'm teased but I don't know why. Wait months, no info on Ridley but tons on stage. April. Don't see Ridley but only ambiguous evidences that aren't clear. After all this, he would be deconfirmed?
How seriously does that make sense with all deconfirmation he did? Skull kid: assist oh btw, assist aren't playable -> clear
Every assist in the direct: implied to act like assist -> assist = not playable -> clear
Wonder red: his original render on trophy -> used as a show off purpose -> not playable one -> clear
I think I made my point. I already proven that Ridley case isn't clear so, if he was an hazard, the latest Sakurai could've shown him from head to feet and be consistent is on April 8. Every speculation would've stopped, we would know, Sakurai is happy, everyone is happy. Maybe not supporters but remember: torture or direct kill with gun? The later is shorter and you don't suffer so in a sense, it's an happy situation.
But what he actually did on April 8? Ambiguous statement and evidences that points to an impossible verdict which brings more speculation, debates, flame war and so, more talk about the game.
That's the complete opposite of a deconfirmation. That is not something you do unintentionally and with how Sakurai planned things before, he just couldn't such a big "mistake" as this one.
So, the shadow doesn't belong in the direct since I would've either not have saw the clip and see Ridley later OR, he would have shown it BEFORE but with how many time he could have done that and didn't, he just had to intentionally not show him.
This sounds weird but since the shadow logically contradicts our most trusted source, it shouldn't be there. Same goes for the quote since I would have either heard of him before and not see the quote or it would have been a clear quote which is the opposite of what I have now.
So, what's left with no sounds, no shadow and no text?
The stage: Pyrosphere. Wait, that's weird: this is the same stage that bring big speculation on August 20 and the same one we saw a lot without any sign of Ridley and now, I see the same stage as the only thing left that would make sense if he was an hazard?
The culprit: Pyrosphere
Yes, I can go THAT far.
When you think about it though, it makes sense since it's because I saw the shadow with that quote ON THAT STAGE that I tough first he was an hazard. But, let me tell what happen with this stage: it's too convenient to not have been planned all along. Pay really close attention to words in capitals.
Pyrosphere was made to represent THE SAME LOCATION when you fight RIDLEY AS A BOSS in the original game. This SAME STAGE was REVEALED on August 20 when he ALLUDE TO HIM AS AN ENEMY and that he may appear in some way AT THE SAME TIME. Then, we see THE SAME STAGE tons of time for MONTHS WITHOUT ANY SIGN OF RIDLEY. Finally, we see THE SAME STAGE in a 10 seconds clip with RIDLEY'S SHADOW and a quote that TALKS ABOUT BOSS CHARACTERS.
Now, there's a huge problem if he's an hazard: the paragraph above just CANNOT be coincidence. The stage had to be CHOSEN, USED and PLANNED for a reason. HOWEVER, we know that the shadow and the quote should not be in the direct. So, the stage has no reasons to be there if it was an hazard but we know there is a reason to be there.
There's only one possibility left: The August 20 quote was alluding to something else...
Ridley's home stage: Pyrosphere
But since it's not for hazard purposes, it's for playable purposes.
Ok, before you're telling that I make assumption, just view his situation with that statement it makes sense:
So, AS SOON AS Pyrosphere is revealed, he would've have said that it was Ridley's home stage but by not mentioning him and having an ambiguous sentence, he spawned speculation which brings more hype for teasing his playability. After months, we see his home stage without any sight of him thus, more hype and speculation. Finally, in the direct, we see his home stage with his shadow which is used to tell something secret which is hiding his playability and a misleading quote so even more hype and speculation.
See? The August 20 quote was telling that Ridley may appear on the stage at any time because that's his home stage. Since the paragraph above makes sense and is possible while the hazard one doesn't and was based on the presence of the stage, That's why I believe that...
HE'S PRETTY LIKELY TO BE PLAYABLE!!!
But before I finish, it even explains what happened at E3...
From E3 to today
Not acknowledging him is repeating the pattern he made since August 20: tease, wait, tease more and we are now in a wait. So, he could tease more from now on on that stage again and if it happens, I will consider him almost confirmed which would be 99% playable.
Not showing that stage is raising a bigger red flag. He wouldn't want that we know the truth since he's trying to hide it. And only Wii Fit trainer stage was revealed before it and wasn't in the demo but then again, that stage wasn't showed as Pyrosphere. So, he's still hiding us what he alluded to be the opposite on first look: he's playable.
When you think about it, the not playable arguments were based on an ambiguous assumption which was seeing his shadow on Pyrosphere where he was a boss with a quote saying so. If it wasn't for the shadow but himself, I would've believed he was an hazard because I really saw him with a quote that could only view that as hazard.
When he would be revealed?
I really have no idea: anything could happen except scheduled Nintendo direct or live streams. He could even wait until release and put him as unlockable just to make the maximum hype he could get.
FINAL VERDICT
DISCLAIMER: The following statement is subjective and it tells what I THINK will happen according to the way I see it and not what will happen OBJECTIVELY.
"RIDLEY IS [PRETTY LIKELY] TO BE A PLAYABLE CHARACTER IN SUPER SMASH BROS FOR WIIU AND NINTENDO 3DS AND IT WILL BE REVEALED EITHER ON SCHEDULED NINTENDO LIVE STREAM OR HE WILL BE UNLOCKABLE AND WE'LL KNOW ON SEPTEMBER 13 AT THE EARLIEST" - Aldelaro5 July 12 2014 at 2 am ET
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