Ridley

Ridley is a high ranking Space Pirate and one of the main villains of the Metroid franchise. He first appears in the Nintendo Entertainment System title, Metroid.

His appearance is considered similar to that of a skeletal pterodactyl, but upon further examination it resembles a rather thin, bony European dragon (with four limbs, two bat-like wings, a demon-like spear-tipped tail, and the ability to exhale blasts of fire and/or plasma). Due to his appearance and affiliation with the Space Pirates, some people have come to refer to him as a "space dragon." He also possesses a head-crest like that of a pteranodon instead of the classic twin horns of a dragon, leading others to compare him to said pterosaur. Despite his fearsome appearance, Ridley is known to be quite intelligent and is shown to be capable of speech in the official e-manga. Ridley is thought to be named after Ridley Scott, the director of Alien, since the Metroid series shares many similarities with the  film series.

Super Smash Bros. series
In Super Smash Bros., Ridley can occasionally be seen flying in the background of the Planet Zebes arena.

Ridley also makes a brief appearance in the opening cinematic of Super Smash Bros. Melee, where he can be seen battling his archenemy, Samus Aran. A trophy of Ridley can also be obtained in this game.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Ridley is fought twice in Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary. The first time he is encountered, he is fought by Samus and Pikachu. As the two reach the exit to The Research Facility, where her Power Suit had been held, Ridley appears without warning and snatches up Samus. Roaring, he slams her into a wall and drags her along it. Pikachu comes to Samus's rescue, hitting the space dragon with a Thunder attack, after which the battle begins. Ridley fights similarly to Master Hand, using many brutal physical attacks. When he is defeated, he falls off the arena. Ridley is next fought in The Great Maze with any characters that have been rescued throughout the Subspace Emissary. He uses the same attacks and is defeated in the same fashion as before. Remixes of Ridley's theme music from various Metroid games can be optionally played in the Frigate Orpheon stage.

In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Ridley is a stage hazard boss on the Pyrosphere stage. His physical appearance, like Samus's, is based on his appearance from Metroid: Other M. Once attacked enough by a player, Ridley allies with that player, and attacks the other players. He can also transform into Meta Ridley by absorbing enough energy. He can be defeated, and, as if he was a character, defeating him rewards the player with a K.O. point; he can be defeated by his own ally as well.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Ridley is a playable fighter.

Nintendo Land
In Nintendo Land, an animatronic Ridley appears as a recurring antagonist in the Metroid Blast attraction. Ice Ridley, a version of Ridley unique to this game, also appears.

Ridley first appears in the seventh level of the Assault Mission mode, Destroy 10 Cyclons. Unlike in its later appearances, the Ridley robot cannot be defeated directly, but it is possible to make it leave the arena by shooting all its weak spots multiple times. This gives no reward, however, and only makes the rest of the mission much easier as he will not disturb the player. Ridley later makes a proper appearance in the twentieth and final main level, "The Final Battle". Here, Ridley is fought in three stages, in each of which the Mii players must destroy targets on its chest, mouth, and tail. In the first stage, Ridley attacks by firing beams from its mouth and shooting its tail. The second stage adds a target on its right hand, which detaches from its main body and attempt to attack the Miis, as well as firing missiles at the Miis. The final stage of the battle places one additional target on its left hand, which fires beams as well.

In the extra stages of Metroid Blast, Ice Ridley is introduced, but the normal Ridley makes another two appearances as well. In level twenty-eight, "Ridley and Ice Ridley", the Miis must fight both forms of Ridley at the same time, as implied by the title. Ridley appears for the final time in level thirty, "The True Final Battle". As with its first appearance, Ridley cannot be defeated; it is merely a distraction for fighting the level's actual opponent, Kraid.

Appearances in other media
In Captain N: The Game Master, Ridley makes a cameo in the episode, "Gameboy". He is depicted as a large orange dragon. He also makes appearances in the Valiant adaptation of the series released for the Nintendo Comics System, where he looks more like his American artwork for Metroid, being a blue, multi-eyed, pteranodon-like alien.

Ridley appears in Nintendo Monopoly, in which he takes the place of Tennessee Avenue. He costs $180.