^^^This is what we refer to as "crazy talk".

I don't find it to be "crazy talk" at all. It certainly is not something that is completely out of reach.

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No one knows Ridley's origin, yet for some reason everyone in the galaxy fears the name "Ridley."

I know a board-contest is not a good way to judge, but lost to Albedo? Beat Aeris in OT when Aeris is ridiculed like she is on this board?

The same Albedo that only lost to Mario by 4, and the same Aeris who only lost to Zelda by 3.
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"It feels as though the raindrops are blessing our victory." - Kuja
"I never trust a Frenchman." - Revolver Ocelot

What makes you think that, out of curiosity?

I think Kuja has a character/visual style that would be more appealing to gaming fans than Zidane, whose character design was rather blah by video game stylistic standards.

i.e., Kuja would have more of the stylistic appeal that characters like Cloud and Sephiroth have (though obviously to a far lesser extent). Zidane just doesn't have to have "it"; I don't see him resonating with fanboys.

Now, you could say that Tidus didn't have "it" either; but I do believe that he had more appeal that Zidane.
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In America, men flirt with women. In Shinra Midgar, Don Corneo flirts with YOU!

Zidane, whose character design was rather blah by video game stylistic standards

*shudders at the thought of Zidane's cuffs*
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"It feels as though the raindrops are blessing our victory." - Kuja
"I never trust a Frenchman." - Revolver Ocelot

As is Bowser and Ganondorf.

Though I don't know enough about Ganondorf to comment, Bowser is far more than just a boss fight. He's playable in SMRPG (not to mention Kart games/Mario sports games/SSB series) and is generally more developed than Ridley.

I think Kuja has a character/visual style that would be more appealing to gaming fans than Zidane, whose character design was rather blah by video game stylistic standards.

But Zidane is David Bowie! How can you deny that greatness?

I'd also like to know why you think Beatrix would do better than 'Ol Monkey Boy.
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It's a shocking match in Heavy this week, as Alexandrian knight Beatrix duels with the Silent Death, Crono, at www.rpgdl.com!

I generally didn't think of Bowser as awesome myself until the Mario RPGs.
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"It feels as though the raindrops are blessing our victory." - Kuja
"I never trust a Frenchman." - Revolver Ocelot

Though I don't know enough about Ganondorf to comment, Bowser is far more than just a boss fight. He's playable in SMRPG (not to mention Kart games/Mario sports games/SSB series) and is generally more developed than Ridley.

I will give you such things as Mario Kart, Mario Tennis / Golf, and SSBM, but development matters very, very little in determining a characters strength. And Ridley has more than just a little backstory to him.

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No one knows Ridley's origin, yet for some reason everyone in the galaxy fears the name "Ridley."

duh. because Beatrix is hot. =P

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VOTE FOR ULTROS!!! G'FHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Trivia XIV: MEATWADD SUCKS!!

I try to follow transitivity minimally in there; if I didn't, Presea > Magus. I'm not going any more in detain on that...but also, both those two matches you mentioned happened in rivarly week, which has been the most absurd week the contest has had yet. I almost wanna throw that whole week out just because of its unusual...ness.
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Serious Reminder: Vote for Dr. Wily in 2k5
Meanwhile, sit back and enjoy the contest-hype.

I wish Ramirez wasn't against Sephiroth in the first round.

I was so happy to find him in the list cause I nominated him but guessed he wouldn't be picked.
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This board is a great, great board... FOR ME TO POOP ON!! :P
1up blog: tranceplant82.1up.com

Beatrix. . . Poor Crono. ;_;

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No one knows Ridley's origin, yet for some reason everyone in the galaxy fears the name "Ridley."

Presea > Magus

Well, duh. I thought that was rather obvious.
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"It feels as though the raindrops are blessing our victory." - Kuja
"I never trust a Frenchman." - Revolver Ocelot

As is Bowser and Ganondorf. Most of Nintendo's bosses hold the title of being "a recurring boss fight."

Not nearly. Bowser and Ganondorf have much more impact one the plot, and are usually the final boss of the big Mario/Zelda titles. Not to mention Bowser being given more personality in SMRPG/the PM titles, Ganondorf given more character in WW, as well as both being playable in SSBM (and Ganondorf is pretty good, I might add.) Ridley... is the final boss fight in Zero Mission?
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BtT: 3:43.45 | HRC: 51,246.1 ft OV aaaargh
Or, the Katamari thing. It's like getting high, withought the death part. - Link the Midgit

I'd also like to know why you think Beatrix would do better than 'Ol Monkey Boy.

Well, I've just heard more fanboyism for her. But I was just throwing that out there as a first impression--I suppose it's probably not true; Zidane probably would be stronger than Beatrix I guess, because she's not all that prominent in the game.
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In America, men flirt with women. In Shinra Midgar, Don Corneo flirts with YOU!

*awaits for Ulti to jump on the Presea > Belmont > Laharl > Magus string*
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Serious Reminder: Vote for Dr. Wily in 2k5
Meanwhile, sit back and enjoy the contest-hype.

Bowser and Ganon are not good comparisons for Ridley at all. Their profiles are just out of Ridley's league.
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In America, men flirt with women. In Shinra Midgar, Don Corneo flirts with YOU!

Might as well throw Vyse into that string, too.

Presea > Belmont > Vyse = Laharl > Magus
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"It feels as though the raindrops are blessing our victory." - Kuja
"I never trust a Frenchman." - Revolver Ocelot

Not nearly. Bowser and Ganondorf have much more impact one the plot, and are usually the final boss of the big Mario/Zelda titles. Not to mention Bowser being given more personality in SMRPG/the PM titles, Ganondorf given more character in WW, as well as both being playable in SSBM (and Ganondorf is pretty good, I might add.) Ridley... is the final boss fight in Zero Mission?

But they do house the recurring boss fight in the games they appear within. You've given plenty of reason for them to have that extra strength - as well as just coming from a more popular series in Mario / Zelda - and I'm not trying to disagree with any of that in the slightest since I'm not trying to say that Ridley could take on Bowser or Ganondorf or even be as strong as them. I'll refrain arguing the likes of "character" since it is not a major factor in determining a character's strength; it never has. But I will say that Ridley does tend to have quite the impact on the overall story throughout the Metroid series. After all, he is the one behind everything concerning the Space Pirates. (This portion was just giving some slight insight on Ridley, as I'm not using his as a reason for him to have strength.)

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No one knows Ridley's origin, yet for some reason everyone in the galaxy fears the name "Ridley."

Vyse should be at the front of that list, but he sadly isn't.

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No one knows Ridley's origin, yet for some reason everyone in the galaxy fears the name "Ridley."

Really, if you want to get technical, they're all pretty much equal except for Magus since all of them were in matches against one another decided by 1 vote.
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"It feels as though the raindrops are blessing our victory." - Kuja
"I never trust a Frenchman." - Revolver Ocelot

Wario is lighthearted and humorous because he's fat and stupid. Not because he's a glove.

hahaha, wee, funny at 1am
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One who knows nothing can understand nothing.
"Revenge is a dish best served cold." - Old Klingon Proverb

"but the middle is filled with weak characters."

But when you compare it to the characters that have made this contest Kefka isn't weak. The thing here is this: If you're suprised about how weak Luigi is, why in the world do you have so much faith in Ridley? Luigi has higher status in the Nintendo world (see: SSB/M), more standing in the Mario series then Ridley in does in Metroid, and his own game(s).

"Ah, yes, I suppose you're one of those people who think because he hasn't made the field that he'd be weak, right? That's a fantastic argument, after all. "

No, that's called a zinger. You set yourself up, then I take a shot at your arguement with a humourous quip. I made a point of not making "such and such hasn't made the contest so they suck" the focal point of any of my arguments because I have never considered that to be the case. If you look back far enough I myself was arguing against people who downplayed Vivi's strength on the same reasoning, and if you haven't noticed I've been subtley saying that I think Ocelot is easily going to rate as the 5th strongest in the contest.

"Being the villain of the Metroid series"

A villain, not the villain. For that reason alone I cannot fathom Ridley packing a fraction of the punch of other villains tied to the bigger games.

"I would really doubt Kefka turning the tables at a 54 - 46 matchup."

You may very wel lhave doubted he'd do as well as he did against Knux as well. That doesn't make you correct, even assuming Ridley is at Luigi's level. Much, much stranger things have happened.

"FF3/6 > FF9 here too."

We've never tested that in a contest, and the closest comparison would be Vivi (who may have been SFFed) and Kefka and we know who clearly wins that match.

"and before this contest started, I have NEVER heard Kuja's name be spoken, ever."

Eaither you don't look much, or you just didn't notice. Kuja is mentioned well enough and if a "favorite ff9 character" poll was held He'd likely be 3rd after Vivi and Beatrix. Sure, that means little to contest strength, but we're still talking about one of the more well-liked villains in the Final Fantasy series.

"I guarantee you MH is not 7-seed material here. Kuja will be proven not to be 2-seed material either."

I was guarenteed that Vivi would lose because he's from "one of the least popular final fantasies". I was guarenteed that Jak would beat Ness because he had more recent and vastly more popular games. I've been guarenteed more realistic things by more people with higher contest rep (not saying you're a nobody, or anything) and a lot of times those guarentees fall flat. Don't guarentee something when you're just guessing.

"As is Bowser and Ganondorf. "

Except that in most cases those two rate as FINAL boss and the main villain. Ridley can't claim either which is why I just don't have that much faith in him.
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Not to put too fine a point on it, Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet. Make a little birdhouse in your soul.

You could jump the gun even and throw Ridley in there 'cuz of his big win over Laharl.

Transitivity sucks.
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Serious Reminder: Vote for Dr. Wily in 2k5
Meanwhile, sit back and enjoy the contest-hype.

*adds fuel to the fire*
Diablo > Kefka > Ridley.

Oh and HM you still amaze me at how, no matter how biased you can be, you're always entertaining =P

And to those who might care about it, the Oracle topic is up:
http://boards.gamefaqs.com/gfaqs/genmessage.php?board=8&topic=20377133
</plug>
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SpC2k4 - Triple Crown Winner! (Spread Betting, Betting, Oracle)
SC2k4 - 12th place!

the funny thing is, who would any of you pick between Mother Brain and Ridley?

that's one case where i think i would pick the supporting boss over the main boss.

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VOTE FOR ULTROS!!! G'FHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Trivia XIV: MEATWADD SUCKS!!

"I think Kuja has a character/visual style that would be more appealing to gaming fans than Zidane, whose character design was rather blah by video game stylistic standards."

Not to mention that Kuja is considered likable while for whatever reason Zidane is not.

"I'd also like to know why you think Beatrix would do better than 'Ol Monkey Boy."

You should know full well she has more appeal to the fans. That's not to say she'd put up a better fight in a contest (she wouldn't) but it is to say that she is very well thought of.

"but development matters very, very little in determining a characters strength."

And despite you saying that on the whole RPG characters are stronger than others. A character like Magus is considered competitve with the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog. Who doesn't know Sonic? Most parents probably know Sonic, especially if their kids had a Genesis. That's some huge appeal, so how does a secondary character in a decade old RPG compare to that? Obviously some of it has to do with his development as a character.
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Not to put too fine a point on it, Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet. Make a little birdhouse in your soul.

"that's one case where i think i would pick the supporting boss over the main boss."

Only for the fact that Ridley was in Prime and Mother Brain wasn't. If she were I'd take her over Ridley.
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Not to put too fine a point on it, Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet. Make a little birdhouse in your soul.

I was guarenteed that Vivi would lose because he's from "one of the least popular final fantasies". I was guarenteed that Jak would beat Ness because he had more recent and vastly more popular games. I've been guarenteed more realistic things by more people with higher contest rep (not saying you're a nobody, or anything) and a lot of times those guarentees fall flat. Don't guarentee something when you're just guessing.

I picked Vivi over DK, Ness over Jak, and I'll even throw in Tails over VJ. That doesn't make me hot-**** by any means, but it's worth pointing out...besides, those are about who wins and loses. I simply guarantee MH is stronger than a 7-seed and Kuja is weaker than a 2-seed, not that MH will beat Kuja. Kuja can still win; he's bein' considered the favorite here...I just don't think it's unreasonable that MH actually HAS A CHANCE that's worth mentioning.

My guarantee is still a guess, granted, but it's a more educated, possible, and likely than the rest; I guarantee it because I'm willing to put my word on that assumption; take it or leave it as you will.
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Serious Reminder: Vote for Dr. Wily in 2k5
Meanwhile, sit back and enjoy the contest-hype.

I'm one of the few in this topic that's taking the risk of Kefka > Diablo > Ridley... I'm hoping Kefka can benefit from either having a good pic (his divisional final will be Round 3...please use the same patterns, CJayC), or by receiving more recognition from his villainous acts this time around, ya know, being a VILLAIN contest.

Ridley > Mother Brain, no question.

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"Ah, a party! We haven't had one of those. It could be fun! So...what is a party?"
"Well, you drink punch and eat CAKE! ...I think."

But when you compare it to the characters that have made this contest Kefka isn't weak. The thing here is this: If you're suprised about how weak Luigi is, why in the world do you have so much faith in Ridley? Luigi has higher status in the Nintendo world (see: SSB/M), more standing in the Mario series then Ridley in does in Metroid, and his own game(s).

Kefka is still weak in the grand scheme of things. When I look at everything, Kefka manages to barely nail over 20% of the vote against the likes of Link. I don't care how one slices it, that it still extremely weak. The other characters underneath Kefka aren't anything worth talking about either. And yes, I understand that there will be weak characters in the contest and a good number of them, but I don't see a thing wrong with calling Kefka something he is. He's weak, but not absolute fodder. Considering I've never called him that, I don't see a problem.

And I'm surprised how weak Kefka is in relation to FFVI among other things. That's just one example of the many things that I find to be rather surprising.

I made a point of not making "such and such hasn't made the contest so they suck" the focal point of any of my arguments because I have never considered that to be the case.

If you haven't considered that the case for your argument, then I give you my apologies. I've seen multiple people use such an argument and obviously got you confused in the mess.

A villain, not the villain. For that reason alone I cannot fathom Ridley packing a fraction of the punch of other villains tied to the bigger games.

Ridley is the villain of the Metroid series. This is just rather obvious through playing all of the Metroid titles and not only witnessing Ridley's constant appearance, but his prominence in relation to the Metroid universe (the story).

You may very wel lhave doubted he'd do as well as he did against Knux as well. That doesn't make you correct, even assuming Ridley is at Luigi's level. Much, much stranger things have happened.

I'd be quite shocked to see Kefka actually go from being projected at losing 54 - 46 to actually winning the match, especially if it was by more than 50.XX%. The X-sts may not be 100%, but they are quite accurate when it comes to a projection such as that.

Except that in most cases those two rate as FINAL boss and the main villain. Ridley can't claim either which is why I just don't have that much faith in him.

Ridley is the main villain and I'd be more than willing to argue that point until I'm blue in the face. I have a rather large grasp on everything within Metroid's storyline and there isn't a single other character who can be pointed to such like Ridley can. And he does appear as the final boss in Metroid: Zero Mission. Yes, that isn't the constant final boss, but I wasn't necessarily trying to say that Ridley would be among the likes of Bowser and Ganondorf. Looking back on it, it probably wasn't the best comparison to make. It was just the first thing that popped into my head.

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No one knows Ridley's origin, yet for some reason everyone in the galaxy fears the name "Ridley."

Oh, I need to mention... Ridley looks more like a dinosaur than a Dragon.

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"Ah, a party! We haven't had one of those. It could be fun! So...what is a party?"
"Well, you drink punch and eat CAKE! ...I think."

I simply guarantee MH is stronger than a 7-seed and Kuja is weaker than a 2-seed, not that MH will beat Kuja. Kuja can still win; he's bein' considered the favorite here...I just don't think it's unreasonable that MH actually HAS A CHANCE that's worth mentioning.

My guarantee is still a guess, granted, but it's a more educated, possible, and likely than the rest; I guarantee it because I'm willing to put my word on that assumption; take it or leave it as you will.

my thoughts, exactly. this feels more like a 4/5 match or better yet, an 8/9 match.

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VOTE FOR ULTROS!!! G'FHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Trivia XIV: MEATWADD SUCKS!!

And despite you saying that on the whole RPG characters are stronger than others. A character like Magus is considered competitve with the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog. Who doesn't know Sonic?

Let's actually trying not being as broad as to say "RPG characters." The exceptionally strong characters from that genre tend to originate from Final Fantasy and Square. Yes, Magus and Frog aren't from Final Fantasy, but you know what I'm trying to say. The bias toward Square / Final Fantasy is what gives the characters such strength. I can point out the likes of Link, Mega Man, Mario, Ryu, and Crono who all have are not known for their "character."

Most parents probably know Sonic, especially if their kids had a Genesis. That's some huge appeal, so how does a secondary character in a decade old RPG compare to that? Obviously some of it has to do with his development as a character.

I didn't say there was nothing involved in the character development. I said that it has very little effect on how strong a character will or won't be. You can name many characters who are weak who have plenty of character and plenty of characters who are strong and have no character.

Only for the fact that Ridley was in Prime and Mother Brain wasn't. If she were I'd take her over Ridley.

And I have no idea why in the world you would do such a thing.

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No one knows Ridley's origin, yet for some reason everyone in the galaxy fears the name "Ridley."

http://img141.exs.cx/img141/8656/ridley18ro.jpg
http://img220.exs.cx/img220/3522/croquisridley8nx.jpg

I'm getting more of a Dragon feel from that. =p

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No one knows Ridley's origin, yet for some reason everyone in the galaxy fears the name "Ridley."

"When I look at everything, Kefka manages to barely nail over 20% of the vote against the likes of Link"

Thing is, in this contest CATS may very well be middle of the road and he only takes 12% on Link.

"my thoughts, exactly. this feels more like a 4/5 match or better yet, an 8/9 match."

Even if you give MH credit for potential contest strength his seeding is still what I'd expect for such a character. that said, I don't think Kuja will disappoint as a 2 seed even if he does lose to MH. If he loses then MH was clearly underseeded by an extreme ammount.
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Not to put too fine a point on it, Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet. Make a little birdhouse in your soul.

Well, the Ridley from Super Metroid looks more like a Dragon (I believe that's what the first pic is), but not so much in its MP form. The 2nd pic looks very pterodactyl-ish.

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"Ah, a party! We haven't had one of those. It could be fun! So...what is a party?"
"Well, you drink punch and eat CAKE! ...I think."

Ridley is the villain of the Metroid series. This is just rather obvious through playing all of the Metroid titles and not only witnessing Ridley's constant appearance, but his prominence in relation to the Metroid universe (the story).

i have played and beaten Metroid, Metroid 2, Super Metroid, and Metroid Fusion (LOVE the series). i have only played a little bit of Metroid Prime and haven't gotten to Prime 2 yet. and in those first four games of the series, Ridley WAS NOT the villain of the series. he was a cool boss, but he was far from the main protagonist of the series at that point.

heck, if it wasn't for the very beginning of Super Metroid, where he broke into the lab and stole the last Metroid, the ONLY other thing Ridley ever did was appear as a boss. that was it. no character development, no background story, and no personality whatsoever. he was just cool-looking boss.

now, i can't speak for the Prime games, but for at least 2/3rds of the series he was a boss and nothing else.

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VOTE FOR ULTROS!!! G'FHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Trivia XIV: MEATWADD SUCKS!!

*er, i meant Ridley was far from the main ANTAGONIST of the series.

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VOTE FOR ULTROS!!! G'FHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Trivia XIV: MEATWADD SUCKS!!

I'm off to bed now, g-nite ya'll.
---
Serious Reminder: Vote for Dr. Wily in 2k5
Meanwhile, sit back and enjoy the contest-hype.

Thing is, in this contest CATS may very well be middle of the road and he only takes 12% on Link.

Fair enough.

i have played and beaten Metroid, Metroid 2, Super Metroid, and Metroid Fusion (LOVE the series). i have only played a little bit of Metroid Prime and haven't gotten to Prime 2 yet. and in those first four games of the series, Ridley WAS NOT the villain of the series. he was a cool boss, but he was far from the main protagonist of the series at that point.

Ridley is the villain of the series. I'm about ready to head to sleep, so I'll keep this fairly short and pick it up tomorrow. Ridley is the leader of the Space Pirates and the sole person behind everything they do. Now, because the Space Pirates are not actively involved in every Metroid game there's reason for Ridley to not make an appearance in every one - although the appears in all but two, the two being Metroid II: Return of Samus and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. What's more, there was usually a far larger threat than the likes of the Space Pirates lurking such as Metroid Prime or Dark Samus. So for him to not be a final boss isn't anything that doesn't make sense.

Also, Mother Brain is primarily used for the operation of the Space Pirate defenses and base operations on planet Zebes. Ridley is still the main leader over the likes of Mother Brain - who is a man-made bio creature - Kraid, and the Space Pirates.

Sorry if any of that doesn't make sense or has some confusing parts. I'm rather tired. But if you need to be go more in-depth I can do so tomorrow. And if you think someone else is the "main villain" of the Metroid series, I would love to hear it because there isn't a single case that can be made that is as convincing as Ridley's.

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No one knows Ridley's origin, yet for some reason everyone in the galaxy fears the name "Ridley."

I'd just like to mention that some part of Ganondorf's strength probably does come from SSBM. He's my favorite character in that game, and if not for SSBM I would vote against in him in nearly all of his matches, past and present. Because of SSBM, though, I'm a big fan.

As for Master Hand...why would he do better than Gordon Freeman? At least Freeman's on the box cover of his game. Also, a lot of SSBM power probably comes from people who've played but don't own the game. I doubt that many of these people have seen Master Hand.

As for SSB/M sales figures...

SSBM: 2.7M in USA, 1.3M in JP, not sure worldwide. ~6M, IIRC.

SSB: 2.5M in USA, 1.6M in JP, no idea about worldwide.

That may be the most rediculous, and untrue, thing I've ever seen you say.

*hits you with the "ridiculous" stick*

I just had to. ^_^

I know a board-contest is not a good way to judge, but lost to Albedo? Beat Aeris in OT when Aeris is ridiculed like she is on this board? Nothing too spectacular...but again, that's the board. All that's happened is that I now know I have seen Kuja's name before, but never heard him be discussed before this contest. Minor correction.

Considering the way popularity on the board can shift suddenly, you are right that it isn't a good way. And performances for characters can be different in contests going on at the same time. I've seen Kuja give a very close match to Kefka on the board, as Kefka's popularity was starting to decline. I suppose he might've overperformed against Kefka, similar to how Tifa often does better than expected when placed against Aeris...
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Vexilla regis prodeunt Inferni. ~ Dante Alighieri

*sighs* So I'm not that great at spelling and I'm even worse at typing. You really, really don't need to be a grammar whore about it, especially sinc eyou know full well that I intentionally make no attempts whatsoever to double check anything in the midst of a heated, or even soon to be, debate. When I have a lot to say I liek to take as little time as possible to do it so that my statements remain relevant.
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Not to put too fine a point on it, Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet. Make a little birdhouse in your soul.

*sighs* So I'm not that great at spelling and I'm even worse at typing. You really, really don't need to be a grammar whore about it, especially sinc eyou know full well that I intentionally make no attempts whatsoever to double check anything in the midst of a heated, or even soon to be, debate. When I have a lot to say I liek to take as little time as possible to do it so that my statements remain relevant.

I'm only kidding. The only person I really harass about it is Heroic Mario, just because harassing him is fun. >.>

And besides, after seeing that spelling dozens of times, I had to do it once. =P

A lot of people never touch SC's campaign.

...
That's completely ridiculous...

I used to think that, too, but it was eventually accepted as common knowledge - or at least that is what everyone seems to think. I would be very happy if more people have played the single-player campaign than previously thought, of course...

In retrospect, I think a lot of the "proof" used to convince people that most people haven't played the single-player were anecdotal stories and comments that people play it "for the multiplayer." It's true that people still play it today for the multiplayer, but that doesn't exactly preclude them from having played the single-player at some other point.
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Vexilla regis prodeunt Inferni. ~ Dante Alighieri

Ridley is never THE main villain as portrayed in any of his games. You may delve into the story and try to figure out his position in things, but the GAMES themselves don't portray him as the antagonist to Samus. He is simply a boss fight. Metroid's ENTIRE focus is based on SAMUS and her exploration rather than her relationship to her main enemy unlike Mario-Bowser, Link-Ganon, or Cloud-Sephiroth... Hell, ANY of other hero-villain relationships are better examples. Sonic-Robotnik, Solid-Liquid, X-Sigma... Do you see a pattern?

Ridley may be the most PROMINENT villain in Metroid, but it is NEVER ABOUT him. Go through all the games... Getting to Ridley is HARDLY the goal in any of them. It's the opposite for most other hero-villain relationships. I'm willing to bet that his look plays more of a factor than him being the "main" villain of Metroid as you call him.
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Graduation: April 30, 2005 "There are only 10 kinds of people in this world, those that read binary and those that don't."

... I didn't even know that Ridley had the significance that he does in Metroid games until HM told me today. While it is interesting and it might convince me to vote for him, I somehow doubt that many other people know it... >_>
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Vexilla regis prodeunt Inferni. ~ Dante Alighieri

Not trying to start a flame war or anything... but would someone mind explaining to me something concrete that gives rise to anyone in FFIX being able to defeat Zidane?

Auron/Tidus is about the only match-up involving a lead protagonist in which anyone else from their game could beat them. I do not revert the X-Stats to memory, but I am pretty sure Tidus is higher (adjusted) than Auron.

I know Vivi was the one who got into this contest and all, but I just find it very difficult to believe we have one, ONE, case out of the entire video gaming industry where a villain or sidekick outperforms the lead protagonist in a popularity contest.

Disclaimer: Games like Suikoden II and FF III I am not including in this discussion, because in the Suikoden world you have 108 freakin' playable characters with you, the gamer, dictating all the dialogue of the lead protagonist, and in FF III you follow the stories of all the characters, not leading to a concrete lead protagonist.

I guess while we are at it, the Lunar Series may be the only exception I can think of, but even then I would not believe it until I saw Alex and Ghaleon in a contest.

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RIP: Tnote827 - 4/4/05
Fighting Illini (37-2): #2 in the nation, #1 in our hearts

lol, i'm heading to bed, too, but Ridley must have played a HUGE role in Metroid Prime to convince you that he was the main villain of the series, HM, because in the first four games, he was nothing but a boss fight. other than the opening sequence in Super Metroid, Ridley never did anything or had anything about his character built up. NOTHING. in fact, in those 4 games, there wasn't even much of a difference between Ridley and Kraid, other than their appearance.

and now that i think about, i really wouldn't pick any Metroid villains as the main villain of the series.

*********METROID SERIES SPOILERS*********

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in the first Metroid, Ridley was one of the bosses and nothing more. you fought Mother Brain in the end.

in Metroid 2, Samus went to SR388 to wipe out the Metroids and all of the bosses were huge Metroids with the final boss being the Queen Metroid, i believe. Ridley was nowhere to be found.

in Super Metroid, Ridley busts into a science lab and steals the last captive Metroid. after that, you fight him later as a boss, but that's it. no character development, no dialogue, no motives, no background info, no personality, no anything. again, Mother Brain is the final boss.

in Metroid Fusion, Ridley is frozen in a chamber, and his lifeforce gets sucked up by an X Paraite and you fight the Parasite-X version of Ridley. but again, nothing is added to his character; nothing at all. the main enemy of Fusion that pursues you is the SA-X, which is an X-Parasite version of Samus. and even that turns around and helps you defeat the Final Boss, which is another Omega Metroid.

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END SPOILERS

so, through that point, there was no clear main villain of the series. just a main villain from game to game. and Ridley was not the main villain in any of them. it's really gonna take some convincing, HM, that Ridley turned everything around in Prime and suddenly became the main villain of the entire series.



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VOTE FOR ULTROS!!! G'FHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Trivia XIV: MEATWADD SUCKS!!

Trust me, nearly everyone who plays Starcraft multiplayer has played AND beaten the Starcraft and Brood War campaigns. Everyone you talk to on Battle.net knows the main characters of the campaign like Fenix, Zeratul, Raynor, etc. So when it comes to Kerrigan, the biggest of them all, she's no exception.

I've been playing SC since beta in late 1997 and have been to all places, from public channels in the old gateway server to the WCG tournament servers and to the private Korean game channels.

When I was in the Blizzard Tournament in 1999, I talked to the contenders in the prelminary rounds about how cool the story of the game was. Everyone has played the campaign but no one mentions it since it hasn't been touched in years.

SC is old and there are a lot of veterans (including me). Not to say that there aren't newcomers, but they're far and few on Battle.net, which is dominated with older gamers who picked up SC ages ago.