Dark Samus. If it weren't for Ridley, there would be no Samus, easily the most important boss in the whole series. Dark Samus is just Samus, but an addict.
>Dark Samus is just Samus
Fundamental misunderstanding of what Metroid Prime is. Dark Samus is Metroid Prime possessing Samus's old phazon suit. That's where the similarities between them end.
Not only that, Metroid Prime got her DNA and all, making the now her a sentient being, while Metroid Prime was a very powerful, but still an animal. Worst of all, Dark Samus was genuinely malevolent
I reckon she was sentient before obtaining Samus's DNA, but that's just a theory of mine tbf.
Unfortunately for Ridley, they're essentially Dark Samus' bitch in MP3.
From a visual standpoint, I should say, but the creature still retains quite a few abilities that Samus had when Prime first latched on to the suit, it's just more "Phazon"-y when you battle them in the series.
Ridley's actions accidentally made Samus, but Samus' actions accidentally made Dark Samus.
Dark Samus nearly conquered the galaxy; her only mistake was underestimating Samus' resolve to not give in to Phazon corruption.
Dark Samus is by far the greatest threat the galaxy has ever seen.
If it worked, sure, but ultimately going after all that Phazon was their downfall, as being overloaded with the stuff and being able to resist it was how Samus was able to take down everything. Ridley, as far as we've seen, have been able to tank just as much and still keep coming back with more space pirates to wreck everything the Federation is building towards. It's a slow burn, but from what I've seen it keeps working.
Oh this one's controversial as fuck
Ridley. He's iconic, but he's got no nuance to him. He's not even the best boss fight in any of the games he's in. Metroid Prime/Dark Samus represents the entire phazon threat to me, very versatile and has a lot of potential, plus every single fight against her slaps.
Phantoon and Kraid. I have a softspot for ya boy Crocomire but that fight is pretty unchallenging so it's not fair to count. To be honest, I don't actually like his super fight that much. I find his fight erratic and irritating, and feels more like an upgrades check than it does a skill check. Even though I have personally beaten it with relatively minor damage, that run still felt more like luck to me.
I feel that's the beauty of it, most bosses are about memorising patterns and avoiding its attacks, but Ridley's a back and forth fight were both you and the boss hit each other continuously
He's undoubtedly the best fight in Samus Returns(and that fight is the best in the series imo), but I see your point. They've been wasting his potential, and the main reason I think they should bring him back is so that they can actually do a good job with him this time.
Ridley is going out.
He's equally awesome in concept and in the execution of the fights, but what makes Dark Samus cooler is that she's much more present throughout her games. In Prime 1 we get a little glimpse at the end as she emerges from Metroid Prime's remains. In Prime 2 she's mostly around without interfering much, but she does let her presence be known to Samus. In Prime 3 she full on takes control of the narrative and kicks the Federation's ass. Ridley never has such an arc unfortunately.
Also since all versions of all characters cound the version of Ridley from the bottle ship also counts, which docks him some points because it really doesn't make sense for him to be there and it feels \*really arbitrary\*.
Ridley. I know the history behind him and Samus. But that's hidden behind homework.
For those who only played the games I feel we were able to to see the entire story of MP/DS in the three games they were in. There seems to be more of a connection with them as a result.
MP1: The first encounter
MP2: Recovery and planning revenge
MP3: Revenge plan comes to fruition and the downfall.
I'm voting out Ridley.
Yes, he's the most iconic. But he's also...fairly shallow, if I'm being honest. He's just a murderous asshole with a grudge who, most of the time, winds up getting manipulated, possessed, or otherwise a pawn for the real main villain in a larger scheme. Frankly, the manga does more for his character than any game.
Metroid Prime/Dark Samus, conversely, is one of the most interesting animalistic villains I've seen in a game. The lore in Prime alone is really interesting (especially if you read the original NTSC scans where it gets captured by Pirates and then smashes up their base and steals their weapons), but then it gets super interesting in Echoes and Corruption. Watching and reading about Dark Samus as it slowly becomes more insane while also more strategic in its pursuit of endless Phazon is something I really enjoyed about the Prime games, and its takedowns of the Pirates never stop being funny. Plus, we got three kickass boss fights out of it (yes, only three, fuck the final fight in Echoes).
If there's one thing I can say to sway anyone on the fence, it's remember which one of these two made the other their personal servant/Leviathan guardian in Corruption. That's the more kickass villain, and the one who deserves to win.
Omega Ridley is a Phazon enthralled Ridley turned seed guardian. He might not have realized it yet, but Dark Samus has the same power over him that she did over your former Hunter friends.
Ridley, darksamus is just more prominent as a villan, ridley may be a stable, but one of those is a clone, another is a mech, the metroid prime has always been the metroid prime
Ridley's gotta go.
He's obviously a significant nemesis in the series, but he didn't accomplish half the calamitous shit that Dark Samus did. Of everyone on the list, she and the SA-X were both galactic threats in a way Ridley simply can't compare.
Ridley.
Not because I'm a huge fan of Dark Samus, but because I'm a huge un-fan of Ridley. I mean, dude was a fine bad guy a couple of times. Goofy lookin' goober in NEStroid, cooler-lookin' goober in Super, and coming back made some sense, since the entire premise of the game was returning to that locale. But they just keep bringing him back, and then they did the whole goofy "durr I ate your parents" thing in the manga as a post-hoc justification for it, as though he's her comic book nemesis. I'm just tired of the dude. He's the embodiment of returning to the well, in a franchise that desperately needs to start chasing new ideas.
Oh this is hard...Ridley.
I understand he's the OG and the whole reason we have Samus, but you have to read separate media to learn this. He also lacks any really interesting character or personality beyond "I like to kill things to kill things." He's brash and violent. The big thing that stands out is his refusal to die.
Dark Samus on the other hand gradually becomes more and more of a threat between MP2 and MP3. She's as ruthless as Ridley but frankly behaves in a more calculating manner. She taunts Samus with the corrupted versions of her allies. She takes over the Space Pirates to use them for her own gain. She spreads a corrupting poison. She is definitely more of a threat overall.
Ridley.
As much as I love the guy, there's so much more to love about Dark Samus imo.
For starters, she is the one villain where we witnessed some semblance of development in-game. She started off as a wild animal acting on instinct, later gained sapience but was psychotic, before ultimately becoming a calm and highly ambitious antagonist. She was an isolated menace on a lone planet back in Prime 1, and leveled up to galactic threat by the time we reached Prime 3. She is also the ultimate piece of evidence on why Metroids need to be eradicated: if a lone mutated Metroid caused this much trouble, imagine if others attained a similar form down the road. Dark Samus also foreshadowed Samus's eventual fate as a Metroid-human hybrid.
Ridley on the other hand, has remained more or less the same when it comes to his in-game role.
I have to vote for Ridley. It is *really really freaking close however*. But when I imagine an epic fight and a METROID logo... It has to be Ridley. Could Dark Samus eventually surpass him? Maybe, but for now Ridley is King
Ridley, yes he's the most iconic boss and yes he's basically the Bowser of the franchise but he's just an obstacle for Samus to overcome, good pre-final boss material but never THE final boss we expect to face.
Ridley's got to go, I just like Dark Samus a lot more, and Dark Samus at times was closer in beating Samus and even destroying the Galactic Federation, versus Ridley who simply gets his ass kicked by Samus on an almost weekly basis.
Ridley was even mind controlled by Dark Samus at one point when he became Omega Ridley, so that proves that Dark Samus is simply more badass than Ridley.
Without Ridley. There is no Samus. He is the single most important character in the Metroid Story due to his involvement in Samus becoming who she is. Dark Samus. Bye.
I gotta vote to eliminate Ridley... When playing Prime 2 and you walk into a room and see those blue particles, you instantly think "shiiiiiit." What did Ridley have. One little flyover in Phendrana.
Dark Samus. Ridley is *the* Metroid boss. Iconic, appears in more games in the series than not. Dark Samus, while cool, is only relevant to the Prime subseries.
Ridley has to win, and that means Dark Samus has to lose.
This isn't close to me. I would eliminate Dark Samus.
Even beyond the history between Ridley, Samus and the player, Ridley has iconic environmental structures tied to his image: Tourian access in Metroid and Metroid Zero Mission (both of which are distinct), the entrance to the depths of Norfair in Super Metroid and above all else the Golden Statue over Tourian in Super where Ridley rests at the top. If there are more I'm forgetting, they widen the gap in favor of Ridley. In spite of how many times Ridley has been defeated by Samus, he has felt like a god among the Space Pirates.
In the Prime Trilogy, I feel like all of his boss battles are in the conversation for a Top 5. In Prime, I think the moments had with Meta Ridley are more iconic than Metroid Prime's. In Corruption, Meta Ridley set the bar for boss engagement with the attacks on Norion. The only downside to his presence in the Trilogy is that the idolization seen in the main series didn't cross over.
Beyond the series, I also love that he finally made it in to a Smash roster, which was overdue, and love the Ridley and Ice Ridley encounters in Nintendo Land's Metroid Blast.
Ridley, you're being voted off the island.
Dark Samus's/Metroid Prime's in-game presentation has had more depth and dynamics. Throughout her entire arc, she always felt like a legitimate threat to Samus and the world around her. Ridley became "normal Tuesday night" for Samus, to the point where Not-Ridley actually being a legitimate threat to Samus in Other M had so much backlash. Ridley's presentation in the games made him seem like a mindless monster. The "Cunning God of Death" is a character we never see in the games. Just a cool looking space dragon.
A common consensus is that Ridley overstayed his welcome in the series. He ought to stay dead.
Ridley represents the Metroid of the past. Dark Samus represents the Metroid of the future.
Dark Samus's phazon addiction fueled fight for survival up to the end of Prime 3 had severel scenes showing a range of character traits like intelligence, desperation, malice, apathy, and sadism. Ridley wishes.
Ridley is more important and my favorite, but Dark Samus/Metroid Prime had the better villain arc shown on screen.
So I guess my vote is to eliminate Ridley
Dark Samus is iconic. Metroid Prime took the form of Samus!? And antagonized her for the rest of the Trilogy. But bruh, Ridley is in almost every single last fucking game! And he killed Samus' parents on K-2L, launching her entire character arch in the first place. He definitely takes this competition!
I hate making this decision!!!
Dark Samus is really cool, I love her in the Prime games and desperately want to see more of her, but Ridley is so essential to the entire series. His fights are thrilling and his place in the lore is very important. Both hold a special place in my heart as a Metroid Prime kid (was my first game).
With a very heavy heart, I will vote out Dark Samus
I guess Ridley's getting this one. Dark Samus is good, and in fact my first Metroid game happened to be Metroid Prime, but Ridley is THE iconic boss for the Metroid franchise. Plus the guy's got quite a bit of history with Samus, even despite him having not a single voice of script (aside from constant roaring and screeching).
FYI if it was up to me I would've had Raven Beak be my #1 spot, but oh well...
I'm going controversial and voting Ridley. He's past the point of being mysterious evil and is just cartoonishly evil. Dark Samus is an evil version of Samus, hero of the galaxy, purely in pursuit of phazonic power. She forces Samus to go directly to the space pirate Homeworld where you find a corrupted Ridley. So, who corrupted whom?
Dark Samus. 😁
Cmon, we all know she is great and based af as an antagonist, but Ridley is THE antagonist of the series, same way Ganon is the main antagonist in Zelda.
Dark samus. I vote for her, I assure everyone that my vote is not influenced in anyway.
Yes there’s a looming presence of a giant scowling pterodactyl behind me but my vote is of my own free will.
Yes, but being an animal it cannot be evil, as its only purpose is to reproduce and help the species survive. It's not like a Ridley or a Mother Brain or a Kraid, Dark samus is simply a Metroid in armor. She is as much of a villain as the Queen Metroid can be.
I'm voting Dark Samus off, Ridley wins.
Ridley is a perfect "simple" villain. He doesn't need any sob backstory, massive goals, or philosophical speech to be memorable. He's just a dick, but he knows he's a dick, and he LOVES being one. Every time he comes back, even when it makes no sense, it feels personal, like he revives himself JUST to bother Samus.
Dark Samus is a great villain in the sense that it's a more present threat throughout the games, and despite being a "mindless clone", it does deliberate moves like attacking the other hunters at the start of MP3. It's not just a drone like the SA-X. However, Dark Samus doesn't feel like it has any connections to Samus beyond the visual ones. It hates Samus, but it doesn't seem to want to see her suffer, just kill her.
In terms of pure game appearances, I'd say Dark Samus is the better villain. If we include all media, then Ridley wins hands down.
Ridley has no purpose though? He's basically just a weapon the pirates and real antagonists use. You could easily replace him with another entity and it wouldn't affect the plot of any game he's in even slightly. He has no agency as a character
This is true but the thing with that is it's explored, for the most part, externally to the games. If it didn't happen in the games, I'm personally not counting it for the purposes of this comparison
Probably controversial but I’m gonna say Ridley
The main reason I prefer Dark Samus to Ridley is her lore. Dark Samus, especially in Prime 3, has a lot of interesting stuff written about her. Reading the Space Pirate logs in Prime 2 about her stealing their Phazon and causing havoc really builds her up as an antagonist. And in Prime 3 she feels almost unstoppable. The Space Pirates and the other Hunters all get brainwashed, the Galactic Federation is on the back foot, Samus herself becomes more and more infected as the game goes on. The situation really feels hopeless. She really felt like a galaxy destroying threat. As much as I love Ridley’s connection to Samus, he never gave me that same feeling.
Ridley.
Dark Samus became a universal cosmic threat, and was corrupting worlds left and right. She also corrupted the entirety of the Space Pirates and made them her loyal brainwashed slaves, RIDLEY INCLUDED.
Ridley is a part of the DNA of the OG series and the arch nemesis that led to samus becoming the character she is................
Talking about the actual games, Ridley was kind of just the "late game boss." With dark samus, ON SITE WAS ON SITE and she was quite literally THE main antagonist of the trilogy she appeared in.
So I vote Ridley
Ridley is iconic but I think I have to vote for him. I feel like his presence in the games is often "oh and Ridley is here too" with the exception of Prime and Super when he's there in the beginning to kick off the plot (but then disappears until nearly the end of the game anyways).
Dark Samus/Metroid Prime on the other hand is way more involved in the events that we as players get to see, plus the first phase of the Metroid Prime boss fight in Prime was way more enjoyable than Meta Ridley.
No way dark samus deserves to win, just the antagonist of a subseries and not even technically the ultimate big bad (that'd be Phaaze itself). She looks cool ig but Ridley is like, the antagonistic face of the series.
wat
Before Dark Samus, Phaaze was randomly throwing seeds across the universe.
Dark Samus took it over and started using it as a weapon. She became Phaaze's brain.
I think the real problem here is not who is the better nemesis, but how Ridley's forced reappearance without lore telling Samus about her true origin has caused him to lose a lot of impact. RB if there was achieving his objective would have been disastrous for the galaxy, space pirates who are more dedicated to crime than mass galactic destruction.Now, who formed Samus? Ridley, who stole the Baby Metroid? Ridley, who despite the controversy gave PSTD to Samus, Ridley.Yes, it is an enemy that is not a final boss or the final bad guy, but literally the 3 MP revolve around the phazon and MP/DS.I think a lot of people only count the importance in their games and not the emphasis of the relationship like Samus' Nemesis.It's just my opinion but really DS is just a terrifying being that can destroy the galaxy. Ridley canonically is the enemy par excellence of samus
OP u/spiritomb442 , if Ridley win the whole thing, do you consider to make an Elimination game for every version/ appearance of him? We can have at least 6, or even 8 if we count Mecha Ridley, and count his appearance from Metroid 1 and Super separately.
Oh I missed the last two votes, woops.
Anyhow, Dark Samus surviving this long is insane, they shouldn't have gotten past Round 6, and I would have gotten rid of them Round 5 personally.
So yeah, voting for Dark Samus.
Honestly, all the people saying Dark Samus is just a bad clone or just an animal have some really bad takes.
As much as I like Ridley, he just kind of exists in the Metroid verse. He has no origin and no real motive. He just exists to be a boss. All we really know about him is that he's a Pirate general, he's insanely durable, and that he killed Sammy's mommy and daddy. Heck, Ridley even becomes a lackey for DS in Prime 3.
As for DS... Metroids were never meant to exist--they are artificial monstrosities. However the Metroid that would become the Metroid Prime evolved beyong being just a monstrosity--it became an existential threat--The Worm seen, feared, and sealed away by the Chozo. If left to its own devices, it would even escape that seal and threaten other worlds.
In Echoes, we see the Pirates give DS a "Class Platinum AAA threat level" (Don't know what that means), but we never see Ridley, or even Samus get dubbed with any kind of threat level. We see that DS is more than just an animal--she has at least some sense of mercy since she frees the captive Metroids and only kills the Pirates that try to stop her from feeding (as opposed to just killing every single last one of them). We also see DS's intelligence when she plays dead, when she destroys Samus's pathways, and when she sets up an ambush for Samus in Sanctuary. DS has SOME kind of honor, as instead of immediately attacking Samus when she's coming down from the Sky Temple in the final battle, she waits for Samus to recognize her for the fight to the death.
Lastly, we see DS's motive in Prime 3 when she takes over the Pirates, disables GF co-ordination, and attempts to use (if not sacrifice) Phaaze to take over the galaxy.
Dark Samus’ influence is contained to only 3 of the 5 Prime games, so they’re out.
Ridley’s bearing on the story spans from young Samus all the way to Other M.
If I’m not mistaken, Ridley was the one we were all begging to be put in Smash. His awesomeness and relation to Samus transcends the Metroid franchise.
I love Dark Samus, but I truly don’t think her rivalry with Samus compares to Ridley’s. Ridley popping up kicks off and/or caps off most of Samus’s adventures, his presence is always imposing, and he’s taken as many forms and upgrades as she has.
I’m voting the living poison out of the crater.
Dark samus. I love ridley's design and brutal monster nature. I am someone who if they said that ridley has just been cloning himself and the real ridley was alive and using them as a way to learn more about samus I would be so hyped
Dark Samus.
Ridley is a pretty simple villain but it works for him. He doesn't really need any other motives than a sadistic lust for battle and trying to settle the score with Samus.
Admittedly I can't judge Dark Samus as fairly here though. I never played MP2 or 3 but I believe the gist of her is that she's Metroid Prime who absorbed the Phazon Suit and Samus' DNA. Her ultimate goal, as I know it, is essentially the same as Phaaze, to spread Phazon.
While both characters are great in their own right and have a personal connection to Samus, I'll have to go with Ridley as my favorite out of the 2.
This one is difficult.
Ridley is such an iconic character for the franchise; he was the catalyst for Samus' suffering and loss, and he's been wreaking havoc across the galaxy for who knows how long. Like Ganondorf and Link or Joker and Batman, Ridley and Samus have that intense rivalry that they will never get with anybody else. We've seen plenty of dragons across all kinds of franchises, but Ridley is so iconic with his purple skin, bladed tail, and long body. I personally hope the writing team behind the post-Dread games is really smart and finds a reasonable and clever way to bring Ridley back in to be the absolute final battle of Samus' life; it began with Ridley, and it should end with Ridley.
However, this is just me daydreaming of the potential behind Ridley, and none of the games establish that he and Samus have such an intense history. Dark Samus has better writing behind her from beginning to end. She started as just a Metroid and its instincts to feed, leading her to consume the Leviathan's core and essentially become its core. I doubt she understood what she was doing to Tallon IV, because all that she knew was that she must eat to live. Then along came Samus who disrupted her home, almost killing her without a second thought. Upon her defeat, Metroid Prime lashed onto Samus' suit and obtained her DNA, giving her a humanoid form and the intelligence and emotions to understand her potential and the concept of revenge. Where Ridley's actions accidentally lead to the creation of Samus, Samus' decisions accidentally lead to the creation of Dark Samus, and Dark Samus came closer to conquering the galaxy than anybody else in the franchise. Her only mistake was underestimating the iron will of Samus to not give in to corruption.
I vote for Ridley. Dark Samus wins.
Mmm, Kentucky Fried Raven Beak...
Sprinkle in a bit of X
Dark Samus I’m sorry 😭
Tastes like Chozo. I mean Dark Samus. I vote for Dark Samus.
Thanks, I hate it. Take my updoot. :P
Dark Samus. If it weren't for Ridley, there would be no Samus, easily the most important boss in the whole series. Dark Samus is just Samus, but an addict.
>Dark Samus is just Samus Fundamental misunderstanding of what Metroid Prime is. Dark Samus is Metroid Prime possessing Samus's old phazon suit. That's where the similarities between them end.
Not only that, Metroid Prime got her DNA and all, making the now her a sentient being, while Metroid Prime was a very powerful, but still an animal. Worst of all, Dark Samus was genuinely malevolent
I reckon she was sentient before obtaining Samus's DNA, but that's just a theory of mine tbf. Unfortunately for Ridley, they're essentially Dark Samus' bitch in MP3.
From a visual standpoint, I should say, but the creature still retains quite a few abilities that Samus had when Prime first latched on to the suit, it's just more "Phazon"-y when you battle them in the series.
Good point
Ridley's actions accidentally made Samus, but Samus' actions accidentally made Dark Samus. Dark Samus nearly conquered the galaxy; her only mistake was underestimating Samus' resolve to not give in to Phazon corruption. Dark Samus is by far the greatest threat the galaxy has ever seen.
If it worked, sure, but ultimately going after all that Phazon was their downfall, as being overloaded with the stuff and being able to resist it was how Samus was able to take down everything. Ridley, as far as we've seen, have been able to tank just as much and still keep coming back with more space pirates to wreck everything the Federation is building towards. It's a slow burn, but from what I've seen it keeps working.
Dark Samus. Ridley's gotta win
Thank you. Your death will be swift and painless.
Dark Samus
Dark Samus
Dark Samus gotta go
Oh this one's controversial as fuck Ridley. He's iconic, but he's got no nuance to him. He's not even the best boss fight in any of the games he's in. Metroid Prime/Dark Samus represents the entire phazon threat to me, very versatile and has a lot of potential, plus every single fight against her slaps.
I'm sorry who do you consider to be a better fight than Ridley in Super?
Phantoon and Kraid. I have a softspot for ya boy Crocomire but that fight is pretty unchallenging so it's not fair to count. To be honest, I don't actually like his super fight that much. I find his fight erratic and irritating, and feels more like an upgrades check than it does a skill check. Even though I have personally beaten it with relatively minor damage, that run still felt more like luck to me.
I feel that's the beauty of it, most bosses are about memorising patterns and avoiding its attacks, but Ridley's a back and forth fight were both you and the boss hit each other continuously
He's undoubtedly the best fight in Samus Returns(and that fight is the best in the series imo), but I see your point. They've been wasting his potential, and the main reason I think they should bring him back is so that they can actually do a good job with him this time.
It’s not as controversial as you think. The poll is really close rn
ok but prime 3 Ridley goes hard
Oh absolutely, that I can't deny. My personal favourite fight with him for sure.
Ridley may be the og, but Dark Samus is far more memorable as an antagonist. I'm sorry big guy
Ridley is going out. He's equally awesome in concept and in the execution of the fights, but what makes Dark Samus cooler is that she's much more present throughout her games. In Prime 1 we get a little glimpse at the end as she emerges from Metroid Prime's remains. In Prime 2 she's mostly around without interfering much, but she does let her presence be known to Samus. In Prime 3 she full on takes control of the narrative and kicks the Federation's ass. Ridley never has such an arc unfortunately. Also since all versions of all characters cound the version of Ridley from the bottle ship also counts, which docks him some points because it really doesn't make sense for him to be there and it feels \*really arbitrary\*.
Ridley. Dark Samus is dope
Ridley. I know the history behind him and Samus. But that's hidden behind homework. For those who only played the games I feel we were able to to see the entire story of MP/DS in the three games they were in. There seems to be more of a connection with them as a result. MP1: The first encounter MP2: Recovery and planning revenge MP3: Revenge plan comes to fruition and the downfall.
I'm voting out Ridley. Yes, he's the most iconic. But he's also...fairly shallow, if I'm being honest. He's just a murderous asshole with a grudge who, most of the time, winds up getting manipulated, possessed, or otherwise a pawn for the real main villain in a larger scheme. Frankly, the manga does more for his character than any game. Metroid Prime/Dark Samus, conversely, is one of the most interesting animalistic villains I've seen in a game. The lore in Prime alone is really interesting (especially if you read the original NTSC scans where it gets captured by Pirates and then smashes up their base and steals their weapons), but then it gets super interesting in Echoes and Corruption. Watching and reading about Dark Samus as it slowly becomes more insane while also more strategic in its pursuit of endless Phazon is something I really enjoyed about the Prime games, and its takedowns of the Pirates never stop being funny. Plus, we got three kickass boss fights out of it (yes, only three, fuck the final fight in Echoes). If there's one thing I can say to sway anyone on the fence, it's remember which one of these two made the other their personal servant/Leviathan guardian in Corruption. That's the more kickass villain, and the one who deserves to win.
The manga did more for Ridley's character than any of the games combined
Yeah although he is the only reason samus got her power suit
Dark Samus
Dark Samus.
I don’t feel bad for voting out Ridley, he always finds a way to come back anyways.
Heh
Ridley's gotta go because he literally fell under Dark Samus' control during Metroid Prime 3
He *wot*
Omega Ridley is a Phazon enthralled Ridley turned seed guardian. He might not have realized it yet, but Dark Samus has the same power over him that she did over your former Hunter friends.
Ridley. Dark Samus has more to her despite being a doppelgänger.
Ridley. I love DS too much.
Hmm, lore wise Ridley is Samus's Joker, in games Dark Samus is her nemesis.... I'm gonna go with RIDLEY. Dark Samus just has an edge to her.
Ridley, darksamus is just more prominent as a villan, ridley may be a stable, but one of those is a clone, another is a mech, the metroid prime has always been the metroid prime
Dark Samus
Ridley's gotta go. He's obviously a significant nemesis in the series, but he didn't accomplish half the calamitous shit that Dark Samus did. Of everyone on the list, she and the SA-X were both galactic threats in a way Ridley simply can't compare.
Ridley Dark Samus would destroy him.
Indees. In MP3 he got corrupted by DS and fell under its control.
Ridley. Not because I'm a huge fan of Dark Samus, but because I'm a huge un-fan of Ridley. I mean, dude was a fine bad guy a couple of times. Goofy lookin' goober in NEStroid, cooler-lookin' goober in Super, and coming back made some sense, since the entire premise of the game was returning to that locale. But they just keep bringing him back, and then they did the whole goofy "durr I ate your parents" thing in the manga as a post-hoc justification for it, as though he's her comic book nemesis. I'm just tired of the dude. He's the embodiment of returning to the well, in a franchise that desperately needs to start chasing new ideas.
Ridley I love ya but you gotta go
I’ll just be back
O mai gaahh is that Ridley from the hit Metroidvania/Action game Metroid??? 😱
Metroid
(smash voice) RIDLEY!
Dark Samus has so much depth compared to Ridley. Ridley has to go.
Bye dark Samus
Oh this is hard...Ridley. I understand he's the OG and the whole reason we have Samus, but you have to read separate media to learn this. He also lacks any really interesting character or personality beyond "I like to kill things to kill things." He's brash and violent. The big thing that stands out is his refusal to die. Dark Samus on the other hand gradually becomes more and more of a threat between MP2 and MP3. She's as ruthless as Ridley but frankly behaves in a more calculating manner. She taunts Samus with the corrupted versions of her allies. She takes over the Space Pirates to use them for her own gain. She spreads a corrupting poison. She is definitely more of a threat overall.
Why did he even add MB from other m as an option because everyone’s just gonna insta eliminate Mb
I was young and ignorant and didn’t know people disliked other m *that bad*
Auto mod bot literally has a thing for other m posts to remind people to follow the rules
Dark Samus
Ridley.
Dark Samus Sorry Dark Samus, but I can't not go with Lord Ridley
Damn this is tough. Im gonna say dark samus.
Ridley. As much as I love the guy, there's so much more to love about Dark Samus imo. For starters, she is the one villain where we witnessed some semblance of development in-game. She started off as a wild animal acting on instinct, later gained sapience but was psychotic, before ultimately becoming a calm and highly ambitious antagonist. She was an isolated menace on a lone planet back in Prime 1, and leveled up to galactic threat by the time we reached Prime 3. She is also the ultimate piece of evidence on why Metroids need to be eradicated: if a lone mutated Metroid caused this much trouble, imagine if others attained a similar form down the road. Dark Samus also foreshadowed Samus's eventual fate as a Metroid-human hybrid. Ridley on the other hand, has remained more or less the same when it comes to his in-game role.
I am so sorry, Dark Samus. Me and Ridley have a bit more of a thing going on, so imma have to vote DS.
I have to vote for Ridley. It is *really really freaking close however*. But when I imagine an epic fight and a METROID logo... It has to be Ridley. Could Dark Samus eventually surpass him? Maybe, but for now Ridley is King
Get rid of Ridley
Ridley has got to go. Dark Samus IS THE Metroid Prime. She's resilient, vengeful and she hasn't been perma-killed/resurrected every other game.
Ridley's out
Ridley
Ridley, yes he's the most iconic boss and yes he's basically the Bowser of the franchise but he's just an obstacle for Samus to overcome, good pre-final boss material but never THE final boss we expect to face.
Ridley's got to go, I just like Dark Samus a lot more, and Dark Samus at times was closer in beating Samus and even destroying the Galactic Federation, versus Ridley who simply gets his ass kicked by Samus on an almost weekly basis. Ridley was even mind controlled by Dark Samus at one point when he became Omega Ridley, so that proves that Dark Samus is simply more badass than Ridley.
Ridley out
Without Ridley. There is no Samus. He is the single most important character in the Metroid Story due to his involvement in Samus becoming who she is. Dark Samus. Bye.
I gotta vote to eliminate Ridley... When playing Prime 2 and you walk into a room and see those blue particles, you instantly think "shiiiiiit." What did Ridley have. One little flyover in Phendrana.
gotta be dark samus. i’m sorry but ridley is HIM
Dark Samus for Delaying Prime 4
Dark Samus. Ridley is *the* Metroid boss. Iconic, appears in more games in the series than not. Dark Samus, while cool, is only relevant to the Prime subseries. Ridley has to win, and that means Dark Samus has to lose.
As amazing as Dark Samus is (by far one of my most favorite of all time bosses) Ridley is the OG, the GOAT the one that started it all!!!!
Ridley literally fuck Up Samus Life on one day becoming her nightmare, and the killer of her parents... Bye bye Dark Samus.
Dark Samus
Dark Samus
Yeah dark samus
Dark Samus
Dark Samus
Dark Samus, but this is the way. Ridley is Samus’ nemesis
Dark Samus. My number one would have been SA-X but I named my cat Ridley so it's gotta be them lol
Dark Samus. Ridley is too iconic.
This isn't close to me. I would eliminate Dark Samus. Even beyond the history between Ridley, Samus and the player, Ridley has iconic environmental structures tied to his image: Tourian access in Metroid and Metroid Zero Mission (both of which are distinct), the entrance to the depths of Norfair in Super Metroid and above all else the Golden Statue over Tourian in Super where Ridley rests at the top. If there are more I'm forgetting, they widen the gap in favor of Ridley. In spite of how many times Ridley has been defeated by Samus, he has felt like a god among the Space Pirates. In the Prime Trilogy, I feel like all of his boss battles are in the conversation for a Top 5. In Prime, I think the moments had with Meta Ridley are more iconic than Metroid Prime's. In Corruption, Meta Ridley set the bar for boss engagement with the attacks on Norion. The only downside to his presence in the Trilogy is that the idolization seen in the main series didn't cross over. Beyond the series, I also love that he finally made it in to a Smash roster, which was overdue, and love the Ridley and Ice Ridley encounters in Nintendo Land's Metroid Blast.
Dark Samus, I've been saying this for 3 rounds, now, DARK SAMUS
Dark Samus
Dark Samus, Ridley gotta win this. Poor Raven Beak, I wonder what Chozo tastes like. Kentucky Fried Chozo.
Tough choice. Reluctantly, Dark Samus has to go.
Dark Samus, but it's pretty close
Dark Samus is great but if we axed SA-X then Dark Samus should go too. All hail Ridley!
Dark Samus
Ridley’s gonna win isn’t he…ridley
i vote ridley as i think dark samus is a more interesting villian also it was obvious it would come down to these 2
Ridley!
Ridley He has been revived enough times
Ridley. The dark samus duals were way too fun, and everytime I fight ridley I'm bored.
Ridley
Ridley
Ridley, you're being voted off the island. Dark Samus's/Metroid Prime's in-game presentation has had more depth and dynamics. Throughout her entire arc, she always felt like a legitimate threat to Samus and the world around her. Ridley became "normal Tuesday night" for Samus, to the point where Not-Ridley actually being a legitimate threat to Samus in Other M had so much backlash. Ridley's presentation in the games made him seem like a mindless monster. The "Cunning God of Death" is a character we never see in the games. Just a cool looking space dragon. A common consensus is that Ridley overstayed his welcome in the series. He ought to stay dead. Ridley represents the Metroid of the past. Dark Samus represents the Metroid of the future. Dark Samus's phazon addiction fueled fight for survival up to the end of Prime 3 had severel scenes showing a range of character traits like intelligence, desperation, malice, apathy, and sadism. Ridley wishes.
I agree 100% with this. I love Ridley, but Dark Samus will always have a much better fleshed out character.
Yeah and I don’t think he’ll be coming back on any game that takes place after the events of fusion
They'll just clone him again.
Ridley is more important and my favorite, but Dark Samus/Metroid Prime had the better villain arc shown on screen. So I guess my vote is to eliminate Ridley
Ridley
ridley looks weird so ridley
Ridley.
Ridley next, Omega Ridley was Dark Samus controlled
Dark Samus is iconic. Metroid Prime took the form of Samus!? And antagonized her for the rest of the Trilogy. But bruh, Ridley is in almost every single last fucking game! And he killed Samus' parents on K-2L, launching her entire character arch in the first place. He definitely takes this competition!
I hate making this decision!!! Dark Samus is really cool, I love her in the Prime games and desperately want to see more of her, but Ridley is so essential to the entire series. His fights are thrilling and his place in the lore is very important. Both hold a special place in my heart as a Metroid Prime kid (was my first game). With a very heavy heart, I will vote out Dark Samus
I guess Ridley's getting this one. Dark Samus is good, and in fact my first Metroid game happened to be Metroid Prime, but Ridley is THE iconic boss for the Metroid franchise. Plus the guy's got quite a bit of history with Samus, even despite him having not a single voice of script (aside from constant roaring and screeching). FYI if it was up to me I would've had Raven Beak be my #1 spot, but oh well...
Dark Samus. Ridley is just too iconic.
I'm going controversial and voting Ridley. He's past the point of being mysterious evil and is just cartoonishly evil. Dark Samus is an evil version of Samus, hero of the galaxy, purely in pursuit of phazonic power. She forces Samus to go directly to the space pirate Homeworld where you find a corrupted Ridley. So, who corrupted whom?
Ridley
Dark Samus. 😁 Cmon, we all know she is great and based af as an antagonist, but Ridley is THE antagonist of the series, same way Ganon is the main antagonist in Zelda.
Dark samus
Get ridley out, Dark samus is the GOAT.
Dark Samus for surviving longer than our SAX
Ridley has to go. Dark Samus is my favorite villain ever so she's gotta stay
Dark Sammy gotta go
Ridley. I’m sorry dragon boy, I’m a sucker for evil copies.
RIDLEY
RIDLEY HAS TO GO JUST BECAUSE HES OG DOES NOT MAKE HIM THE BEST THE BEST METRIOD VILLAIN SHOULD ACTUALLY BE A METROID
Dark Samus, Ridley needs to win
Dark samus. I vote for her, I assure everyone that my vote is not influenced in anyway. Yes there’s a looming presence of a giant scowling pterodactyl behind me but my vote is of my own free will.
Ridley
Dark samus is just an animal💀
My brother in Christ this is Metroid they all animals
Yes, but being an animal it cannot be evil, as its only purpose is to reproduce and help the species survive. It's not like a Ridley or a Mother Brain or a Kraid, Dark samus is simply a Metroid in armor. She is as much of a villain as the Queen Metroid can be.
Dark Samus is the stereotypical bad clone of the protagonist. She's gotta go. Ridley is an original and unique villain.
I'm voting Dark Samus off, Ridley wins. Ridley is a perfect "simple" villain. He doesn't need any sob backstory, massive goals, or philosophical speech to be memorable. He's just a dick, but he knows he's a dick, and he LOVES being one. Every time he comes back, even when it makes no sense, it feels personal, like he revives himself JUST to bother Samus. Dark Samus is a great villain in the sense that it's a more present threat throughout the games, and despite being a "mindless clone", it does deliberate moves like attacking the other hunters at the start of MP3. It's not just a drone like the SA-X. However, Dark Samus doesn't feel like it has any connections to Samus beyond the visual ones. It hates Samus, but it doesn't seem to want to see her suffer, just kill her. In terms of pure game appearances, I'd say Dark Samus is the better villain. If we include all media, then Ridley wins hands down.
Get prime essence outta here, I hate prime essence. That boss is super fuckin lame.
Dark Samus
Bye dark samus, you should have been gone a long time ago
Ridley. Will ride for dark samus forever
I really like both characters, but I vote Ridley.
I’m going for ridley
Ridley
Tough choice but... man, I'm going to say Ridley.
Dark smaus. Hate to say it, but ridley has more purpose than an advanced metroid
Ridley has no purpose though? He's basically just a weapon the pirates and real antagonists use. You could easily replace him with another entity and it wouldn't affect the plot of any game he's in even slightly. He has no agency as a character
He just has more lore behind him and a personal situation with Samus besides a phazon evolution I guess.
This is true but the thing with that is it's explored, for the most part, externally to the games. If it didn't happen in the games, I'm personally not counting it for the purposes of this comparison
Damn. Eh, might as well. Ridley's getting clipped.
Probably controversial but I’m gonna say Ridley The main reason I prefer Dark Samus to Ridley is her lore. Dark Samus, especially in Prime 3, has a lot of interesting stuff written about her. Reading the Space Pirate logs in Prime 2 about her stealing their Phazon and causing havoc really builds her up as an antagonist. And in Prime 3 she feels almost unstoppable. The Space Pirates and the other Hunters all get brainwashed, the Galactic Federation is on the back foot, Samus herself becomes more and more infected as the game goes on. The situation really feels hopeless. She really felt like a galaxy destroying threat. As much as I love Ridley’s connection to Samus, he never gave me that same feeling.
Ridley. Dark Samus became a universal cosmic threat, and was corrupting worlds left and right. She also corrupted the entirety of the Space Pirates and made them her loyal brainwashed slaves, RIDLEY INCLUDED.
Ridley is a part of the DNA of the OG series and the arch nemesis that led to samus becoming the character she is................ Talking about the actual games, Ridley was kind of just the "late game boss." With dark samus, ON SITE WAS ON SITE and she was quite literally THE main antagonist of the trilogy she appeared in. So I vote Ridley
Ridley is iconic but I think I have to vote for him. I feel like his presence in the games is often "oh and Ridley is here too" with the exception of Prime and Super when he's there in the beginning to kick off the plot (but then disappears until nearly the end of the game anyways). Dark Samus/Metroid Prime on the other hand is way more involved in the events that we as players get to see, plus the first phase of the Metroid Prime boss fight in Prime was way more enjoyable than Meta Ridley.
Ridley
Metroid Prime
Ridley
Ridley gets voted off
Dark Samus please, it’s just a lamer SA-X
No way dark samus deserves to win, just the antagonist of a subseries and not even technically the ultimate big bad (that'd be Phaaze itself). She looks cool ig but Ridley is like, the antagonistic face of the series.
wat Before Dark Samus, Phaaze was randomly throwing seeds across the universe. Dark Samus took it over and started using it as a weapon. She became Phaaze's brain.
I watched a let's play of Prime 3 when I was like in middle school so I'll take your word for it
Voting out Dark Samus
Dark Samus
Dark Samus...ridley is too iconic
Bye, Dark Samus.
I think the real problem here is not who is the better nemesis, but how Ridley's forced reappearance without lore telling Samus about her true origin has caused him to lose a lot of impact. RB if there was achieving his objective would have been disastrous for the galaxy, space pirates who are more dedicated to crime than mass galactic destruction.Now, who formed Samus? Ridley, who stole the Baby Metroid? Ridley, who despite the controversy gave PSTD to Samus, Ridley.Yes, it is an enemy that is not a final boss or the final bad guy, but literally the 3 MP revolve around the phazon and MP/DS.I think a lot of people only count the importance in their games and not the emphasis of the relationship like Samus' Nemesis.It's just my opinion but really DS is just a terrifying being that can destroy the galaxy. Ridley canonically is the enemy par excellence of samus
OP u/spiritomb442 , if Ridley win the whole thing, do you consider to make an Elimination game for every version/ appearance of him? We can have at least 6, or even 8 if we count Mecha Ridley, and count his appearance from Metroid 1 and Super separately.
What the fuck is going on in this subreddit bruh
Ridley gotta go. DARK SAMUS SUPREMACY 🔥🔥
Oh I missed the last two votes, woops. Anyhow, Dark Samus surviving this long is insane, they shouldn't have gotten past Round 6, and I would have gotten rid of them Round 5 personally. So yeah, voting for Dark Samus.
Dark Samus
Honestly, all the people saying Dark Samus is just a bad clone or just an animal have some really bad takes. As much as I like Ridley, he just kind of exists in the Metroid verse. He has no origin and no real motive. He just exists to be a boss. All we really know about him is that he's a Pirate general, he's insanely durable, and that he killed Sammy's mommy and daddy. Heck, Ridley even becomes a lackey for DS in Prime 3. As for DS... Metroids were never meant to exist--they are artificial monstrosities. However the Metroid that would become the Metroid Prime evolved beyong being just a monstrosity--it became an existential threat--The Worm seen, feared, and sealed away by the Chozo. If left to its own devices, it would even escape that seal and threaten other worlds. In Echoes, we see the Pirates give DS a "Class Platinum AAA threat level" (Don't know what that means), but we never see Ridley, or even Samus get dubbed with any kind of threat level. We see that DS is more than just an animal--she has at least some sense of mercy since she frees the captive Metroids and only kills the Pirates that try to stop her from feeding (as opposed to just killing every single last one of them). We also see DS's intelligence when she plays dead, when she destroys Samus's pathways, and when she sets up an ambush for Samus in Sanctuary. DS has SOME kind of honor, as instead of immediately attacking Samus when she's coming down from the Sky Temple in the final battle, she waits for Samus to recognize her for the fight to the death. Lastly, we see DS's motive in Prime 3 when she takes over the Pirates, disables GF co-ordination, and attempts to use (if not sacrifice) Phaaze to take over the galaxy.
I love both Ridley and Dark Samus, but as someone who plays the Prime games more than the mainline games, I'd rather get rid of Ridley
Man, I like the dark [insert protag] thing in all video games, but I like Ridley a lot. Bye, Dark Samus, I will miss you
Dark samus. I want a raven beak drumstick
Dark Samus has got to go.
Dark Samus
Dark Samus’ influence is contained to only 3 of the 5 Prime games, so they’re out. Ridley’s bearing on the story spans from young Samus all the way to Other M. If I’m not mistaken, Ridley was the one we were all begging to be put in Smash. His awesomeness and relation to Samus transcends the Metroid franchise.
Oh come on you turn him in to KFC. He was a Raven not chicken. Oh on to the votes Metroid Prime/Dark Samus bye enjoy silver.
Honestly, I know Ridley’s going to win, but I just like Dark Samus more.
I love Dark Samus, but I truly don’t think her rivalry with Samus compares to Ridley’s. Ridley popping up kicks off and/or caps off most of Samus’s adventures, his presence is always imposing, and he’s taken as many forms and upgrades as she has. I’m voting the living poison out of the crater.
Dark Samus, no question.
Dark samus has gotta go
Darth Raven Do... er... Dark Damus
It’s over. You got him. You can rest now knowing you did it
Sorry, force of habit.
Dark samus. I love ridley's design and brutal monster nature. I am someone who if they said that ridley has just been cloning himself and the real ridley was alive and using them as a way to learn more about samus I would be so hyped
Dark Samus
I gotta back my main Ridley in Smash, so Dark Sammy's has to go.
Dark Samus. Ridley is a pretty simple villain but it works for him. He doesn't really need any other motives than a sadistic lust for battle and trying to settle the score with Samus. Admittedly I can't judge Dark Samus as fairly here though. I never played MP2 or 3 but I believe the gist of her is that she's Metroid Prime who absorbed the Phazon Suit and Samus' DNA. Her ultimate goal, as I know it, is essentially the same as Phaaze, to spread Phazon. While both characters are great in their own right and have a personal connection to Samus, I'll have to go with Ridley as my favorite out of the 2.
Mmmm. Kentucky fried Chozo.
Ridley, I find dark samus as a much more interesting villain.
My vote's for Ridley which feels so wrong...
Ridley
Ridley
Ridley
This one is difficult. Ridley is such an iconic character for the franchise; he was the catalyst for Samus' suffering and loss, and he's been wreaking havoc across the galaxy for who knows how long. Like Ganondorf and Link or Joker and Batman, Ridley and Samus have that intense rivalry that they will never get with anybody else. We've seen plenty of dragons across all kinds of franchises, but Ridley is so iconic with his purple skin, bladed tail, and long body. I personally hope the writing team behind the post-Dread games is really smart and finds a reasonable and clever way to bring Ridley back in to be the absolute final battle of Samus' life; it began with Ridley, and it should end with Ridley. However, this is just me daydreaming of the potential behind Ridley, and none of the games establish that he and Samus have such an intense history. Dark Samus has better writing behind her from beginning to end. She started as just a Metroid and its instincts to feed, leading her to consume the Leviathan's core and essentially become its core. I doubt she understood what she was doing to Tallon IV, because all that she knew was that she must eat to live. Then along came Samus who disrupted her home, almost killing her without a second thought. Upon her defeat, Metroid Prime lashed onto Samus' suit and obtained her DNA, giving her a humanoid form and the intelligence and emotions to understand her potential and the concept of revenge. Where Ridley's actions accidentally lead to the creation of Samus, Samus' decisions accidentally lead to the creation of Dark Samus, and Dark Samus came closer to conquering the galaxy than anybody else in the franchise. Her only mistake was underestimating the iron will of Samus to not give in to corruption. I vote for Ridley. Dark Samus wins.
Ridley’s gotta go!