Metroid

Optimal Smash roster (not pictured: Samus without the Power Suit).◊ Now, let Other M's designs turn into a bad memory.

Didn't Other M give Samus short hair, which you know, is more feasible for a person wearing a helmet all the time?

Only in flashbacks.

Ridley is still TOO BIG. I suggest we put Kraid in Smash Bros instead .

Though I would prefer to bring Anthony Higgs back. He already has several potential taunts and his Final Smash can be that giant Plasma Cannon he carries on his back.

And no, let's not. I like short-hair Samus. And character designs are not one of Other M's problems (because that is just plain nitpicking).

edited 28th Sep '17 3:52:18 PM by Shadao

Remember me?

Wasn't there a "False Kraid" that was closer to Samus's size? Maybe that could be the new fighter in Super Smash Bros. and have a Final Smash that involves summoning the "true" Kraid.

Designs ARE one of Another M's problems. Roidley/Duckley, Waifu Samus... Hell, take a look a few pages back in this very thread, and look at how people were praising the Samus Returns designs.

BTW, Ridley is the smallest boss in Super Metroid.◊

edited 28th Sep '17 3:56:14 PM by Eriorguez

I do like short hair Samus though

Anthony is the Defier of Gravity and Master of Subtlety. He'd be too OP for Smash Bros.

I call it petty nitpicking. And the reason why the whole Metroid Character Page needed an image overhaul.

And I will say that Mr. Ridley does not resemble a duck in the slightest. He looks more like a Rhamphorhynchus, an actual Pterosaur with teeth.

And Kraid was the joke Though I do say he has a better chance of getting in due to his body portions.

edited 28th Sep '17 4:01:49 PM by Shadao

I admittedly prefer the ponytail.

Ramphorhynchus had a laterally compressed skull, inward pointing teeth, and a defined ramphoteca at the tip. No it doesn't resemble it.

And prettending anything that disagrees with you is "petty nitpicking" is quite rude, to begin with. Things are done by consensus, not by somebody coming along, telling everybody their tastes are wrong because they do not match his, and expecting those to go along.

No seriously, you aren't making a good case.

I call it petty nitpicking because it's a minor thing compared to other problems with Other M and I had suspicion as to why the main page franchise and character pages had fan-art instead of the actual official art of the games for a long time (and the page used to have official artworks). Why did you think this was on the Image Picking Thread?

Not liking Other M designs is one thing. But attempting to erase it is another in my books.

And for the record, Adult Ridley◊ looks nothing like a duck. Hence why I used Rhamphorhynchus◊ instead.

edited 28th Sep '17 7:00:00 PM by Shadao

Oh, hey, I was wondering when people would get around to clearing the fan-art off the character pages.

The broad base of his mouth does feel odd compared to virtually every previous instance of the character, though- He's uniquely slender and needle-like and Other M backed off on that in some respects and not so much in others, leading to a weird compromised design.

I honestly don't have an issue with the Power Suit's design in Other M, at least.

edited 28th Sep '17 11:53:01 PM by Pulse

Hmm, I'm being bothered since I was reminded of that video by that one site about old games' game design, but I can't remember name of that site so I can't find it .-. I've been meaning to return to that site to read more articles from it since it was quite interesting, but can't remember what its name was...

It may be too broad at the back, but I see no resemblance of a duck anyway. A duckbill is wide and broad all the way. Ridley's mouth ends at a pointed tip. And his teeth are something I would see out of a toothed pterosaur, jagged pattern and pointed outside.

But in any case, character models are minor things and can be improved upon in the next game. I do like how this Ridley is not bone lanky, though I would prefer it to be thinner. I believe Ridley is most frightening when he's more like Smaug. Thin enough for him to be agile but also has visible muscles to let us know that this monster does not snap like a twig and is in fact imposing, especially in the air.

In fact, it would be nice if Nintendo plays up the Nightmare Fuel aspect of Ridley for the audience. Like him destroying a colony by himself, terrorizing children or eating soldiers/scientists while they are still alive. He should make every Galactic Federation soldier either panically fire at him (think Darth Vader from Rogue One) or flee in terror. It would make him something more than just That One Boss from Metroid.

edited 29th Sep '17 12:35:34 AM by Shadao

I think they already did that at the beginning of Super Metroid, in the Nothing Is Scarier way. On your way to the room where the Baby Metroid is held, there are some scientists lying on the ground, and it's pretty obvious that they've been killed pretty messily, as a first-timer you just don't know by what. The (lack of) music doesn't help either.

edited 29th Sep '17 2:15:39 AM by Jaryl

Ridley is inspired by the eponymous Alien. Hell, it is named after Ridley Scott.

Xenomorphs are wiry, skeletal, biomechanical beings who, despite that, aren't frail or weak, pretty much the opposite. So yeah, kinda missing the point.

edited 29th Sep '17 2:46:33 AM by Eriorguez

Missing the point? If Ridley is too bony and too thin, he'll loses a lot of intimidation. The Xenomorph had muscle. They are a man in a suit. It can be seen in the movies. If they are too thin, you'll be wondering how they can move at all. However, there are too many artworks that emphasized Ridley's scrawny side. To the point he's just skin and bones. And this is certainly true of Super Smash Bros Melee and Brawl and their baseline model Super Metroid.

He looked better in Metroid Zero Mission, that I can tell you. But only because that artwork in particular didn't give too much focus to his large head at the expense of making his body look small.

It all comes down to balance. Make him too bony, and he looks like he could be snapped in two with little trouble. Make him too bulky, and he'll be like Smaug form the 70s Hobbit animated movie.

There's a reason why I dislike a majority of fan models for a small Ridley for Super Smash Bros like this one◊.

Yes, the Super Metroid opening was a classic Nightmare Fuel brought to you by Ridley. But we need more moments like that. Especially when technology has advanced well enough to depict it in full horror. Like image the scientists' perspective on Ridley comes into their lab, and you only see two glowing eyes coming closer towards you. And a demonic roar. And then you see a bloodied body in its claws... and mouth.

edited 29th Sep '17 3:57:10 AM by Shadao

Xenomorphs are built like athletes, not bodybuilders.

Oh, and that fan model is not wiry at all.

edited 29th Sep '17 10:33:01 AM by RAlexa21th

And where did I say I prefer Ridley or Xenomorph to be a body builder? I said I prefer Ridley's frame to show muscles rather than be skin and bones. I also said I would alter the model to be slightly thinner for the next frame.

And yes, that model is wirey. That thin neck looks really bad in 3D. 2D sprite is one thing. 3D model is another.

That's why Ridley will never get into Super Smash Bros in that form. You can't shrink him down without making him too comical to look at. Kraid had better portions than Ridley.

edited 29th Sep '17 11:01:37 AM by Shadao

I mean, Ridley never looked off in the Prime games- His proportions were, true, not a perfect match for Super's Ridley, but definitely had more in common with that design than Other M's.

It's not Meta-Ridley I have problems with. It's when they try to use Super Metroid Ridley for the 3D model, complete with all of the exaggerated proportions such as wings, head and neck. That works in 2D, but not 3D.

So, does no one notice how beefy Ridley's thighs look in that model and the Super Metroid art?