Game Theory: How DEADLY is Ridley? (Super Smash Bros Ultimate)

Ridley possesses a move that is faster than Sonic, stronger than Ganondorf, and so violent it technically breaks the E for Everyone rating.

• Game Theory typically covers Smash at larger scales, analyzing lore and hidden game mechanics • Today's episode focuses on a single character and one specific move • The move is particularly brutal and violent in its execution

Smash Brothers uniquely allows testing different fighters from different franchises against each other, revealing surprising results about character abilities and limitations.

The analysis was inspired by a Community Game video testing which characters could survive running on the Big Blue stage.

Big Blue is inspired by the F-Zero racing game and features fighters battling atop jets and race cars while the track flies by underneath at dangerous speeds.

• Landing on the track results in near-instant death as platforms race ahead • The roadway functions like a high-speed treadmill that characters must keep pace with • Only the fastest characters can survive without items

According to tier list testing, Sonic ranks at the top and is the only character able to survive solely with a mega mushroom, followed by Fox, Captain Falcon, Chic, and Little Mac.

Ridley is faster than all other characters and doesn't need items to outpace the racetrack, making him unique among the roster.

30 runs were conducted across F-Zero GX using three different racers (Blood Hawk, Super Falcon, and Fire Stingray) to calculate average speeds on straightaways.

The average speed found was 1087 kilometers per hour or 675.4 miles per hour, which is ludicrous speed for normal fighters.

Ridley drags opponents the full length of the stage in 13.98 seconds, covering approximately 98.5 feet, resulting in an average speed of 680.2 miles per hour.

• 680 miles per hour is 100 mph faster than commercial planes • This is 0.88 Mach, approaching the speed of sound (761.2 mph) • This speed matches the optimal flying efficiency for aircraft design

Road rash damage is caused by friction between rough surfaces like asphalt. The rougher the surface and harder the pressure applied, the worse the damage.

Frictional force is calculated using F = μN, where μ is the coefficient of friction and N is the normal force. For asphalt, the coefficient is 0.9.

Ridley applies his full 440-pound body weight while dragging opponents, creating a frictional force of 2478 Newtons across the drag.

Big Blue's track is assumed to be asphalt, similar to NASCAR tracks, rather than the futuristic magnetic levitation systems used by F-Zero racers.

Based on Mario Kart analysis, for every mile per hour over 30 mph in a crash, a body loses 1 millimeter. At 31 mph, most skin is lost.

At Ridley's speed of 680 mph (650 mph faster than the baseline), approximately 65 centimeters or 25.5 inches of flesh is erased from the body.

When Ridley applies his full 400-pound body weight during the drag, the loss increases to 3.5 millimeters per mile per hour, totaling nearly 90 inches or 7.5 feet of body tissue.

Regardless of body position during the drag, the character is completely obliterated by the move, with damage far exceeding what the game's damage counter displays.

Ridley's size varies dramatically across Metroid games, ranging from 25% taller than Samus in the original to 111% taller in Metroid Zero Mission.

According to the Metroid 2 manual, Samus in her suit is 190 centimeters (6 foot 3 inches) tall, providing a fixed reference point.

Using Smash's character scaling, Ridley appears 25% taller than Samus, making him approximately 238 centimeters or 7 foot 10 inches tall.

Based on his design similarity to an American alligator, Ridley is estimated to weigh around 440 pounds at his height, on the lower end of alligator weight ranges.

Ridley's forward-B attack surpasses Mario Kart as the deadliest Nintendo game, inflicting catastrophic damage through mathematical analysis.

While the damage counter shows minor percentages, real-world physics reveals that Ridley is literally shredding opponents into oblivion using the ground as a cheese grater.

To brutalize opponents effectively, Ridley is the clear choice in the roster, delivering far more damage than Nintendo officially acknowledges.

Through mathematical calculation rather than speculation, Game Theory demonstrates that Ridley's move represents one of the most violent mechanics in gaming history.