Ridley's Lair, also known as Ridley's Hideout, was an area on Zebes. It appeared in both Metroid: Zero Mission and Super Metroid as a deeper portion of Norfair, commonly called Lower Norfair; in Zero Mission, it appeared as its own area and was simply called Ridley. It was the deepest section of Zebes, and like all of Norfair, Ridley's Lair was themed around extreme heat and contained rooms flooded with Lava, through which Samus Aran could only move freely while wearing the Gravity Suit. However, in Super Metroid, Ridley's Lair was filled with a more intense (possibly super-heated) lava which hurt Samus despite the protection of the Gravity Suit. Ridley's Lair also contained some of the most powerful creatures encountered in each game it was featured in.

In Zero Mission, Samus encountered and freed the Kiru Giru from Tangle Vines in the upper portion of Norfair only to battle its adult form, the Imago, in Ridley's Hideout. In Super Metroid, a gold-colored Torizo was fought in this area. After defeating these creatures, Samus gained access to the first Super Missiles (excluding Sequence Breaks) in Zero Mission and the Screw Attack in Super Metroid.

The Space Pirate general Ridley kept his chamber in the deepest part of his lair, where it was guarded by a variety of powerful creatures. In addition to wildlife, the area was patrolled by numerous Space Pirates in Super Metroid only: two powerful Silver Space Pirates and numerous Yellow Space Pirates and red Kihunters. In Super Metroid, Samus fought and defeated Ridley here, but upon his defeat, she found the Baby's capsule broken and empty with the Metroid nowhere in sight. In Zero Mission, Samus found an Unknown Item (later revealed to be the Gravity Suit) before encountering and destroying Ridley.

The intense lava found in Lower Norfair is also located in Crateria, the surface area of Zebes. The substance no doubt reached the surface through a volcano created from diverging or converging tectonic plates.

Ridley's Lair was completely destroyed along with the other areas when the planet Zebes exploded.

Power-UpsEdit

Main article: Ridley's Lair/Items

MetroidEdit

• 2 Energy Tanks
• 3 Missile Tanks

Metroid: Zero MissionEdit

• 13 Missile Tanks
• 3 Energy Tanks
• 3 Super Missile Tanks
• Unknown Item (Gravity Suit)

Super MetroidEdit

• 3 Missile Tanks
• 1 Super Missile Tank
• 2 Power Bomb Tanks
• 2 Energy Tanks
• Screw Attack

EnemiesEdit

• Dessgeega
• Dragon
• Fire Flea
• Gadora
• Holtz
• Imago (Metroid: Zero Mission only, mini-boss)
• Kihunter
• Multiviola
• Nova
• Ridley
• Silver Space Pirate
• Torizo
• Viola
• Yellow Space Pirate
• Zebbo

Official dataEdit

Metroid: Zero Mission manualEdit

"This is the area where Ridley, leader of the Space Pirates, can be found."

TriviaEdit

• The theme of Lower Norfair was remixed for the Magmoor Caverns area of Metroid Prime.
• In one room in Super Metroid, there is a giant cave modeled after some sort of creature that leads to an Energy Tank. Below the cave is another rock platform that resembles an arm with a three-fingered hand.