Sakurai Explains Why Ridley Isn’t Playable in Super Smash Bros.

Masahiro Sakurai, creator of Super Smash Bros., has been getting requests to add Ridley to the game's roster for years and finally explained why it isn't happening.

IGN reports that one of Masahiro Sakurai's main focuses in directing Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U is maintaining the integrity of the characters and the worlds they come from when adding them into the game. After years of fans asking for Ridley, he still found himself unable to bend the rules in order to let him join the roster.

"I definitely know that Ridley's a much-anticipated name for fans, but if we made Ridley as a fighter, it wouldn't be Ridley any longer," Sakurai said. "It'd have to be shrunk down, or its wings reduced in size, or be unable to fly around freely."

Also, the playable cast had to function on both the Wii U and 3DS versions of the game.

So what does this mean for Ridley? The good thing about not making Ridley a playable character is that it means Sakurai still implemented Ridley in the game somewhere. Ridley's new role in the game is as a stage boss for the Pyrosphere stage. This new arena is Sakurai's compromise for the fans which he explained by saying, "I figured it'd be better to keep Ridley as it currently is, the correct way, and have it feel like a truly threatening presence."

You can check out Ridley in his new Pyrosphere arena when Super Smash Bros. launches for the Wii U on Nov. 21.

This is for all you Smash fans out there: