Entering the E3 show floor, I knew I had an appointment to see and play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate later in the day - but upon spotting a hidden line to go play Smash Bros. on the main stage, I knew I couldn't wait that long to try out everyone's favorite nemesis: Ridley. I've been a patient man - Sakurai said Ridley was too big for Smash and I believed him, knowing one day my dark wishes would come true. Since I often played as certain slow and heavy characters like Ike and Ganondorf, I was very intrigued to see how the behemoth space pterodactyl felt when unleashed upon a hapless foe.

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I only had a few rounds with Ridley, but I can tell you he's no Charizard. His flame breath can either expelled in single bursts like Mario's fireball, or charged up to unleash a flurry of faster moving fireballs that can reach a much wider arc, or drip down from ledges onto opponents below. His smash attacks have a ton of power behind them, and weren't as slow as I was predicting, though a clever player may want to feint into his wonderful tail jab special move that can pierce and disorient an opponent before following up with a smash attack.

See Ridley in action during the Treehouse Livestream in the video above

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What really surprised me is just how big his attacks are - not necessarily in power but also in range. His downward smash slams the ground with about as much reach as Donkey Kong, while his upward smash covers a wide arc, and forward smash explodes the entire area in front of him - and considering how big he is, that's a large area! He's definitely a fighter that will give you pause to go up head to head, and his fire breath and still harass ranged enemies (but a well placed attack in Ridley's mouth while charging his breath will cause him to explode - which my opponent took advantage of with Link's bow).As for his other special moves, I loved the versatility of his side B move, clawing into the air and moving forward much like Ganondorf, only the attack connects in a slam that drags your opponent across the arena - and you can jump to send them flying at the end. His upward B is also great at getting close or away from opponents quickly, as the charge is faster than someone like Fox, and allows you to move in almost any direction quickly. But the real demon is his downward B - the tail jab. The tail has a fairly good length, but it requires precision to pull off correctly. If the tip of the tail reaches right to the opponent, an extremely satisfying sound effect and noise plays - similar to Little Mac's KO - and you can knock upwards of 50% damage to your opponent. However, the stab doesn't deal knockback, it's best to follow up with a quick downward attack as they fall to the floor.My time with Ridley was brief, but I am very pleased with how he's been implemented, and can't wait to give him another test drive soon.You can preorder Super Smash Bros. Ultimate today on Amazon

Brendan Graeber is an Editor for IGN, and like Ike, he fights for his friends. You can follow him on Twitter @Ragga_Fragga