Mario vs Ridley

For Mario, it's best to use your basic Neutral tools. Ridley somewhat heavy has a really big hurtbox. This helps Mario's up-air strings connect, so it's usually better to choose stages with platforms. Use Mario's tools such as his grab, d-tilt, u-tilt, and short-hop Nair. Nair is Mario's quickest and usually best OoS (Out of Shield) option. Be wary of Ridley's Neutral-B and Side-B, by including short-hops and full-hops as well as dash-dancing. Play safe and stay aware when Ridley whiffs an attack or a grab to then punish with and aireal or a grab of your own.

As Mario, getting up from ledge is normally dangerous against Ridley. Of course, if he chooses to not to ledge trap, your OK. However if he does, Mario might be in trouble. First, we have to understand Mario's options at ledge. Mario can wait at ledge, neutral getup, roll getup, jump getup, or getup attack. Ridleys nair actually covers every option except wait at ledge if timed correctly. Ridleys down-smash covers all options except jump getup, so stay on your toes. Despite there only being 5 real options, dropping from ledge is also an option, though it is risky, requiring to use your jump immediately, but it gives you time to throw out an aerial right by ledge, to swat Ridley away. However, Ridley could take advantage of this by then using fireballs to push Mario away, so now he's offstage without a jump. Statistically, the best option is jump getup. But don't always use the option, as if you do Ridley could read it with an up-smash.

For Mario, recovering might be difficult. Don't ever use your jump immediately. Ridley's nair is amazing at gimping so it's usually better to go low right under the platform. Just be sure to not go too low, as Ridley could still gimp you there. Ridley is not afraid to go offstage, because Ridley has multiple jumps and a pretty descent recovery. As Mario, make your recovery protected by the stage as possible, if our open for too long Ridley could strike.

As Mario, juggling is possible. Ridleys up-air is really good and if you find yourself in a juggling situation, Mario could be in trouble. DI (Directional Influence) is key here, you could try to bait out another up-air to then air-dodge around it, or nair and fast-fall so you can get down quick. All of these are good options, just don't get too predictable. DI-ing off-stage is usually a bad idea, because of Ridleys insane edge-guarding, more talk about under the "Recovering" tab. A possible fast-fall into Ridley then air-dodge down into the ground could possibly work. Use Mario's tools to get out of this bad situation

Mario isn't the best at Ledge-trapping. Mario usually needs to choose one option, and go for a hard read, especially against Ridley. Standing in-between the area for a roll getup and neutral getup and holding shield is usually the way to go if your trying to read a neutral getup or getup attack, Ridley could drop from ledge and nair, swating you away, to make an option in peace. This is a good option for Ridley, because of his multi-jumps. It's really hard to ledge-trap as Mario period, so just choose and option and go for a hard read, or don't ledge-trap at all.

For Mario, edge-guarding is somewhat difficult, especially against Ridley, a fighter with a really good recovery. Normally, Ridley with go right under the stage, then go straight up to ledge. A back-air as a potential stage-spike is usually a good idea, and is a safe idea. However, there is some situations where Mario can nair, causing Ridley to go under the map, which will cock-block him. Ridley is good at going low, but he can only go in one direction. Use this to your advantage, and try to get him in a situation where he is right under the stage. Ridley's up-b has a bit of start up lag, so options are possible. if Ridley's trying to recover horizontally, nair is a really good option. Ridley's recovery go the highest straight up. Any other direction doesn't have as much distance. So nair-ing him further off-stage after he used one or two of his jumps is a good option. Just, of course, don't get to predictable. Ridley could side-b when recovering horizontally, and not go into free-fall, therefore it a pretty good option for him. Ridley's side-b is a command grab, and if used off-stage, it send Mario and Ridley down, low under the map. This is good for Ridley, as going straight up is where his recovery shines. Mario, on the other hand, not so much. Be careful when nair-ing Ridley away, once you see he is starting to figure out your nairs, jump over his side-b and f-air him instead.

As Mario, juggling is Mario's most important feature and tool. Without juggling, Mario would probably be low-tier. Against Ridley, a somewhat heavy character who has a really big hurtbox, Mario's juggling is the biggest detail about him. You can start it of with an u-throw, or a d-throw at high percents. Follow them up with an up-air, which can combo into itself. This is why it's usually better to choose a stage with platforms, such as Battlefield or Pokemon Stadium 2, as Mario can extend these combos longer. You can also combo up-air into nair
to drag Ridley across the stage. Mario could finish it off with a fair, or lead it into an edge-guarding sequence. Mario's juggling game is one of, if not the best, in the whole game!

For Mario, I recommend Battlefield or Pokemon Stadium 2. These stages are typically better for Mario, as the platforms enhance Mario's up-air strings. Mario's up-air strings is Mario's most important feature, without Mario will probably be low tier. Against Ridley, a somewhat heavy character with a big hurtbox, juggling is key to racking up damage for a potential kill. but there are some faults too. Battlefield's bottom blast-zones are really low, so if you hit a f-air spike, Ridley could live, with his good recovery and all. Pokemon Stadium 2 has closer bottom blast-zones, so if you spike Ridley there, there's a less chance he'll live. But, Battlefield's platform cover the entire stage, making it possible to hide under them and start a string. With those platforms, you could start you up-air at ground level, then slowly jump on the platforms during the string to extend it. If you finish with and up-b at the top platform, it might even kill. Pokemon Stadium 2's platforms, are somewhat separated. Sure, you could extend your string with one of the platforms, and finish with an up-b. But there is a lesser likely-hood of that killing then the battlefield version. So honestly, it's your choice.