One thing we can always look forward to in a Metroid game is the inevitable fight with Ridley. No matter where Samus is or what she’s doing, chances are this big, purple, space dinosaur’s going to rear his ugly head and we get to enjoy putting him in the ground again. Hell, he’s so popular that they added him as an extra boss in the Metroid II remake for 3DS. And when Ridley shows up, he brings that famous theme music with him as well.

While his theme has remained relatively unchanged from game to game, I think my favourite iteration is, funnily enough, the one we hear in Metroid: Other M AKA the most hated entry in the franchise (until Federation Force happened). For all that game’s faults, even some of its detractors admit enjoying the boss fight with Ridley (or Nemesis Ridley as he’s referred to here) and the accompanying music.

At the risk of sounding shallow, I think the reason why I love this version is because of how cinematic it sounds. It’s borderline orchestral with its use of horns and drums while retaining the “heart in mouth” tension the original version had and some slight techno vibes underneath it to match the sci-fi aesthetic of the series. Not to mention the not quite ominous chanting. I mean, it’s not chanting but it almost sounds like it. If they were ever to make a Metroid movie that featured Ridley as an antagonist, I feel like they could just use this track for it and it would fit perfectly.

Tense and blood-pumping, this track does everything right to highlight Ridley’s ferocity and sadism, which only makes the ensuing beat-down more satisfying.