Meta Knight (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)


 * This article is about Meta Knight's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Meta Knight.

Unveiled at E3 2006, Meta Knight (, Meta Naito) is a character appearing in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Within the first Brawl trailer Meta Knight is seen reflecting one of Pit's arrows with his cape, which when on him, renders him camouflaged with his surroundings by bending the light around him. It appears to be his Dimensional Cape, but is exaggerated for the trailer, like the Wario Waft.

Pros:

 * Five mid-air jumps.
 * Can play mind games with midair tactics.
 * Can Glide.
 * All four of his special moves can be used as his final jump.
 * Small Target.
 * Mach Tornado is a brilliant damage racker
 * Fast running speed (sixth fastest).
 * Has the fastest attacking speed in the game with barely any windup lag or ending lag.
 * Can attack/jump out of his glide allowing for a second glide with his Up-Special in the other direction (if needed).
 * His Shuttle Loop attack has good knockback which is farther than any of his moves.
 * Glide attack has good knockback, and can be used in quick succession after Shuttle Loop.
 * Has surprising knockback compared to what other characters' knockback would be with attacks of the same damage.
 * Good grabs for combo starters
 * Down smash is very quick and has good knockback.
 * Good juggler.
 * Has great mobility both in the air and in the ground, providing him great advantages.
 * Extremely quick forward and backward rolls; viable for fastest in game.
 * Has two great approaches, Mach Tornado and Drill Rush.
 * Mach Tornado is a powerful move with high priority that can negate most projectiles and can do 26% damage if controlled properly.
 * Can perform a variation of Wing Dashing
 * Neutral air is surprisingly powerful and has great knockback, plus damages while hitting the ground.
 * Up air is great for chaining.
 * Can chain grab fast-falling characters (such as Wolf) with D-throw.
 * Typical of swordsman characters, his sword-based attacks have long-reaching, broad-sweeping hitboxes.
 * Standard combo attacks behind him as well as in front of him.
 * "Jericho" a technique similar to the Wall of Pain, but due to MK's poor air speed, and his aerials' irregular knockback, is hard to pull off.
 * Can use Down Special to create an almost endless Edge Hog if performed correctly.
 * Can use Mach Tornado or Drill Rush to return to the field and prevent and even damage edgehoggers.
 * Dimensional Cape is great for mindgames.
 * His aerials are all very useful and give Meta Knight one of the best sets of aerials in Brawl.
 * Creates High pressure play on the opponent, Meta Knight can "overwhelm" his opponent with his dash and his quick, little lag aerials.
 * Drill Rush does well damage, at the end of attack, does a large amount of damage.

Cons:

 * Light and easily KO'd. (6th lightest)
 * Mach Tornado does not auto-grab the ledge, rather it bounces off.
 * Most of his attacks lack KO power.
 * Reliant on edge-guarding for early kills.
 * All of his special moves (with the possible exception of Shuttle Loop, ironically) leave him helpless, which can result in a SD.
 * Crouching gives him almost no vertical height reduction.
 * No projectiles or effective ways to deal with the like.
 * Very small multi-jumps
 * Very poor air speed.
 * Final Smash damages teammate in a Team Battle.

Ground Attacks
Normal Smash Other
 * Neutral attack - When held, Meta Knight yells and executes a lightning-fast series of slashes that also attack enemies behind him. Does 10% damage when just tapping the attack button.
 * Dash attack - Does a running kick. His only attack (other than his throws) that does not use his sword. When MK attacks with his foot, it does 6%. When the body hits it does 8%.
 * Side Tilt - Slashes twice in front of him, then once upwards. Only pressing the attack button once will cause Meta Knight to perform only the first hit; press it twice more to slash the second and third times. 1st slash does 4%, next does 3% and the last does 5%, altogether 12%.
 * Up Tilt - Stabs his sword above him while spinning. 6-8% damage.
 * Down Tilt - Stabs across the ground. Good for tripping, and moves him forward a little. 4-6%
 * Side Smash - Pulls his sword back for a second, then slashes in front of him. This is Meta Knight's only slow attack. Around 19%.
 * Up Smash - Slashes above him three times. Like Link's Up Smash, but faster. 4% each slash, 12%.
 * Down Smash - Slashes in front of him, then behind. Arguably his best kill move. Front slash does 15%, and back slash does 18%.
 * Ledge attack - Slashes with blade. 8% damage.
 * 100% ledge attack - Gets up slowly, then slashes with blade. 10% damage.
 * Floor attack - Slashes on either side of himself. 6%, both slashes.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Air - Slashes while spinning in a circle. Surprisingly powerful. Can hit twice for a total of 19% damage.
 * Forward Air - Slashes in front of him three times. A fairly good Wall of Pain. First slash does 3%, second does 3, and last does 4%. Altogether 10%.
 * Back Air - Like his fair, but behind him and more slowly. First slash does 3%, second does 3, and last does 4%. Altogether 10%.
 * Up Air - Slashes above him very quickly, has decent knockback. 6% damage.
 * Down Air - Slashes below him very quickly. 7% damage.
 * Glide Air - Slashes in front of himself. A fairly powerful move. 12% damage.

Grabs & Throws

 * Pummel - Jabs opponents with the claws on his wings.
 * Forward Throw - Kicks the opponent in front of him. 10% damage.
 * Back Throw - Slashes the opponent behind him. 10% damage.
 * Up Throw - Like Kirby's: jumps into the air holding his foe, and then crashes down. 12% damage.
 * Down Throw - Also like that of Kirby: Throws opponent on ground and rapidly kicks them. However, unlike Kirby's, this has mainly horizontal knockback. 11% damage.

Stickers
Meta-Knight uses his sword in many of his attacks, so [Slash] and [Weapon] damage increasers will help him rack up a lot of damage really quickly. Being easily KO'd, it may be wise to use a strong [Launch Resistance] powerup to make him last a bit longer. Meta Knight, King Dedede, and Kirby have access to the Maxim Tomato Sticker which doubles its healing effect. Since there are several item blocks that will give you Maxim Tomatoes, use of this sticker will aid in Meta Knights survivability, especially if you are playing Co-Op, where healing items will need to be shared between the two. The [Ray 01] sticker lets him hold a Ray Gun, which will give him a ranged attack option should he need it.

Tips & Strategy

 * Fast, floaty, virtually no lag time, disjointed hitbox, five mid-air jumps, and capable of using the Wall of Pain technique, Meta Knight truly rules the air. Just like Sheik, if an enemy is about to KO, PURSUE! His Forward Air and Down Air are very useful against recovering opponents, and if they're above Meta Knight, you can simply juggle them off the screen. And don't forget Shuttle Loop- it's knockback at decent percents is lethal.
 * At the beginning of the match, use Mach Tornado a couple times. It sets up your opponents with a nice 30%, and if you're near the top of the screen, the knockback at the end of the move can make some easy KO's.
 * Use his forward, neutral, and down aerials to recover horizontally. The priority on these move are high, and you can easy end up knocking an edgeguarding foe into the air.. which is Meta Knight's domain. This can be extremely hazardous though, a higher priority projectile can cancel the move, making Meta Knight helpless.
 * USE DOWN SMASH. It has relatively no lag, and the knockback is pretty decent. Use it in right in the middle of a bunch of enemies and you're setting yourself up for more combos, as well as isolating your opponents from each other, giving you time to pursue one of them for a 1 on 1.

Role in the Subspace Emissary
It is revealed that before the events of the Subspace Emissary, Meta Knight was attacked by the Subspace Army, who had the intent of taking the Halberd. He was able to hold them off until King Dedede attacked him, causing him to lose his ship.

When Meta Knight is first featured in the Subspace Emissary, he attacks a lone Marth outside of a large castle. Quickly, he learns that Marth is not his enemy as they are both surrounded by Primids. After a successful battle, both warriors chase the Ancient Minister who is carrying a Subspace bomb. Both are unsuccessful in their attempts in destroying the bomb, though luckily Ike appears and he uses his Great Aether to catch the Minister off guard and destroy the bomb. With the bomb now destroyed, all three head back to the castle to clear out any remaining Primids.

Later, they are all seen traveling the wastelands together and battling Galleom. Meta Knight then saves Lucas and the Pokémon Trainer from a giant freefall after they defeat the same boss. Meta Knight then begins to ascend a large cliff face, followed by the Ice Climbers (who see his ascent as a racing challenge), in order to reach the Battleship Halberd. At the summit, Lucario challenges Meta Knight to a sparring contest. After the contest, both board the Halberd which has just shaken off the defeated Great Fox.

The pair run into Solid Snake while on board and join forces with him to take back the Halberd. After rescuing Peach and Zelda, the trio continues on to the control deck. There they discover that the ship is being piloted by a gang of Shadow Bug Mr. Game & Watches who fuse together to form a gigantic metallic monster called Duon. Once Duon is defeated, Mr. Game & Watch joins the group, along with Peach, Sheik, Fox, and Falco.

Meta Knight takes back control of the Halberd and reunites with the members from other groups. The aircraft of the other heroes is placed inside the Halberd, which heads towards the Subspace Battleship with all of the Super Smash Bros heroes on board. After using the Subspace Battleship's main cannon to create another Subspace portal, Ganondorf spots the Halberd on the horizon and orders the battleship to open fire. The Halberd is struck down, but the heroes are able to escape on board Samus's Gunship, Captain Falcon's Falcon Flyer, Olimar's Hocotate ship, and Fox and Falco's Arwings. Kirby destroys the Subspace Battleship by ramming through it it with the Dragoon racing machine and the heroes enter Subspace to pursue Ganondorf and Bowser.

Meta Knight is turned into a trophy by Tabuu along with the rest of the Super Smash Bros heroes upon their entrance into Subspace. He is later revived by Kirby. He rejoins the others in the fight against Tabuu.

Event Matches
Event 3: Pink Ball Repulsion - The player plays as Meta Knight and has to defeat Kirby on the Battleship Halberd before the flying platform lands.

Taunt
Up: Disappears into his cape, and it shrinks horizontally while spinning. Has invincible properties when he has shrunk into the cape.

Side: Says "Fight me!" and slashes his sword twice before pointing it in the direction he is facing.

Down: Opens his wings and and says "Come!"

On-Screen Appearance
Uses his cape to teleport.

Idle Pose

 * Looks to the side and behind himself.
 * Covers himself with his cape then fixes it.
 * Does a single swipe of his sword

Victory Pose

 * Victory Theme: Electric guitar Rock n' Roll remix of Kirby Victory Theme
 * Teleports away with his cape while saying, "Come back when you can put up a fight!"
 * Flourishes his sword and says, "Victory... is my destiny," as he turns away from the camera
 * Spreads his wings briefly, then flips his cape and says, "You've much yet to learn."

Wii Remote Choice
Says "Fight Me!"

Credits Music

 * Meta Knight's Revenge

Trivia

 * Meta Knight can fall with both his cape or wings depending on actions while in mid-air.


 * Although from the same game series as Kirby and King Dedede, Meta Knight is the only character to have a different victory theme than the others from the same series.


 * Meta Knight can circle New Pork City with a combination of his jumps, Shuttle Loop and glides. He is one of only two characters able to do so (the other being Pit)


 * Meta Knight is one of three characters who doesn't have a final smash where it first zooms on to the character (the other two being Captain Falcon and Mr. Game & Watch). It only zooms in after he snares the opponent.


 * In the Subspace Emissary, Meta Knight is seen from Lucario's point of view and is shown to have a blue "aura" of purity. This, coupled with a role as a hero in the story line, hints that Meta Knight's alignment, though at times quite mysterious, is intended to be much closer to "good". (Though it clearly can not be considered canonical, the fact that Sakurai is the creator of both the Smash and Kirby series suggests that Meta Knight is a mostly good character.)