Meta Knight

For fighter info, see Meta Knight (SSBB), Meta Knight (SSBWU/3DS), and Meta Knight (SSBU).

Meta Knight
Meta Knight's artwork from Kirby Star Allies.
Universe	Kirby
Debut	Kirby's Adventure (1993)
Appears in
Console of origin	Nintendo Entertainment System
Species	Kirby's species (possibly)
Gender	Male
Homeworld	Dream Land
Created by	Masahiro Sakurai
English voice actor	Eric Newsome
Japanese voice actor	Atsushi Kisaichi

Meta Knight (メタナイト, Meta Naito^?) is a character and deuteragonist from the Kirby universe, and is often seen as Kirby's rival or occasionally ally.

Character description

Meta Knight as he appears unmasked in Kirby Super Star.

Meta Knight is a major character and the main deuteragonist in the Kirby video game series developed by HAL Laboratory. Kirby's Adventure was his first appearance, although Meta Knight was not given a name until Kirby's Avalanche, released in 1995. He is a mysterious character and is seen as both a hero and a villain in the series. In Kirby's Return to Dream Land, he partnered Kirby along with King Dedede and Bandana Dee.

Meta Knight's mask breaks almost every time Kirby defeats him in a boss battle, revealing a Kirby-like face underneath. The only difference is that Meta Knight's facial features are pure white and his face is dark blue, there have been rumors that he is the same species as Kirby. His mask gives the wearer's eyes a yellow-ish tint; it makes Meta Knight's white eyes yellow and Kirby's blue eyes green, as revealed by various Kirby games.

Meta Knight also wears a cape that can turn into wings, which he uses to fly and glide around. However, in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Meta Knight's wings are under his cape. On certain occasions, he will take off his cape in battle.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

Meta Knight's only appearance in this game is as a collectible trophy, unlocked as one of the 250+ trophies that can be collected randomly during normal play, such as in the Trophy Lottery and throughout the various Single-player Regular Matches (though it will only be available to start appearing after the player has played over 200 Vs mode matches). The trophy has two factual errors: The first is that the trophy is called "Meta-Knight", but his name is not supposed to have a hyphen in it, and the second is that his first appearance was in Kirby's Adventure in May 1993, not Kirby Super Star in September 1996. The trophy reads as follows:

Trophy Info

Meta Knight

The mysterious head of the Meta-Knights, he wields his sword with dignity. He delivered his sword to Kirby and demanded single combat in show of his knightly honor; his strict adherence to his code of ethics makes him a rarity in Dream Land. Sometimes he throws off his cape in battle. It occasionally transforms into wings.

• Kirby Super Star [9/96]

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

As a playable character

Meta Knight is a newcomer in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and he is available to play from the start. Almost all of his attacks involve his sword, Galaxia, and most of these attacks are extremely fast, such as his Up Aerial, which comes out in just two frames (2/60 of a second), referencing his swordsmanship in the Kirby franchise. He has medium range due to the fact the his sword is not very long. All his specials put him into helpless state, but they can also be used in recovery. Like Kirby, King Dedede, Jigglypuff, Charizard and Pit, he has multiple jumps, but, despite physically resembling Kirby, he doesn't puff himself up to jump. Instead he uses his wings to propel himself upwards, making him more similar to Pit and Charizard in that respect. Also like Pit and Charizard, Meta Knight has the ability to glide using his wings.

Meta Knight is widely considered to be the best character in the game if one has mastered his controls due to his lack of disadvantageous match-ups (although some match-ups are considered to be approximately even) along with his overwhelming dominance in tournaments. Due to being considered broken, Meta Knight has been banned since January 9, 2012, on the Unity Ruleset.

Trophy Info

The Meta Knight Trophy

Meta Knight

The head of the Meta-Knights, and something of a rival to Kirby. He's quite an accomplished swordsman. Following his code of knightly ethics, he once delivered his sword to Kirby and demanded single combat. His giant cape transforms into wings, giving him the power of flight. He's shown his face briefly before, but his relationship to Kirby is still a mystery.

• (NES) Kirby's Adventure
• (SNES) Kirby Super Star

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

As a playable character

Meta Knight was confirmed to return as a playable character on August 13th, 2014, being the last veteran revealed before the Japan release of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. He design has been visually updated with his gloves now having armored gauntlets along with having a more cartoony appearance.

Due to his dominance in Brawl, Meta Knight has been significantly nerfed from Brawl to 3DS/Wii U. Many of his attacks are slightly slower along with no longer having transcendent priority and his range has been noticeably shortened, forcing him to take a more aggressive play style. His recovery options has also been toned down as he can no longer glide and Mach Tornado carries less momentum and lost is ability to ledge sweetspot.

Despite receiving several nerfs, Meta Knight has been given a few notable buffs. His air speed has been increased, now being slightly below-average, and most of his attacks deal more damage. Additionally, Shuttle Loop has been reworked as it now quickly ascends Meta Knight into the air performing a two-hitting attack, making it a stronger vertical finisher along with aiding his vertical recovery.

Trophies

Meta Knight

Kirby's mysterious rival, this masked swordsman appears in several Kirby games. His cape transforms into wings to grant him flight. In Smash Bros., his quick sword skills and aerial agility set him apart. He can jump up to five times in a row, and he has a special move to soar higher.

• (NES) Kirby's Adventure (05/1993)
• (SNES) Kirby Super Star (08/1996)

Meta Knight (Alt.)

Meta Knight's Dimensional Cape lets you teleport, changing where you'll reappear with directional inputs and attacking by holding the button! His Mach Tornado special can draw in and attack multiple opponents. Rise by pressing the button repeatedly, and press left or right to move.

• (NES) Kirby's Adventure (05/1993)
• (SNES) Kirby Super Star (08/1996)

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

As a playable character

Trivia

• In some official artwork, Meta Knight's sword has 6 spikes on its sides, and his shoulder pads are solid colored. In Brawl, his sword only has 4 spikes, and he has an M on his left shoulder. In the earlier Kirby games Meta Knight appears in, however, his sword has no spikes, simply resembling a golden version of Sword Kirby's sword, and his shoulder-pads are solid. In games after Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, his sword has spikes, in reference to its spiked appearance in the anime Kirby: Right Back at Ya!.
• Meta Knight is the first character in the Super Smash Bros. series to be banned in tournament play due to being considered a "broken" character.
• Meta Knight has a different victory theme than Kirby and King Dedede in Brawl, being the only character in the game to have a different theme than the other playable characters from the same franchise.

External Links

• Kirby Wiki's article on Meta Knight