Meta Knight

"This darkness must meet my sword!"

- Meta Knight

Meta Knight, also titled as The Lone Swordsman in Kirby Star Allies, is a major character in the Kirby series, appearing in most of the games, the manga, as well as the anime. The intrigue and popularity surrounding Meta Knight within the Kirby fandom largely lies in his shrouded motives and his mysterious yet striking likeness to Kirby himself. Meta Knight is also the leader of an army of soldiers known as the Meta-Knights, and captains a large airship called Battleship Halberd, which may accompany him into the heat of battle. Although Meta Knight first appeared in Kirby's Adventure in 1993, his true name was not known in North America until Kirby's Avalanche was released in 1995.

Physical Appearance
Meta Knight has some of the various characteristics that Kirby has: a spherical body, feet and stubby arms (albeit longer than Kirby's and with actual digits), tall and thin eyes, and also features blushes. Meta Knight also wears his trademark attire; his silver mask and his blue or dark purple Dimensional Cape with gold trimmings, as well as a pair of patched or metallic shoes. He has retractable bat-like wings and flies with them in the games. The wings' first prominent use is in Kirby Super Star, where Meta Knight chased Kirby near the end of Revenge of Meta Knight. In Kirby Air Ride, he can fly with them whenever he takes part in a race. Meta Knight's weapon of choice is usually Galaxia, a spiked golden sword with an embedded ruby in the hilt. One of Meta Knight's most well-known traits is the fact that he is almost never seen with his mask off. In a few games, his mask is split into two upon defeat, revealing a face similar to Kirby's with bright yellow eyes (However, in older games, Meta Knight sported white eyes and pink cheeks). In the event that should he be ever unmasked, he immediately departs from the field of battle. His similarity to Kirby has led to speculation that he is a member of Kirby's species. Despite this, Meta Knight's fingers - a bodily feature that other Kirbys lack - have been present since Kirby's Avalanche, but fans have also speculated that Meta Knight could be a grown-up version of Kirby's species, meaning that the species changes appearance during the growth phase. This is further implied in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U where Kirby is given an alternate palette that makes him look like Meta Knight. Furthermore, at Palutena's Temple, Pit and Viridi can converse about Meta Knight; they discuss his resemblance to Kirby and question if he also can inhale and copy abilities. However, what Meta Knight's relation to the Kirby species is has never been officially revealed. Meta Knight was originally depicted black, wearing a usually-crimson cape and without any armor besides his mask (with yellow glowing eyes in artwork). In Kirby's Avalanche, he had pauldrons, violet shoes, and a brighter skin tone. His design was revised again in Kirby Super Star. In Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, he was made bigger than Kirby and given a yellow strap to hold his mask in place. Since Kirby Air Ride, official artwork shows his sword reflecting Galaxia's design in the anime. Since Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Meta Knight was again re-sized to Kirby's height and (with the exception of Kirby Super Star Ultra) the yellow strap was often removed. His pauldrons always have a yellow lining and often gray in color, but are sometimes dark blue. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Kirby's Return to Dream Land, his left pauldron bears his insignia, which is an "M" in front of an upward-pointing sword. Meta Knight's cape is blue in all instances except Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where it is purple. Also, in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, his cape has a bat insignia on it. The blushes on his face are almost always clearly pink, though they were toned very light in Kirby Super Star.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Meta Knight has black shoes with violet sabatons over them instead of plain violet shoes, giving him a much more complex and well-armored appearance.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, he wears silver mitten gauntlets over his gloves, a detail seen in official artwork of Meta Knight in Kirby: Squeak Squad and Kirby Super Star Ultra, and would become a part of his official design in later appearances. His armor also has a number of small but noticeable cuts, nicks and other signs of battle-scars compared to his appearances in the main series.

Meta Knight's mask sometimes gives a yellowish tint to the wearer's eyes. Meta Knight's white eyes turn yellow, and Kirby's blue eyes become green (only seen in Super Smash Bros. Brawl). His eyes also change color with his emotions in the anime. When they are blue, he feels happy or content; pink, he is amused, or something grabbed his attention; green, he is in deep thought, focused on something, or solving a problem. When they turn dark red, he is angry, or possibly disturbed or suspicious. Should they ever flash a mix of colors, he feels all the emotions that he is feeling.

Personality
Due to Meta Knight's way of doing things and his often-hidden intentions, the relationship between Kirby and Meta Knight is unpredictable in nature, and range from being bitter rivals to being steadfast allies to one another and can change at a moment's notice. Meta Knight is a playable character in many spin-offs, and is presented in many of the newer games as a "friend or foe" character.

Being a knight, he respects a code of chivalry, and always offers Kirby a sword whenever he fights against him. However, if the player waits long enough without collecting the sword, it will disappear (in Kirby Star Allies, Meta Knight instead loses patience and kicks out the sword away himself, which may be due to him being possessed by a Jamba Heart shard), and the battle will proceed. In Meta Knightmare Ultra, he is shown trying to become the greatest warrior in the galaxy, suggesting he prides himself in his strength and skill, yet wishes to continue to grow stronger. This is also shown in Kirby Battle Royale, where he and Axe Knight participate in The Cake Royale in order to grow stronger.

The Revenge of Meta Knight sub-game reveals that Meta Knight despises laziness, to the point where he was willing to start a war and take over Dream Land, just to end what he perceived as a "lazy lifestyle." However, it also shows Meta Knight’s caring side, as when Kirby is destroying the Halberd, Meta Knight orders his crew, the Meta-Knights, to abandon ship in hopes that they will not get hurt. Instead of listening to his orders however, most of the crew decides to stay and fight Kirby, to which he then responds with a “thank you, guys” in Kirby Super Star, or an “i’m sorry” after saying they’re about to perish and that they can do as they please in Kirby Super Star Ultra, meaning that he feels proud due to his crew being there for him in the former game, or guilt due to his crew's undying loyalty to him in the latter.

In newer games, Meta Knight seems to be on much friendlier terms with Kirby, now mostly fighting him when either controlled or possessed, and always helping him. However, he still has his rivalry with Kirby, as seen in Kirby Battle Royale, where he and Axe Knight end up in a match against Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee in the Cake Royale, and states that they “had better to do their best.” He also seems to have adapted to a peaceful lifestyle, as he can be seen reading a book in the opening of Kirby's Return to Dream Land, resting on a hilltop in the opening of Kirby: Planet Robobot, and dusting his sword in the opening of Kirby Star Allies. Additionally, in The Cake Royale, before Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee face Meta Knight and Axe Knight, if the player decides to talk to Microphone Waddle Dee of Channel PPP, he says “I hope Meta Knight keeps it clean out there. I'm recording every word!” This could possibly imply that Meta Knight sometimes uses foul language.

Interestingly, he never seems to want his face revealed, immediately retreating via his Dimensional Cape when his mask is broken and falls off. The reason for this is never explained. In the anime, his personality is much different than in the games. He is calm, collected, and is much more clearly on Kirby's side here, because they are both Star Warriors, and Meta Knight needs to help him for the greater good. He is shown to passively observe events, and only interfere when needed. However, his training methods are often harsh and dangerous, often putting Kirby's life in danger, but they always manage to make Kirby stronger. Unlike in the games, he does not seem to hold any opinion towards the laziness of others, and is much less mysterious, as his motives in the anime are rarely ever hidden.

In both the games and in Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, he is often seen standing on high areas, platforms, tree branches, and statues. This may either be a strategical move to prevent being attacked before the battle or to get a better view, but the reason is never officially explained.

Dimensional Cape
Meta Knight's Dimensional Cape (as named in Super Smash Bros. Brawl) allows him to manipulate space, and is a powerful weapon in its own right. His signature cape never received its official name, until relatively recently, much like Galaxia.

Meta Knight most commonly wraps it around himself to teleport away. This tends to happen whenever his mask is destroyed and face is revealed, or when he knows he has been defeated. The cape allows him to warp and teleport short distances, and it can be used to surprise an opponent, catching them off guard by teleporting and attacking from behind. In more recent games, he is seen turning his back to the screen before using it. Meta Knight usually takes it off when fighting Kirby, most likely to avoid hindering his movement.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Meta Knight can also use it to ebb out of reality for a short time. In his Final Smash, the cape is used to petrify his enemies and cover the surrounding area in complete darkness, leaving them open to attacks from his sword.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl and his trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee suggested that the pair of bat-like wings which grant him flight and gliding capabilities are really an extension of the cape. This is also demonstrated in Kirby's Epic Yarn, where the cape is seen fluidly transforming into the wings in Meta Knight's yarn form. This is not consistently the case, however. In older games and in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, he is seen throwing his cape aside, revealing that his wings are underneath the cape. However, in Kirby Super Star and its remake, Meta Knight throws off his cape, but he uses the cape again after he is defeated. This hints that the Dimensional Cape may be magic in nature, and able to be summoned at any time to escape from tough situations.

Galaxia
The sword known only as Galaxia is a golden blade with a ruby embedded in its hilt, with anywhere from zero to six spikes protruding from its sharp edges. In earlier games, the spikes were absent from Meta Knight's then-unnamed sword.

In the games, Galaxia is capable of shooting out sword beams and standard sword moves. In Meta Knightmare Ultra, it absorbs the energy of a defeated foe, allowing Meta Knight to use special actions like the Mach Tornado, Meta Quick and Heal. Galaxia is used by Kirby when he uses the Master Copy Ability in Kirby & The Amazing Mirror.

In Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, the sword has sacred origins, having been created by a race of light and a fire god, Photron.

Kirby's Adventure and Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land
Meta Knight debuted in Kirby's Adventure, as a minor character and a boss. When Nightmare tries to take control of Dream Land by corrupting the Fountain of Dreams, King Dedede entrusts Meta Knight with a piece of the broken Star Rod, because he knows that his powers and his followers, the Meta-Knights, would prove to be a valuable asset against Nightmare's forces. He appears again in the game's remake, Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, with the same role, with his updated design similar to Kirby Super Star.

Throughout the game, Meta Knight sometimes helps Kirby by giving him invincibility candy (only clear in Kirby's Adventure), but also hinders his progress by summoning his foot soldiers against him. By the time Kirby reaches Orange Ocean, Meta Knight challenges Kirby personally before he can reach Rainbow Resort and later the Fountain of Dreams. Meta Knight's true intentions can only be speculated, but it appears that he wishes to prepare Kirby for his final confrontation against Nightmare.

Whenever he fights Kirby, Meta Knight always gives Kirby a sword to fight with (which Kirby must collect in order to fight him). Meta Knight attacks Kirby with his sword as well as by brute force via charging into him; Meta Knight can also block attacks which are thrown his way (becoming increasingly frequent as he loses health). He needs eleven hits to defeat. Regarded as one of the most difficult bosses in Kirby's Adventure, the fight against Meta Knight was made significantly easier in the remake. Additionally, his moves are highly telegraphed and thus can be predicted and countered with enough close attention.

During the fight, it is not possible for Kirby to lose the Sword ability, and the ability he had earlier (only if Kirby takes the sword with the ability still in his immediate possession: viable discarded abilities do not count) will be restored after completing the Meta Knight boss fight stage: this is true for both the Main Game and Boss Endurance.

Meta Knightmare
Achieving 100% completion in Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land in Extra Mode unlocks the Meta Knightmare sub-game. Meta Knightmare is the same as the regular game, but the player controls Meta Knight instead of Kirby, and has three health points instead of five. Meta Knight plays through the first seven levels and even fights another Meta Knight at the end of Orange Ocean. Due to the fact that Meta Knightmare is a sub-game, the player is unable to save throughout the adventure and must complete it in one sitting from the beginning to the end.

Kirby's Pinball Land
Meta Knight appears in Kirby's Pinball Land in the top stage of Kracko Land. He can only be found if the player has beaten King Dedede at least once. When Kirby defeats Mr. Bright, it will turn to night and Mr. Shine will appear with a wall of stars. If Kirby destroys all the stars without defeating Mr. Shine first, the sound of the microphone power-up from Kirby's Dream Land will be heard and Meta Knight will appear in the center of the stage. He does not move and cannot be hit.

Kirby's Avalanche
In Kirby's Avalanche, Meta Knight, who is referred to by name for the first time via a voiceover, acts as the twelfth and penultimate challenger in the main game, after Kracko and before King Dedede. This was the first game to use his modern blue-and-purple appearance, and swings his sword as a taunt towards Kirby. When defeated, he puts the sword away and waves a white flag in surrender. His dialogue with Kirby goes as follows:
 * Meta Knight: "None shall pass! En garde, Kirby!"


 * Kirby: "But I have no Sword!?!"


 * Meta Knight: "Oh, you're so right... Then Avalanche it is, ha ha ha ha!!"

Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra
Before the release of Kirby Super Star, Meta Knight was still considered an obscure and underdeveloped character in the series. Although Meta Knight managed to make an appearance in the spin-off, Kirby's Avalanche, he missed out on Kirby's Dream Land 2 completely (as Kirby's Dream Land 2 was developed by a completely different staff than Kirby's Adventure or Kirby's Avalanche). Kirby Super Star’s release in 1996 features him as the antagonist with his own sub-game named Revenge of Meta Knight. This is considered to be his most well-known appearance in the series yet, which attributed to much of his popularity and subsequent appearances, which are based on this particular emergence. This is also so far his only role to date where he does not have clear intentions behind his antagonistic character, which gave him his reputation as a villain.

Revenge of Meta Knight
In Revenge of Meta Knight, Meta Knight intends to start a war in Dream Land to put an end to its lazy lifestyle. With help from the Meta-Knights, Meta Knight's ultimate weapon, the Halberd, spreads its wings and takes to the sky, but Kirby intervenes and attacks the Halberd. Kirby boards the Halberd, which infuriates Meta Knight, so he ends up blasting him down into the ocean below with the Halberd's jets. Kirby gains a Warp Star and attempts to board again, but is shot down by Combo Cannon and lands in the forest. With the help of Dyna Blade, Kirby boards the battleship once more, and destroys it piece by piece. With his crew beaten and his ship losing altitude fast, Meta Knight eventually decides to fight Kirby himself.

Again, he offers Kirby a sword, but this time, the player can refuse it if they want, by not taking it within several seconds. Doing this makes the battle longer, which is potentially dangerous due to the time limit. Meta Knight can parry attacks with his sword during the battle, and summon giant tornadoes to send Kirby up in the air and do damage. Some of his sword slash attacks can be inhaled and spat back at him.

After being defeated, his mask breaks and he quickly departs to recover, giving Kirby time to escape with a dutiful Wheelie that he freed earlier. Before he can do so however, Meta Knight returns, transforms his cape into wings and flies after him, and the three escape right before the Halberd crashes into the sea below, ending the sub-game.

Meta Knightmare Ultra
Meta Knight appears in Kirby Super Star Ultra, reprising his role from the original game. He is a playable character in the Meta Knightmare Ultra sub-game, which is the equivalent of the Meta Knightmare sub-game from Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land. In the original Meta Knightmare, he goes through the levels of Kirby's Adventure, but in Meta Knightmare Ultra, he goes through each original sub-game instead (save for The Arena, Gourmet Race and sub-games). Although progress can be saved this time, the player must select "new game" to replay the sub-game after beating it.

By taking out enemies with his sword, Meta Knight accumulates Meta Points. He can spend them on four abilities activated on the touch screen. The abilities are:
 * Meta Quick: Speeds up Meta Knight and his Helper.
 * Heal: Fully heals Meta Knight and his Helper.
 * Summon Knight: Summons a Sword Knight or Blade Knight. Acts as a Helper. Sword Knight can use an upwards thrust, but Blade Knight cannot.
 * Mach Tornado: Has a similar function to Crash but does slightly more damage.

There are cutscenes at the start and end of each sub-game that he plays through, and a few parts are skipped. Namely, he does not fight himself, unlike in the original Meta Knightmare. The Halberd inexplicably reappears and still ends up being destroyed, however. After completing Milky Way Wishes, he summons Galactic Nova and makes a wish to fight the greatest warrior in the Galaxy. Nova grants the wish by summoning Galacta Knight, an immaculate warrior sealed away long ago, who fights against Meta Knight as the final boss.

Meta Knight appears in the sub-game Samurai Kirby, where he is the final and most difficult opponent. When he is defeated, Kirby knocks off his mask with a sword, shocking him and causing him to quickly cover his face with his hands.

Meta Knight appears in the sub-game Helper To Hero in Kirby Super Star Ultra, but he does not offer a sword due to the fact that helpers cannot obtain abilities without Kirby.

Meta Knight appears in the sub-game Kirby on the Draw as one of the targets that Kirby must shoot to gain points. Successfully striking him will earn the player 100 points.

Kirby & The Amazing Mirror
In Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, Meta Knight senses danger in the mirror world and rushes off to protect it. After some time, a shadowy figure resembling Meta Knight suddenly drops from the sky and splits Kirby into four separate entities (Kirby can refer to each individual or all of them collectively). Kirby follows him and the adventure begins. Meta Knight isn't seen until well into the game at level eight, Radish Ruins, where Kirby fights what appears to be Meta Knight in a duel. Unlike in previous fights where he offers Kirby a sword, this time he doesn't, and the battle begins immediately. He is more aggressive and uses stronger versions of attacks that he used in Kirby Super Star and its remake. It turns out that the Meta Knight that Kirby fought in Radish Ruins wasn't the real Meta Knight at all, but a dark copy known as Dark Meta Knight—the real Meta Knight was sealed within the Dimension Mirror. Dark Meta Knight has a grayed-out color scheme, but otherwise has similar (yet different) attire to Meta Knight himself. ? ? ? is the name that Dark Meta Knight had when he was disguised as Meta Knight.

Dark Meta Knight later makes a reappearance as the penultimate boss. Once the Kirbys enter the Dimension Mirror, Dark Meta Knight engages them in battle once more. Right then, the real Meta Knight shows up standing on a large pillar and reveals Dark Meta Knight for the fraud that he is.

After Dark Meta Knight literally breaks into pieces, Kirby gets sucked into a Warp Hole which leads to Dark Mind. Meta Knight, who watched the battle the whole time, quickly helps Kirby by throwing his sword into the Warp Hole. Kirby takes the sword and gains the Master ability. After Dark Mind is destroyed, Meta Knight decides to drop the sword (referred to as the Master Sword) in the Central Circle, signifying the end of the game. However, since he uses his sword in other games, he might have obtained a new one or retrieved it. Within the game, he appears wielding his sword in cutscenes as well as in one of Magic's roulette options. Kirby can be seen possessing the Master ability in almost all of these situations; this means the Master ability is either Meta Knight's original sword, a previously-unknown duplicate of the original, or his aforementioned "new" sword (a copy).

Kirby: Squeak Squad
In Kirby: Squeak Squad, Meta Knight once again plays a friendlier role, although he's completely misunderstood at first. Although he doesn't come into play until later in the adventure, Squeak Squad is one of his most heroic roles in the series.

Meta Knight appears at the end of Ice Island. After Kirby defeats Daroach and reclaims the chest presumably holding his precious Strawberry Shortcake, Meta Knight comes out of nowhere and steals it, and travels to a hidden place in or near Orange Ocean called the Secret Sea. The passageway to the Secret Sea is blocked by a door that can only be opened by collecting the five sacred Star Seals. Meta Knight is confronted as the boss of the seventh level, Secret Sea.

Shortly before the boss battle, Meta Knight reactivates the Halberd, which flies him and Kirby up into Gamble Galaxy. The Halberd is where Meta Knight is fought, and is the setting for the last few levels of Secret Sea as well as Gamble Galaxy's first level. Meta Knight himself doesn't offer a sword before the battle, but in the room before him Kirby can access a Bubble with the Sword ability inside it. The stars Meta Knight kicks up during the fight will also grant the Sword ability.

Unlike previous games, he is very offensive, and attacks almost non-stop, making it difficult for Kirby to get hits in. If attacked head-on he will simply strike back instead of blocking. He employs the same attacks used in previous games, but also gains a variety of new elemental moves, such as striking his sword down to create an electrical charge around him and shooting crescents of fire across the screen. His Ground Twister charges up faster, but ends more early. He is also significantly faster in every way, including how fast he turns around, making it harder to attack him from behind. However, he is knocked back more easily, and can be pinned in a corner if he is hit with strong attacks in fast succession.

Near the end of the game, Meta Knight's intentions are finally revealed. It turns out that the chest didn't contain the shortcake as Kirby thought, but instead the Lord of Darkness, Dark Nebula. Knowing the chest's contents, Meta Knight was trying to stop the release of evil during the game, which is a likely reason for his more aggressive attack style and new attacks as he was actually trying to stop Kirby, rather than prepare or otherwise train him as he has done previously, due to Kirby's unawareness of the chest's actual contents. This also explains why he didn't give him a sword, as Meta Knight was actually intending to win.

Kirby Air Ride
"Meta Knight with wings spread. Fear the sword!"

- Meta Knight's Flavor Text

Meta Knight appears as an unlockable racer in Kirby Air Ride. He handles with a permanent mix of the Sword and Wing abilities, and is unlocked in Air Ride by gliding for 30 minutes total in the air, and in City Trial's Free Run mode by breaking open 1000 boxes. He can also be unlocked in either mode by using a Free Check on the proper Checklist box.

Like the Wagon Star, Meta Knight cannot charge or boost and has a bit of skid. He also has below average HP, weight, and steering, but he makes up for these shortcomings in his gliding ability and sword. His speed is average, and he has the second best acceleration in the game (behind the Swerve Star and tied with the Wheelie Scooter). Unlike when Kirby uses the Wing ability in this game, Meta Knight is capable of activating Boost Pads, and all other types of pads found in the courses.

Meta Knight's blue alternate costume in this game is loosely based on the colors of his sprites in Kirby Super Star and Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land.

Kirby: Canvas Curse
Meta Knight never appears story-wise in Kirby: Canvas Curse, but after unlocking King Dedede, the player can buy him as a playable character in Medal Swap for 25 medals. He moves twice as fast as Kirby, floats in water and is very light and bouncy, but has the lowest amount of Health Points, at only three. Meta Knight uses an invisible sword to defeat his enemies; players can hear the sound of him using it when he rolls into an enemy, as well as seeing white "slash lines" around him upon dashing or landing a blow. His mask also appears in Paint Panic.

Kirby's Epic Yarn and Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn
Meta Knight appears in Kirby's Epic Yarn as the boss of Space Land, and he shares his name with the stage he appears in, which follows Stellar Way and precedes Moon Base. After the player defeats King Dedede, the cutscene movie shows Meta Knight noticing strange changes in the Dream Land landscape while aboard the Halberd. Yin-Yarn ambushes him and turns him into yarn, making him the boss guarding the magic yarn of Space Land, the seventh and final area of Patch Land. When the player fights him, he is being controlled by Yin-Yarn (via magical swords) and his eyes flicker rapidly between purple and yellow when he is not attacking, possibly indicating that Meta Knight is trying to resist Yin-Yarn's magic.

Meta Knight does not use Galaxia this time, but has four different swords provided by Yin-Yarn. As he uses up his yarn swords, Meta Knight's attacks grow more and more severe and dangerous, firing multiple sword beams (blue), covering a whole half of the screen with fire (purple), and he can summon tornadoes when he is down to his last one (red). His slashing attacks can only be dodged, but he is vulnerable to attack right after. Upon getting hit, Meta Knight falls backwards, and Kirby can disarm him by using the yarn whip on the button on his sword. After being defeated, Meta Knight is freed from Yin-Yarn's possession and disappears via his cape. He reappears in the next cutscene, apologizing to Kirby for attacking, and explains the situation in Dream Land. Kirby, Prince Fluff, Meta Knight and King Dedede go to Dream Land to stop Yin-Yarn, and he does not appear again until Kirby fights Mega Yin-Yarn, where Meta Knight flies overhead and drops the Tankbot metamortex for Kirby.

In the New Nintendo 3DS remake of Kirby's Epic Yarn, Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn, Meta Knight stars in a brand new Sub-game as a playable character. He is shown to always be flying in the air in an automatic side scroller. He uses his sword as his method of attacking enemies, and can even use his Drill Rush attack.

Kirby Mass Attack
Though Meta Knight is entirely absent from the game's main storyline, he does appear in two of the sub-games. In Strato Patrol EOS, he is the penultimate boss. He attacks by charging horizontally from one side of the screen to the other, going downward each time until he reaches the bottom. He can also create five illusions of himself that will fire sword beams, though the illusions can be destroyed before they attack. Meta Knight himself can also fire sword beams and transform into a tornado to hit the Kirbys.

In Kirby Quest, he appears as the final boss of Chapter 3 and as one of the last opponents in Chapter 4 (provided the player didn't unlock the fight with Galaxia). He attacks with a sword slash or a powerful tornado attack. He fights alone in Chapter 3, but is backed up by Sword Knight and Blade Knight in Chapter 4. However, Sword Knight and Blade Knight have over 2,000 less HP than their master.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land
Meta Knight is a playable character in multiplayer mode, as well as in The Arena. He assists Kirby, King Dedede, and Bandana Waddle Dee in reconstructing the Lor Starcutter. Out of the four, Meta Knight is the most serious of the group

Gameplay-wise, he is able to use most of Sword Kirby's attacks, as well as the Shuttle Loop, Hover Flap, and Dive-Bomb, moves exclusive to Wing, though the former behaving more like it did in Super Smash Bros. Brawl than it does for Wing. True to his vigilant character, he is always the first to notice something unusual in cutscenes. He is the only character in the group not to shake hands with Magolor when they first meet, instead keeping his cape wrapped around himself (much like in the anime). In the final battle, he deflects Magolor's attacks with his sword and, along with Kirby, lasts the longest. He has two moves carried over from Super Smash Bros. Brawl (as well as basic sword attacks). This shows that his Super Smash Bros. stats may have been used as his moveset so he wouldn't be exactly like Sword Kirby.

In the story, Meta Knight spots the Lor coming out of a portal in the sky while sitting on a hill and reading a book. He meets up with the others and they explore the hull. Alongside the others, Meta Knight volunteers to help with repairs to the ship. After recovering the five parts, they are taken Halcandra as a reward by Magolor. After vanquishing Landia, Magolor reveals he used the heroes' generosity to get the Master Crown, so Meta Knight and the group band together with the dragon to stop him. After thwarting Magolor, he and his friends return to Popstar, where they bid goodbye to Landia.

Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition
Meta Knight takes on his classic role in Kirby's Adventure and Kirby Super Star. Aside from the original games, his 8-bit sprite appears as a golden statue in History Hall. He also greets Kirby after the player beats the New Challenge stages, along with other familiar faces like King Dedede and Bandana Waddle Dee.

Kirby: Triple Deluxe
Meta Knight, though not present in the story, appears in this game as one of Stone Kirby's transformations, where he turns into a statue of Bandana Waddle Dee, King Dedede, and Meta Knight. He also appears as a circus balloon, via Circus Kirby, as well as showing up in the final 100% movie in the crowd along with Galacta Knight, Magolor, Marx, Shadow Kirby, and many other characters from the game. Additionally, Kirby can adopt Meta Knight's color scheme as an optional palette swap in the Kirby Fighters sub-game. Meta Knight's mask appears in the downloadable Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe sub-game as an unlockable feature.

Kirby: Planet Robobot
Meta Knight is standing silently on a hilltop one day, and (like in previous appearances) is among the first to notice the mysterious new invaders attacking Dream Land. He attempts to stop them with an assault from his Halberd, but the ship is quickly shot down by the much more advanced weaponry of the Access Ark.

After the Halberd was shot down, Meta Knight fought against the Haltmann Works Company alone and managed to destroy quite a bit of their forces, but he was eventually defeated and captured by the invaders and turned into a cyborg warrior known as Mecha Knight. He reappears as the boss of Gigabyte Grounds, and displays many new enhancements, such as jet engines to fly faster, an energy sword that resembles Galaxia which allows him to fire larger and stronger sword beams, the ability to fire a barrage of missiles, a device attached to his mask that can fire lasers, and the ability to surround himself with an electrical field. Despite these new enhancements, Mecha Knight is defeated by Kirby, and collapses into a deep ravine after his loss.

Meta Knight appears once again as the first boss of the Access Ark. Summoned by Susie once again, Mecha Knight, now known as Mecha Knight+, fights Kirby in President Haltmann's office. The warrior has been further upgraded, and sports new attacks such as making his sword much larger and flying into the background to strike at Kirby. Once half of his health has been depleted, Mecha Knight+ will extend a massive mechanical arm from his back. This arm resembles a scorpion's tail, and can be used to grab Kirby or strike at him. This arm can also be used to support Mecha Knight+ in midair while he fires sword beams at Kirby. Once again, however, Kirby emerges victorious and shatter's Mecha Knight's mask, breaking the Haltmann Works Company's influence over the masked warrior. The newly freed Meta Knight flies off upon his defeat.

Shortly after Kirby defeats President Haltmann, Star Dream flies into space, and Meta Knight, now back to normal, assists Kirby by supplying him the Halberd. Kirby uses his Robobot Armor to absorb the ship. In the last moments of the battle against Star Dream, the Halberd is damaged by surprise attack from a laser, and Meta Knight ejects Kirby, shooting him straight at Star Dream and allowing him to destroy it for good. After peace is restored to Planet Popstar, Meta Knight's shadow can be briefly seen over a sleeping Kirby, indicating he helped Kirby descend to the ground safely. Meta Knight flies off just before Kirby awakes. He is last seen patrolling the skies aboard the Halberd as Kirby follows after.

In The True Arena, Meta Knight appears to once again free the Robobot Armor from the Halberd during the fight with Star Dream Soul OS; this time, however, the supercomputer inhales Kirby out of the Armor and into its core, continuing the fight.

Meta Knightmare Returns
Meta Knight is the playable character of the sub-game Meta Knightmare Returns. In a manner similar to previous plots, Meta Knight progresses through the stages Kirby came through, in order to test his skills. At the end of the sub-game, Star Dream tests Meta Knight by summoning multiple sword users for Meta Knight to fight, such as clones of Queen Sectonia and Dark Matter as well as Galacta Knight himself.

Kirby Battle Royale
Meta Knight is a unlockable playable character in Kirby Battle Royale. He plays like the Sword ability, but has a different B charge-up; instead of performing a standard Spin Slash, he does Dimensional Cape, which ends in a Spin Slash instead of a single sword attack. He can be unlocked either by clearing The Cake Royale, or by having save data from the demo version of Kirby Battle Royale saved to the player's 3DS system.

Kirby Star Allies
Meta Knight is the third boss in Kirby Star Allies, and is fought in World of Miracles - Planet Popstar in the stage Sacred Square. Like other bosses in Kirby Star Allies, he is corrupted by the Jamba Heart. Before the fight begins, Meta Knight stands on top a high ledge and presents Kirby with a sword that Kirby can obtain in order to fight him, similar to his boss fights in Kirby's Adventure and Kirby Super Star. Alternatively, however, if Kirby jumps onto Meta Knight's platform, the balcony will crumble, annoying Meta Knight and causing him to kick away the sword in anger. The action will also happen if Kirby did not take the sword for more than a minute, during which time Meta Knight can be heard faintly whistling something resembling My Friend and the Sun, the ending theme of Revenge of Meta Knight. Meta Knight attacks similarly to how he does in other games, with the exception that Kirby can now parry Meta Knight's attacks with his own sword slashes; this briefly stuns Meta Knight. He also has a new attack called Upper Cailbur: He will first begin to charge up, and when fully charged, he will lunge slightly forward and up into the air. If anyone is hit by this attack, they will be flung into the air where Meta Knight begins to repeatedly slash them. At the end, Meta Knight will slice the captured player into the ground, dealing a small amount of damage.

When Meta Knight enters his second phase at half health, his eyes turn purple, and he splits into multiple Meta Knights. The number of Meta Knights corresponds to the number of friends fighting him (including Kirby) with the exception that, when Kirby has no friends, he splits into two Meta Knights. When there are four Meta Knights, Two Meta Knights stay in the air, while the other two stay on the ground. The two on the ground do normal sword attacks, while the two in the air either shoot sword beams at Kirby or perform a shuttle loop in an attempt to ram into Kirby. When there are two, they both stay on the ground, when there are three, one stays in the air and the other two stay on the ground. During the battle, the Meta Knights fly into the background and raise up several rocks. They then throw the rocks into the foreground where they land in stacks of four. The Meta Knights then jump into the air to slice the rocks, and a streak of light indicates where they will land. If they successfully slice the rocks, two boulders will remain on the ground that can harm the player on contact. However, if the player destroys the rocks before the Meta Knights can slice them, the respective Meta Knight will get his sword stuck in the ground for a period of time, leaving him vulnerable to attack.

When the Meta Knights merge again into one, Meta Knight can unleash a dark laser that can capture Kirby and his allies, similar to Taranza's web in Team Kirby Clash Deluxe. If Meta Knight successfully captures anyone, the laser will slowly damage them. After a while, Meta Knight will slam the captured character on the ground, which is a signal that he will soon throw them at the wall in a dark ball that damages anyone on contact. Also, his tornado summon attack is more powerful in second phase, as the number of tornadoes he summons depends on how many friends the player has. Tornadoes go on the background before going to the foreground. When he splits again, the Meta Knights use Shuttle Loop to try to hit Kirby, and the attack is repeated twice before raising the rocks once again.

When Meta Knight is defeated, Kirby can optionally turn him into a friend by throwing a Friend Heart at him. If Kirby does not, Meta Knight's mask will break, and he will retreat via his cape.

Meta Knight appears as a Dream Friend, where his moveset is identical to that which he had in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, with the exception that he can use Mach Tornado attack from Kirby: Planet Robobot. In the third update released on November 30, Meta Knight receives a new attack for his moveset. The attack involves Meta Knight countering in order to perform it.

Meta Knight appears in the game's boss rush mode, The Ultimate Choice, in all levels of difficulty. In Soul Melter, his normal battle theme is replaced by "Inner Struggle" from Kirby Planet Robobot.

Special moves
Meta Knight can accumulate Meta Points (by defeating enemies) in Meta Knightmare Ultra and Meta Knightmare Returns, and can store a total of 50 points. He can use up his points to use these moves:

In Kirby: Right Back at Ya!
In the Kirby of the Stars Pilot, which is the pilot episode of Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Meta Knight appears as one of the enemies that appear out of the plumes of smoke when the sky turns dark. In this appearance, his mask is larger, his shoulder pads are more curled, and his gloves are smaller. Galaxia does not have its prominent points. He is defeated when Kirby spits Captain Stitch at him. This is the only time where Meta Knight is seen flying in the anime.

In Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Meta Knight was the only known surviving member of the Star Warriors until Island of the Lost Warrior, when Kit Cosmos was discovered. He settled in Dream Land and became King Dedede's servant along with his followers Sword Knight and Blade Knight, thinking that Dedede's penchant for monsters would hopefully bring a young Star Warrior to Dream Land to join forces with him to defeat Nightmare. He secretly constructs the Halberd throughout the years under Castle Dedede, which requires more crew than he currently has allies, to prepare for the eventual confrontation against Nightmare, but this is not revealed until nearing the series' conclusion. He teaches the new Star Warrior, Kirby, to make him strong enough to defeat Nightmare one day. Compared to the games, his intentions are much clearer - he is undoubtedly on Kirby's side, though he doesn't always show it when danger looms, but this is because he wants Kirby to grow stronger and braver. Throughout the episodes, his character is given more depth, in addition to revealing his past. It is in Kirby: Right Back at Ya! where his sword was directly referred to as Galaxia for the first time. In Kirby's Duel Role, he states that he wouldn't help Kirby, yet he almost never fought him since.

His eyes change color according to his mood. When he is proud, his eyes turn blue, as seen in Here Comes the Son. When Meta Knight's eyes are supposedly closed, his eyes turn dark orange, and when he is angry, his eyes turn red, as seen in the episode Scare Tactics - Part II. His eyes turn a shimmering green when he is suspicious or problem solving, as seen in Escargoon Squad. If he is totally serious about something, his eyes turn grass green, like seen in A Blockbuster Battle. When his eyes are pink, he is amused, shown in Snack Attack - Part I. He is extremely stealthy, observant, and well-informed, since no one ever sees him unless he speaks or shows himself, and he knows the events happening around him well enough. He knows every single one of Kirby's Copy Abilities, though he was a little unsure about Mike, but still guessed correctly. It took him a while to figure out Throw, but when Kirby started throwing Whippy, he was easily able to identify it.

Uncharacteristically, he likes watching Channel DDD, although whether it is because it amuses him somewhat or whether it is to try and catch Dedede's scheming early is unknown. He also may have a sweet tooth, as he has a jar of candy in his bedroom, and seems to like tea as well, as seen in the episode Escar-Gone.

Meta Knight makes an appearance in almost every episode, even when his only role is to pop out of nowhere just to explain Kirby's abilities or for any other reason after Kirby transforms.

Meta Knight speaks with a smattering of random English words in his Japanese. In the dub, Meta Knight speaks with a Spanish accent, possibly as a reference to Antonio Banderas in The Mask of Zorro, or to Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride, both characters being Spanish-speaking swordsmen.

In the Super Smash Bros. series
Meta Knight is not a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Melee, but he appears as one of the collectible trophies. There are notable mistakes and inconsistencies regarding his description in the game. On his trophy, it states that his first appearance was in Kirby Super Star when it was actually in Kirby's Adventure, and his trophy is labelled as "Meta-Knight" (note the hyphen, which instead usually refers to members of his army). His body is depicted as silver when it is blue in the Kirby series.

Meta Knight is one of the playable fighters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He is fast and light, and can jump up to six times like Kirby and King Dedede can, using his wings. He can glide as well, and fights using Galaxia, which turns bright white when used. Some of his moves are based off that of his previous games. His flagship, the Halberd, appears as a stage, and plays an important role in the Subspace Emissary, the game's story mode.

Meta Knight returns as a fighter in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Meta Knight is infamous in the Super Smash Bros. community due to his fast, high priority (or more accurately, non-priority) attacks, along with his ability to jump more than twice, his ability to glide and the potential for all his special moves to be used to recover from being knocked off the stage. Meta Knight is widely regarded as the most powerful character in the game due to these characteristics, and has also always been first place on the rapidly changing tier list (also tying into his powerful down smash and glide attack). Because of this, he received some significant nerfs in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. However, he was also given some improvements; overall, he is much more balanced than he was in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and is still a highly ranked character.

It should also be noted that all of Meta Knight's special moves can be used to recover as aforementioned, all of them put him into a helpless freefall state in midair like with other similar moves, and is the only character who has all his special moves put him in such a state (allowing reckless use of such attacks to leave him open to punishes).

The Japanese version has Atsushi Kisaichi as his voice actor, reprising his role from the anime. In the English version, he is voiced by Eric Newsome (who gives a slight accent akin to the anime's English dub). A sticker of him from Kirby: Squeak Squad and Kirby: Canvas Curse appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Both stickers are applicable only by Meta Knight, Kirby, and King Dedede and increases Slash Attack by 32 and Launch Power by 8, respectively.

Moveset
Meta Knight's attacks are among the fastest in the game, and some even pack a small punch to boot unlike most weak fast attacks; in fact, Meta Knight is one of only three characters that can perform three aerials in one short hop. His special moves are based on his attacks in the Kirby games. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, each special move can be customized.


 * Darkness Illusion (Final Smash): Meta Knight has a new Final Smash in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, known as Darkness Illusion. He first grows a pair of two more wings and his eyes turn red as he then creates a surge of electricity around himself; any opponents caught is dragged into the air. Meta Knight then rapidly strikes the opponents repeatedly before finishing off with a stronger slash.

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

 * Flings out his cape and says "You have much yet to learn".
 * Disappears while saying, "Come back when you can put up a fight!".
 * Turns and spins his sword while saying "Victory... is my destiny".

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

 * Turns and spins his sword while saying "Victory... is my destiny".
 * Glides with his wings and lands onto the floor. Then he swings his cape while saying "You have much yet to learn".
 * Slashes his sword while saying  "Come back when you can put up a fight!". Then disappears.

Role in the Subspace Emissary
Meta Knight is first featured in The Subspace Emissary attacking a lone Marth outside of a large castle. After a brief sword clash, he and Marth quickly realize they aren't enemies as they are both surrounded by Primids. After a successful battle, both warriors chase the Ancient Minister carrying a Subspace bomb. They fail to destroy the bomb, but Ike appears and he uses his Aether technique to catch the Minister off guard and destroy the bomb. With the bomb 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. After defeating Galleom, Meta Knight saves Lucas and the Pokémon Trainer from a giant freefall, and 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 continue 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 (after being knocked out of the bridge by Snake) to form a gigantic metallic monster called Duon. Once Duon is defeated, Mr. Game & Watch joins the group, along with Peach, Zelda, Fox, and Falco.

Meta Knight takes back control of the Halberd and reunites with fighters from the other groups. The aircraft of the other heroes are 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 with the Dragoon, 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 and rejoins the others in the fight against Tabuu.

In production, Meta Knight's backstory revealed that the reason he did not have control of the Halberd was because he was attacked by the Subspace Army. He attempted to hold them back, but this attack coincidentally happened at the same time King Dedede attacked Meta Knight. King Dedede unknowingly made it impossible for Meta Knight to fend off the army, and thus, Meta Knight was defeated and forced to flee, while in the process losing his ship to the Subspace Army. This would have taken place before the events of the adventure mode proper, but the scenes could not be finished for various reasons.

Snake's Codecs
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, if a player plays as Snake in the stage Shadow Moses Island and quickly inputs down taunt (referred to as a Smash Taunt), Snake can enter a conversation, talking about one of the present fighters, with his support team, along with Slippy as a cameo when talking about Falco. Here is the following conversation if Meta Knight is present:


 * Snake: Mei Ling, there's a mysterious masked man flying around here with a sword...


 * Mei Ling: That's Meta Knight. He's a knight from Dream Land. They say his sword swings can break the sound barrier. Whatever you do, don't get caught in one of his furious barrage attacks. He also commands the Halberd, a flying battleship.


 * Snake: Mm, I've seen it. The bow looks like his mask. What kind of weirdo puts his face on the bow of a ship, anyway?


 * Mei Ling: Umm, maybe he's a little narcissistic. Kind of like someone else I know.


 * Snake: Really... And who would that be?


 * Mei Ling: Use your imagination...

Palutena's Guidance
In Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, if a player plays as Pit in the stage Palutena's Temple and inputs a Smash Taunt, Pit can enter a conversation, talking about one of the present fighters, with Palutena and Viridi (with Chrom as a cameo when talking about Robin in SSB4, and Alucard when talking about Richter in SSBU.). Here is the following conversation if Meta Knight is present:


 * Pit: I wonder what Meta Knight looks like under that mask.


 * Viridi: Apparently quite similar to Kirby.


 * Pit: If he took off his mask, could he inhale things too?


 * Viridi: Maybe. And maybe he has Kirby's Copy Ability as well.


 * Pit: So if a maskless Meta Knight copied a masked Meta Knight...


 * Viridi: Well, then he'd just be back where he started.


 * Palutena: Anyway, be careful of his quick blade and his spinning attacks. They don't have a lot of power, so use your shield until you see an opening.

In NES Remix 2
One of the game's challenges is to win the Kirby's Adventure Meta Knight battle. Meta Knight inflicts two bars of damage with each sword strike, so Kirby must defeat him without getting hit three times.

Quotes
"None shall pass! En garde, Kirby! (But I have no sword?!) Oh, you're so right...then Avalanche it is, ha ha ha ha!"

- Meta Knight

"Come back when you can put up a fight."

- Meta Knight

"Fight me..."

- Meta Knight

"Come."

- Meta Knight

"Victory... is my destiny."

- Meta Knight

"You've much yet to learn."

- Meta Knight

"Now, my power is without rival."

- Meta Knight

"Kirby! You’ve unlocked a new stage in Slash & Bead."

- Notification

Related Quotes
"Chivalrous to the last, Metaknight [sic] is an all but unbeatable Avalanche player."

- The Cast of Characters

"The mysterious head of the Meta-Knights, he wields his sword with dignity. He delivered his sword to Kirby and demanded single combat in a show of 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."

- Trophy description

"Dash for a sword attack!"

- In-game description

"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."

- Trophy description

"It's Meta Knight, whose introduction was delayed for some reason. He's Kirby's...rival? Despite being almost all head, his mask and cape exude coolness. He overwhelms enemies with his mach-speed sword!"

- Official Super Smash Bros. Brawl website

"Unlimited power in your blade. Command your called knight. Train and journey the cosmos!"

- In-game description

"The masked knight cometh! His intense training allows him to soar through the air, swinging his sword with unrivaled speed!"

- In-game description

"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 five times in a row, and he has a special move to soar higher."

- Trophy description

"A mysterious masked swordsman from the Kirby series. His cape can turn into wings, which gives him the ability to fly. His swift swordplay and ability to stay in the air give him an edge in this game. He can combine five mid-air jumps with a special move to make recovering a cinch. If you use him, try to keep battle airborne."

- Trophy description, PAL version

"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."

- Trophy description

"Meta Knight's Dimensional Cape lets you teleport. After vanishing, you can move to reappear somewhere else. You can also keep holding the button to turn it into an attack! His Mach Tornado special can mix up multiple opponents in the fray. Press the button repeatedly to rise up, and move left and right to create extra havoc."

- Trophy description, PAL version

"Meta Knight wraps himself in his cape and disappears. If you keep holding the button, he'll strike when he's back!"

- Tips

"While Meta Knight is invisible, he'll move in the direction you input. He won't move if you don't input a direction, which is useful as a feint."

- Tips

"Your enemy will fly diagonally upward after this, so that's a good time to use a combo. If their damage is low, try a dash attack and then a front air attack."

- Tips

"If you direct Meta Knight toward the ground, he'll cancel the move and do a little hop. Use that to avoid an enemy who is about to counter you."

- Tips

"While Meta Knight's rushing through the air like a drill, you can adjust his direction."

- Tips

"Press the attack button to unleash a flurry of strikes. Meta Knight doesn't do “standard attacks.”"

- Tips

"The tornado created around Meta Knight can destroy any weak projectiles it hits."

- Tips

"Meta Knight thrusts his sword upward, loops in midair, and then thrusts upward once more. A swift and powerful attack, useful against falling foes."

- Tips

"This powerful attack is useful for pursuing enemies directly above you. However, you're vulnerable during the postmove descent."

- Tips

"You can use the attack slightly more quickly in the air. However, the first strike is more powerful when executed from the ground."

- Tips

"The third strike of Meta Knight's strong side attack is powerful enough to launch opponents."

- Tips

"#1 is a tie between Jigglypuff, Meta Knight, and Kirby, who can all manage six. #4 is King Dedede with five, and Pit and Dark Pit are tied at #5 with four."

- The Jump Masters Tip

"Meta Knight debuted in Kirby's Adventure on the NES as a mysterious figure who stood in Kirby's way as a boss but also sometimes helped him."

- Meta Knight's Origins Tip

"This mysterious masked swordsman helms the Battleship Halberd. He hasn't always been the most trustworthy ally, but you can count on him when you really need him. He appears in this game as a figurine."

- Figurine Description

"The masked knight has returned to fight evil while Kirby takes a much-needed nap. Collect Meta Points, and then touch the lower screen to unleash his special attacks."

- Meta Knight's in-game description

"A masked warrior who tries to take on Haltmann Works Co. by himself. However, he's soon defeated by a mighty enemy..."

- Instruction manual

"Meta Knight is now in the Collection Lists! You can use this in Battle Mode and Online Battles after it's unlocked."

- New ability!

"Is he Kirby's enemy or ally? The masked swordsman is shrouded in mystery."

- Collectible description

"The knight that dates back to Kirby's Adventure joins the fray! This mysterious figure occasionally shows up in his massive ship to stir things up. Now, into darkness!"

- Guest Star description

"Corrupted by the power of a dark heart, Meta Knight’s dedication to the purity of combat has been eclipsed by a secret wild streak that always lurked within him. This once-hidden fury is now unleashed with every stab and thrust of his sword!"

- VS Meta Knight

"First introduced way back in Kirby's Adventure, this warrior takes the spirit of chivalry to heart. He has set out on a journey of training, but he would never forget his connection to his friends. May new friend powers awaken and imbue his blade!"

- Flavor Text

"The mysterious swordsman is rarely seen without his iconic mask—and when he does lose it in battle, he runs away! He likes to test his sword techniques out on Kirby, but sometimes serves as an ally."

- Official Kirby Website

"This fighter not only has tons of quick moves, he can perform a midair jump five times! All his special moves have a recovery aspect, so use them at the right time. His Final Smash is Darkness Illusion, which unleashes a fast series of aerial attacks."

- #27: Meta Knight

Trivia

 * In a released concept art, an unknown knight was shown. Since this artwork was in Meta Knight’s section, many have presumed it to be Meta Knight’s beta design. However, in a Nintendo Dream magazine interview with Shinya Kumazaki, he confirmed that the design was originally for an entirely different knight that would have appeared in the cancelled Kirby GCN. This design would later be used for Morpho Knight in Kirby Star Allies.
 * While his wings appeared purple in the escape sequence during Revenge of Meta Knight in Kirby Super Star, his wings are dark blue in Meta Knightmare Ultra in Kirby Super Star Ultra.
 * Meta Knight's Mask makes a cameo appearance as a purchasable hat in the Nintendo 3DS built-in game StreetPass Mii Plaza. A version of this mask missing Meta Knight's shoulder pauldrons can be worn by Mii Fighters in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.
 * Meta Knight's Up Special (Shuttle Loop) from Super Smash Bros. Brawl makes a reappearance as one of Meta Knight's moves in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Kirby: Planet Robobot and Kirby Star Allies, even having a similar button set in order to use (Up + Special in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Down, Up + Attack [In quick succession] in Kirby's Return to Dream Land.)
 * Galacta Knight is also able to perform the Shuttle Loop during his fight in Kirby: Planet Robobot
 * In the anime, when Meta Knight is asleep, his eyes appear dark orange. However, in the games, when Meta Knight blinks or briefly closes his eyes his visor becomes pitch black. This is true in some episodes in the anime as well.
 * However, when he closes his eyes in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Kirby Battle Royale, and Kirby Star Allies (or otherwise being knocked out), there are two small yellow dashes representing his eyes, rather than his visor being fully blacked out.
 * When he falls asleep in Super Smash Bros. Brawl or Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, his eyes don't change at all.
 * In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it can be observed that Meta Knight's visor is not pitch black. When standing in a certain way, it is possible to see blue coloring around his yellow eyes.
 * In Kirby's Avalanche, his AI is copied from the Puyo Puyo character Rulue.
 * In the English dub of Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, he is portrayed with a Spanish accent.
 * This may be a reference to Zorro, a similar masked swordsman.
 * Two of Meta Knight's palette swaps in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U resemble Galacta Knight and Dark Meta Knight.
 * A common misconception among fans is that Meta Knight's dark coloration in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (which also appears in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U) is based off of Dark Meta Knight. This was disproved by the Dark Meta Knight coloration present in the latter games. Meta Knight's dark gray and black palette is actually based off of his artwork for Kirby's Adventure.
 * It is unclear whether or not Meta Knight is right-handed or ambidextrous. While he is generally seen wielding Galaxia in his right hand, there are various other official depictions which have him holding it in his left hand (sprite flipping aside).
 * In his amiibo description on the Nintendo website, it is stated that his relation to Kirby is unknown, which implies that there may or may not be one at all, and they are simply of the same race.
 * In each game Meta Knight fights Kirby, he always offers him a sword, with the only exceptions being in Kirby's Epic Yarn, Kirby: Squeak Squad, and Kirby: Planet Robobot, in which he had his own reasons for doing so; In Kirby's Epic Yarn and Kirby: Planet Robobot, he was being controlled by the game's main antagonist, and in Kirby: Squeak Squad, he was deliberately preventing Dark Nebula's release and thus had to ensure his victory over Kirby (however, a Sword Ability bubble appears in the room before fighting him).
 * Meta Knight's circumstances in Kirby: Planet Robobot are somewhat similar to King Dedede's in Kirby Triple Deluxe, as both were kidnapped by the enemy before eventually being controlled to fight Kirby, but are defeated and have their masks shattered. They then assist Kirby to get his Final Weapon to fight the true antagonist, with a little help from a traitor of the antagonist's side.
 * They go on their own adventures, fight their doppelgangers, battle with improved bosses, and also fight a knight as the final boss.
 * Also in parallel to each other, King Dedede bears no involvement to Kirby: Planet Robobot’s main story, in the same way Meta Knight had no bearing on Kirby: Triple Deluxe’s main story. Instead, doppelgangers of them fill their absence as bosses.
 * It is revealed that, according to Sword Knight and Blade Knight anyway, Meta Knight is apparently not a good cook in the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! episode Cooking Up Trouble, though this could also just be their own opinions, and not the actual case.
 * In the anime, Meta Knight is one of the characters least often animated with CGI, the only instance being in Kirby's Duel Role.
 * Meta Knight's battle theme from Kirby Super Star was remixed heavily for the battle against the Sphere Doomers in Kirby's Return to Dream Land.
 * As of Kirby: Planet Robobot, Meta Knight's eyes were changed from white to yellow, and his blush was removed entirely.
 * Meta Knight's appearance in the Story Mode for Kirby Battle Royale has him viewing the situation from above at a remote location, with his cape wrapped around him; this role may be a reference to Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, where he generally observes the situation from a remote area while wrapped in his cape.
 * In the E3 2006 trailer for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Pit fires at Meta Knight using his bow, causing Meta Knight to enshroud himself in his cape. Doing so gives him minor invisibility and Pit's arrow soars straight through Meta Knight, apparently not affecting him. Meta Knight has never been seen utilizing this ability since then.
 * In Kirby Star Allies, if the player chooses to float up onto the ledge that Meta Knight is standing on or attack him with a Copy Ability before the battle begins, he'll jump off the ledge and start the battle himself by kicking away the sword he offered rather than doing his regular pose, seemingly out of frustration.
 * Additionally, should the player decide to just sit there and do nothing, Meta Knight will begin whistling bits of his own battle theme for awhile before jumping down to kick the sword away and initiate the fight.
 * In Kirby Star Allies, Meta Knight's mask appears as one of the symbols on Void Termina's body.
 * According to a parfait dessert item on Kirby Café's menu, Meta Knight secretly indulges in a parfait every night. This, however, is not shown in the games.