Meta Knight

''This page is about the character Meta Knight. For his army see Meta-Knights. For the Evil Mirror World version seen in Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, see Dark Meta Knight.''

"Kirby, meet your doom!"

- Meta Knight

Meta Knight (or Sir Meta Knight) is a major enemy and ally character in the Kirby Series appearing in most of the games, as well as the anime. What makes Meta Knight both mysterious and fascinating is his likeness to Kirby himself. His mysterious nature has led to him playing more of a playable character and less of a "friend or foe" character throughout the series. His true relation to Kirby has yet to be revealed.

His intentions are often unknown but what is known is that he is the leader of the Meta-Knights, an army of unique soldiers, and owns a large battleship called the Halberd which often accompanies him into the heat of battle. Though Meta Knight first appeared in Kirby's Adventure in 1993 his name was not known in the U.S. until Kirby's Avalanche was released in 1995.

Masahiro Sakurai designed Meta Knight when he was 22 years old, three years after he created Kirby.

Physical Appearance
Meta Knight wields a powerful sword, wears a blue cape, and a silver mask. He also has shiny, metallic, purple shoes, and glowing yellow eyes. His sword, whether it be the Galaxia or the Master Sword, is seemingly made out of gold, with small spikes coming off of the edge of it and a ruby embedded in the handle. another interesting quality of Meta Knight is that he has the ability to turn his cape into bat-like wings. His wings were first used prominently used in Kirby Super Star, where he used them to chase Kirby nearing the end of Revenge of Meta Knight. His wings were later used in Kirby Air Ride whenever he took part in a race.

In a few games, his mask is removed upon his defeat, revealing a face near-identical to that of Kirby's. The only difference is that Meta Knight's facial features are pure white. This has led to endless speculation concerning them and their presumed species.

Meta Knight's body was originally black with yellow eyes, a crimson cape, and no armor besides his mask. But he drastically changed in Kirby's Avalanche, which added pauldrons, violet shoes, and a brighter skin tone. This design was revised in Kirby Super Star, which was used in all games following.

Meta Knight's mask apparently gives eyes a yellowish tint. Meta Knight's white eyes turn yellow, and Kirby's blue eyes become light green (first seen in Super Smash Bros. Brawl) whenever they wear it.

Galaxia
The legendary Galaxia is the is the most commonly used sword in Meta Knight's possession. It is used in every game he appears in except Kirby and the Amazing Mirror. It is a solid gold blade with a ruby embedded in its handle. It has six (or four) small spikes protruding from the actual blade. In earlier games, before Galaxia was given a name, Meta Knight's sword had no spikes.

In the games, The Galaxia is capable of not only standard sword moves such as stabbing and parrying, but also shooting out sword beams at full health.

Despite appearing alongside Meta Knight in virtually every early game he appeared in, the sword was never properly named until the anime. In Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Galaxia may only be wielded by a select few. Here the Galaxia was shown to have virtually all moves by Meta Knight used in the past games, including the sword beam attack which appeared later in Kirby Super Star Ultra (albeit smaller and weaker). In the anime, the beam takes the form of a concentrated blast powerful enough to shatter rock, create crevasses in the ground, and slice opponents in two. Galaxia is also unique in the fact that it emits a powerful consciousness. It can only be claimed as one's own by one who possesses enough power to hold it. Those who are not chosen can either end up being harmed or killed by the sword's overwhelming electric energy, or end up infusing evil upon themselves.

Master
Master is Meta Knight's sword of choice in Kirby and the Amazing Mirror. It is a shimmering gold blade swirling with a powerful golden aura, much like his Galaxia. However, in contrast Master has a green-tinted sapphire rather than a ruby in its handle. Kirby is freely able to use it only after he defeats the final boss of the game, Dark Mind. However, Meta Knight first lets Kirby use it as early as the actual final boss battle. Currently, the sword lies in the Central Circle of the Mirror World, for fear that terror may arise there once more.

Meta Knight's Side Special Move in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, the Drill Rush, may be derived from a similar move that can be used when Kirby has the Master ability.

Dimensional Cape
Meta Knight's cape is a powerful weapon in its own respect. Much like the Galaxia, the Dimensional Cape never received its true name until just recently. It was first named in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, despite appearing alongside Meta Knight in past games. It is a mysterious relic that lets Meta Knight transcend space itself.

It's most commonly used function is transforming into a pair of bat-like wings which grant Meta Knight flight and gliding capabilities. But its more otherworldly powers were first showcased in Brawl. When Meta Knight taps into the power of his cape, he can ebb out of reality for a short time. His cape is also used in his Final Smash Attack, where he uses it to petrify his enemies and cover the surrounding area in complete darkness. With the opponents frozen in time, Meta Knight proceeds to attack them with his sword.

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 entrust Meta Knight with a piece of the broken Star Rod because he knows of his great powers and knows that he and his followers, the Meta-Knights, would prove to be a valuable asset against Nightmare's forces. He also appears in the game's remake, Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland, with the same role.

Throughout the game, Meta Knight tries to hinder Kirby's progress throughout the game by summoning his foot-soldiers to battle. By the time Kirby reaches Orange Ocean, Meta Knight steps in and challenges Kirby to battle before he can reach Rainbow Resort and later the Fountain of Dreams.

Because of his chivalrous nature, he will give Kirby a sword to fight with. Meta Knight attacks Kirby with his sword and can often block his attacks. Highly regarded as one of the most difficult bosses in Kirby's Adventure, the fight against Meta Knight was made slightly easier in the remake. During the fight, Kirby cannot drop the Sword ability.

Beating Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland 100% in the Extra Mode unlocks the Meta Knightmare sub-game, which is the same as the regular game only the player plays as Meta Knight instead of Kirby. Meta Knight plays through the first seven levels and even fights himself at the end or Orange Ocean. Because Meta Knightmare is a subgame, the player is unable to save throughout his or her adventure.

Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra
Up until Super Star, Meta Knight was still considered an obscure and underdeveloped character in the series. Although Meta Knight managed make an appearance in the spinoff, Kirby's Avalanche, he missed out on major games like Kirby's Dream Land 2 and Kirby's Dream Land 3. His big break came late in 1996, when he starred in his own subgame. Kirby Super Star greatly attributed to his popularity, and still to this day is considered to be his largest and well-known role in the series.

In his own subgame Revenge of Meta Knight, Meta Knight wants to dominate Dream Land. With help from the Meta-Knights, Meta Knight's ultimate weapon, the Halberd, spreads its wings and takes to the sky. But his plans go wrong when Kirby beings to meddle. Kirby single-handily beats up up the crew members and destroying the Halberd piece-by-piece. Meta Knight is infuriated by this, so he ends up blasting him down into the ocean below. But with the help of Dyna Blade, Kirby boards the battleship once more, and continues to take it down. With his crew beaten and his ship loosing 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 so desire. Although this could make the battle more efficient, it does take out a big chunk of time (which can be extremely hazardous given the time feature in Revenge of Meta Knight). Not only can Meta Knight parry attacks with his sword during the battle, but he can also 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 his defeat at the hands of Kirby, he quickly departs for a rest. This gives Kirby time to escape with a rather helpful Wheelie. But before Kirby can escape, Meta Knight returns and flies after him. However, Kirby and his new Wheelie friend escape (as does Meta Knight) right before the once-grand airship crashes into the sea below. Thus ending the subgame.

Meta Knight also appears in Kirby Super Star Ultra, reprising his role from the original game. He also has a playable character appearance in the new sub-game, Meta Knightmare Ultra, which is the Super Star equivalent of the Kirby:Nightmare in Dreamland sub-game Meta Knightmare. Rather thatn going through the levels of Kirby's Adventure in the original Meta Knightmare, he goes through each sugbame (save for the Arenas and Revenge of the King).

By taking out enemies, Meta Knight begins to accumulate points. He can spend them on four unique 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 with the use of black magic.
 * Summon Knight: Summons a Sword Knight or Blade Knight. Acts as a Helper. It should be noted that Sword Knight can use an upwards thrust, but Blade Knight cannot.
 * Mach Tornado: Functions similarly to Crash but does slightly more damage.

There are custscenes 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. After completing Milky Way Wishes (which acts as the last level), he summons NOVA and wishes to fight the strongest warrior in the Galaxy. Nova grants the wish by summoning an immaculate warrior sealed away long ago. Meta Knight then has a final Boss battle against the summoned warrior- the magnanimous Galacta Knight.

Kirby and the Amazing Mirror
Along with Meta Knight, an evil version of him named Dark Meta Knight appears in Kirby and the Amazing Mirror disguised as Meta Knight as the boss of area 8, Radish Ruins. Unlike the real Meta Knight, who is an honorable opponent, he doesn't offer Kirby a sword before he attacks, however some of his attacks produce stars that can be eaten for the sword ability. He uses the stronger versions of attacks that Meta Knight uses in Super Star and its remake.

It turns out that the Meta Knight that the Kirbies fought in the Ruins wasn't Meta Knight at all, but a copy of his dark side - the real Meta Knight was sealed within the Amazing Mirror. This Meta Knight is almost entirely greyscale in color, and fights more aggressively than the real Meta Knight and his mask is cracked.

Kirby: Squeak Squad
In Kirby: Squeak Squad Meta Knight came from nowhere and stole the treasure chest that Kirby thought had contained his cake and so gives chase after him though the Secret Sea and in his rebuilt Halberd. However, what Kirby does not know at the time is that Meta Knight is trying to keep him from opening the chest because it contains an evil creature called Dark Nebula.

Meta Knight attacks almost non-stop in this version, seemingly trying to keep Kirby from getting any hits in himself. If attacked head-on he will simply strike back instead of blocking. He retains his tornado move, but also gains a variety of elemental moves, such as striking his sword down to create an electrical charge around him, or shooting crescents of fire across the screen. He turns around much faster, making it hard to attack him from behind. Fighting him with the Sword ability can prove difficult, and it's advised to use faster or longer range abilities against him, such as Tornado. Thunder Sword works fine, though.

Meta Knight himself doesn't offer a sword, but in the room before him Kirby can choose between a Sword and Beam bubble (In addition, swallowing the stars he creates with certain attacks will allow you to gain the Sword ability as well).

During the battle, the Halberd rises from the ocean, through the atmosphere and into space, as seen through the large windows behind the scene of the battle.

Kirby Air Ride
Meta Knight appears as an unlockable racer in Kirby Air Ride. Meta Knight comes with a built in sword ability, so he can automatically take out enemies as if he had the Sword ability. He is unlocked in Air Ride by gliding for 30 minutes total in air, and in Free Run by breaking open 1000 boxes in City Trial. Much like the Wagon Star, Meta Knight cannot charge or boost and skids a bit, but excels in all other ares; especially in offense and gliding.

Notably, one of Meta Knight's alternate colors in this game is loosely based off the colors of his sprites in Kirby Super Star and ''Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland.

In the Anime
In the Kirby of the Stars Pilot, Meta Knight appears as one of the enemies that appear out of the plumes of smoke when the sky turns dark. He is defeated when Kirby spits Captain Stitch at him. This is the only time in ANY type of the Kirby anime where he uses his wings. In this appearance, his mask is larger, his shoulder pads are more curled, and his gloves are smaller. Meta Knight appears in the anime Kirby: Right Back at Ya!. He is a legendary Star Warrior, who was one of the few survivors of the great war against Nightmare. He then started living in Dream Land and became King Dedede's servant along with Sword Knight and Blade Knight, his followers - knowing that, because Dedede likes monsters, hopefully a young Star Warrior will land in Dreamland and together they can beat Nightmare. Secretly, he was also constructing the Halberd to use against Nightmare, but he doesn't reveal this until the show's finale. He teaches the new Star Warrior Kirby, to make him strong enough to beat Nightmare one day. Compared to the games, his role is 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. Meta Knight's relationship (if there even is one) to Kirby is still unknown. His character is given more depth, in addition to a complex past. When his eyes are supposed to stay closed (such as him being asleep or unconscious) his eyes turn a grey color.

Uncharacteristically, he likes watching Channel DDD, though whether it is because it amuses him somewhat or whether it is to try and catch out Dedede's scheming early is unknown. He also has a jar of sweets in his room, suggesting that he has a sweet tooth. He has also been seen grocery shopping, though this is something he needs to do to get food, taking his mask off (Which he never does,) is the only way to eat food. Strangely, he also participates in a grand prix, and wants to have fun in it.

It is in the Anime that that sword that Meta Knight wields is given a name for the first time, Galaxia. He and Kirby are the only ones known to be able to wield it. It is likely that this is the official name, given the fact that it's name appears in an attack in Smash Bros. Brawl (the Final Smash, to be exact), as well as the fact that Meta Knight Looks like he's wielding that sword instead of the one he's usually portrayed using in previous games.

Meta Knight in voiced by Atsushi Kisaichi in the Japanese version of the anime and by Eric Stuart in the English dub. In the dub, Meta Knight speaks with a Spanish accent, possibly as a reference to Zorro.

In the Super Smash Bros. Series
Though Meta Knight isn't playable in Super Smash Bros. Melee he does appear as one of the collectible trophies. His trophy description is notable for a number of mistakes; like saying that his first appearance was in Kirby Super Star, when it was actually in Kirby's Adventure released three years prior and adds an unnecessary hyphen between Meta and Knight ("Meta-Knight" (with hyphen) is actually his army's name not his). Meta Knight is one of the playable fighters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and was the first new playable character confirmed for the game. Here he is a fast but light character and can jump up to five times like Kirby using his wings. He can also glide and fights using his sword Galaxia. Some of his moves may have been based on his actions in the games. For instance, his Standard Special Move bares the same name as the colorful tornado that Meta Knight can summon in many games; Mach Tornado. Also, his Side Special Move bares a resemblance to Sword Drill, a move that Kirby can use if he has the Master ability, which he gains if he inhales Meta Knight's sword in Kirby and the Amazing Mirror. Not only do the moves sound similar, but they also function nearly identically, a damaging charge in which you are nealy invincible. Meta Knight is considered the best character in the game mainly because he has no disadvantageous match-ups, only good ones or neutral ones.

His flagship, the Halberd appears as a stage, and in the game's story mode Subspace Emissary where in plays an important role. His voice actor in the Japanese version of Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the same as the anime series, Atsushi Kisaichi, while in the English version he is voiced by Jay Ward (not to be confused with the Pixar animator). One of his alternate color scheme the black color scheme, may be based upon his dark side from Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, Dark Meta Knight.

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 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 legendary 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.

Standard Special Move - Mach Tornado
Mach Tornado works in a similar way to the Tornado ability. Meta Knight whirls either left or right in a vicious tornado. Mashing the button allows him to rise up slightly. As this is Meta Knight's Standard Special Attack, Kirby will also be able to use this when Meta Knight is inhaled. After spinning for about three seconds, he will launch any opponents who were caught in the tornado. Mach Tornado makes an appearance in Kirby Super Star Ultra. In the sub-game "Meta Knightmare Ultra", the player controls Meta Knight and gains points for each enemy he defeats. These points can be spent to use "Mach Speed" which increases Meta Knight's speed; "Summon Knight" which calls a Blade Knight or Sword Knight to help out Meta Knight (and can be controlled by player 2); "Heal" which fully heals Meta Knight and Blade Knight (if he has one); and finally "Mach Tornado" which destroys all enemies on the screen. Mach Tornado is much more exaggerated in this appearance, as it creates an enormous pillar of swirling energy that splits into two and covers the entire screen. Most mini bosses and enemies are destroyed instantly, while bosses lose a very large fraction of their life.

Up Special Move - Shuttle Loop
Named after the Throw move of Wing, Meta Knight launches himself up into the air, sword first. He can then use his ability to glide afterwards, making it even more like Wing. You can tilt the direction by pressing up/down. Can be used to recover from being knocked away, and enables Meta Knight to glide.

Side Special Move - Drill Rush
Drill Rush (formerly named the "Triple Dash") is the name of Meta Knight's Forward B attack. Seen in this screen shot and several times in videos posted outside the Dojo, Meta Knight leaps sideways with his blade outstretched. If he hits an enemy, he performs a combination lasting up to a good 2 seconds, knocking your opponent upward. Also, when finished, he pulls back a bit. Meta Knight can also change the course of the attack, as he is shown using the same attack upward, allowing it to be used as a recovery. After using the attack, Meta Knight becomes helpless. It may be derived from Kirby's Running-B move when he has the Master Ability (which he has when he uses Meta Knight's sword) ability in Kirby and the Amazing Mirror. It also somewhat resembles the barrel roll he does for a Quick Spin attack in Kirby Air Ride.

Down Special Move - Dimensional Cape
Dimensional Cape (Dimension Manteau in Japanese version) is the name of Meta Knight's Down B attack. An entirely defensive move, it allows Meta Knight to teleport away from danger. Holding a directional position determines where he will teleport to and pressing the attack button after teleporting allows Meta Knight to attack straight after using it. Use of this move can prove to be strategic. You can also use this move to attack by holding down the Special button. It seems to have debuted in the first trailer, when Meta Knight avoided Pit's Palutena Arrow. It is apparently different or toned down from the trailer appearance, much like the Wario Waft. When describing down special moves, Dojo!! states that "Many of these do unusual things, like reflect enemy attacks," suggesting that the Dimensional Cape has such a property, especially from what the trailer showed.

Final Smash - Galaxia Darkness
His Final Smash is known as Galaxia Darkness. He swirls his cape out in a wide sweep trying to hit his opponent with it, if he misses, nothing happens and it’s a waste of a Smash Ball. When Meta Knight DOES hit with the cape, the field turns dark, and Meta Knight slices strongly through the darkness. Enemies get launched helplessly. This attack affects everyone near you not just the person you hit

Misc abilities

 * By pressing and holding A, Meta Knight performs a flurry of sword slashes.


 * Meta Knight enters a stage using his Dimensional Cape.


 * Meta Knight's up throw and down throw are the same as Kirby's, being similar to the Backdrop and Suplex abilities. His other Throws involve kicking the enemy whilst performing a backflip and teleporting behind the enemy and slashing at them.


 * When Kirby inhales Meta Knight, he wears Meta Knight's mask and has Green Eyes (which, if the Anime means anything, that Kirby is either serious or thoughtful), as well as tiny wings similar to Meta Knight's, though it could also mean his mask simply colors its wearer's eyes yellow, as Kirby's blue eyes+yellow makes green. This can possibly prove some of the speculated similarities between "Kirby" and "Meta Knight"

Trivia

 * As stated above, Meta Knight often loses his mask post-defeat. He usually, however, keeps his gloves after these fights, but in the obscure Japanese game Kirby no Kirakira Kizzu, he actually does lose these gloves, revealing yet another Kirby-reminiscent feature: flap-like, seemingly handless arms.


 * Also, throughout the series, Meta Knight seems to change hands in which he wields the Galaxia. The early artwork shows him wielding the sword in his left hand, while more recent pictures shows it in his right hand. However, in Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, it switched back to his left hand. Perhaps he is ambidextrous, or simply different games feature him with the sword in different hands.


 * The golden barbs on both sides of Meta Knight's sword, Galaxia, change from six to four between Kirby Super Star Ultra and other games such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl.


 * Unlike Kirby and King Dedede, Meta Knight gets his own, Metal Remix of the Kirby Victory song when he wins a Brawl.

Artwork
Meta-Knight