|
Meta Knight (メタナイト, Meta Naito) also known as Sir Meta Knight, is a major character and anti-hero in the Kirby series, first appearing as an honorable and enigmatic antagonist in Kirby's Adventure. He's a mysterious cloaked warrior, of the same species as Kirby, though he seemingly does not want Kirby to know this fact and hides his identity behind an iron mask. Meta Knight leads a group of soldiers for hire, known as the Meta-Knights (note the hyphen), who all deeply revere him. They make their base in Orange Ocean, near the border of Dream Land when not piloting their airship, the Battleship Halberd. He is unusual among the people of Dream Land, in that he follows his own code of chivalry and values hard work and perseverance while the rest are happy to spend their days eating and sleeping. In later games, Meta Knight becomes part of the main cast of the Kirby series, alongside characters like King Dedede and Bandana Dee. He even receives his own playable campaign mode, Meta Knightmare, where it's revealed that his dream is to become the galaxy's strongest swordsman, to which he's spent many years practicing and honing his skills.
Meta Knight's nature is highly enigmatic, sometimes helping Kirby and other times fighting against him, though usually with good intentions. He seems to be something of a mentor rival to Kirby, as he often duels Kirby in order to teach him how to better control his abilities. Meta Knight seems to know a lot about Kirby's powers and origins (including things that Kirby himself does not). However, he prefers to have Kirby figure things out on his own rather than explain them. It's likely that he and Kirby are related in some way, however, his exact relation to Kirby is not known for certain.
Meta Knight appears in the Kirby series as both a boss and a playable character. He is a boss in Kirby's Adventure, Kirby Super Star, Kirby: Squeak Squad, and Kirby and the Forgotten Land. In Kirby's Epic Yarn, Kirby: Planet Robobot and Kirby Star Allies, he's a boss as a result of being mind-controlled by the villain. During most of Meta Knight's boss fights, he will offer Kirby a sword so that they can duel as equals, though if the player wants a harder battle or just has a favorite copy ability, they can usually refuse by waiting 30 seconds to a minute, causing Meta Knight to become impatient and start the fight anyway.
Meta Knight first became a playable character in Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, which introduced his own campaign mode, Meta Knightmare. This mode returns in Kirby Super Star Ultra and Kirby: Planet Robobot with new boss fights and the introduction of Meta Knight's archrival, Galacta Knight. He is also playable in Kirby Air Ride, Kirby Canvas Curse, Kirby's Return to Dream Land and Kirby Star Allies. As a playable character, Meta Kight is unable to Inhale enemies or Copy Abilities, has a lower jump height and falls faster and his health is lower than Kirby. However, he runs much faster, gains vertical height faster, can break blocks and light fuses with his sword and resist strong wind. He wields the legendary sword Galaxia with superhuman speed and his cape possesses many unusual abilities, including the ability to change its shape and size and transform into a pair of bat wings.
Meta Knight is a playable fighter, representing the Kirby franchise in all Super Smash Bros. series games starting with Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He is also a main character in the Kirby anime, Kirby: Right Back at Ya!.
Appearance[]
Meta Knight is a spherical creature with dark blue skin and purple feet. His body shape is roughly similar to Kirby, however, Meta Knight is slightly larger with longer arms and smaller feet. He wears a purple cape and armor consisting of an iron mask, pointed purple sabatons of the same color as his feet and grey or dark purple pauldrons with gold trim and the Meta-Knights logo on his left side. Unlike Kirby, who just has nubs, Meta Knight has long arms ending with mitten-like white gloves with a distinct thumb. Starting with Kirby Super Star Ultra he wears silver gauntlets over his gloves for additional protection.
Games[]
Kirby's Adventure[]
Meta Knight's first appearance. He is leader of the Meta-Knights, a group of mercenaries hired by King Dedede to guard one of the pieces of the Star Rod. An enigmatic character, Meta Knight appears throughout the game, sometimes helping Kirby by tossing useful items to him and other times to summon his Meta-Knights to fight him.
He appears in certain levels to aid Kirby by throwing Invincibility Candy to him, usually just before an area with a large number of enemies. Starting with World 2 Ice Cream Island he will also appear at least once per world to summon his minions, the Meta-Knights, to fight Kirby.
Meta Knight himself is fought at the end of World 6 Orange Ocean inside of the Meta-Knights' base. Before starting the fight, Meta Knight will toss Kirby a sword that gives him the Sword ability so that the two of them can duel as equals. He will refuse to start the boss fight until Kirby picks up the sword. Despite his small size, Meta Knight is by far the strongest of Dedede's underlings. Meta Knight is unique in that he is the only boss that uses an AI, instead of attacking in a set pattern, he will dodge, block and even counter sword strikes like a character in a Fighting Game. Once the player defeats him, his mask is sliced in half, briefly revealing his face (which resembles Kirby's, but with dark blue skin and white eyes) before Meta Knight covers his face with his cape and teleports away. Even after being defeated, Meta Knight shows up one last time in the final world to help Kirby through a particularly dangerous area.
Meta Knightmare[]
In the GBA remake Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland, Meta Knight is unlockable as a playable character if the player gets 100% completion in both Normal and Extra mode. Meta Knight comes with his own time attack mode called Meta Knightmare that has the player attempting to beat the entire game as quickly as possible with him. As a playable character, Meta Knight has half the HP of Kirby and a shorter jump height, but dashes much faster, falls faster, can break tough blocks, pound posts and light cannon fuses with his sword and is heavier than Kirby and so isn't as affected by strong wind.
Kirby Super Star[]
Meta Knight's only villainous appearance, he is the main antagonist of the sub game Revenge of Meta Knight. In the sub game, he believes that Dream Land's lazy and slothful lifestyle is detrimental to their existence and tries to take over Dream Land to change this, using his massive Halberd battleship. The crew of the Halberd includes an eagle like captain, a sailor Waddle Dee, and the Meta-Knights. Kirby eventually destroys the core of the Halberd, destroying it. Kirby fights Meta Knight at the end of the sub game in a battle that resembles the fight in Kirby's Adventure. This time, however, Meta Knight gives Kirby a sword. As Kirby flees the falling Halberd, Meta Knight attacks him one last time, flying with new wings while Kirby is on a Wheelie. The Halberd then crashes into the ocean, though it would return in Kirby: Squeak Squad. Besides possibly Kirby's Adventure, this is Meta Knight's only villainous role.
Meta Knightmare Ultra[]
In the remake Kirby Super Star Ultra, Meta Knight once again has his own sub-game. This time, it is a relevant story. After going through Kirby's adventures from the original Kirby Super Star (excluding Gourmet Race), Meta Knight revives the comet NOVA and, to become stronger, he wishes to fight the greatest warrior in the galaxy, Galacta Knight. He defeats Galacta Knight and is thus, the greatest (technically one of the greatest) warrior in the galaxy.
Kirby no Kirakira Kizzu[]
In Kirby no Kirakira Kizzu, Meta Knight is accessible if the level between Kirby and Chef Kawasaki is complete. It is the sixth and third to final opponent, before King Dedede and after Chef Kawasaki. Regardless of the player chose Amateur or Professional, it is Terrible (Super Hard). It introduces a more complex layout.
Kirby Air Ride[]
While Kirby Air Ride lacks a story mode, Meta Knight is featured prominently in the game's cinematic intro. Towards the end, Meta Knight appears in his winged mode, racing and dueling with Sword Kirby on his Warp Star on a cliff overlooking the ocean. Meta Knight is an unlockable racer, unlocked by gliding for thirty minutes, though not necessarily in the same sitting. Meta Knight has both the Wing and Sword abilities by default but lacks the ability to gain others. Instead of riding a vehicle, he flies around the track using his wings, and while he can't charge-boost, he has nearly instantaneous acceleration and a high top speed.
Kirby & the Amazing Mirror[]
Meta Knight's first true unambiguously heroic role in the games. High in the skies of Dream Land exists a magic mirror that grants the wish of anyone who's wish is reflected in it. One day, however, the mirror absorbs the mind of a mysterious figure and becomes corrupted, only reflecting evil wishes and desires. Meta Knight is the first person to notice the danger this presents and flies into the mirror in an attempt to stop the evil force in the parallel Mirror World but is stopped by the evil Dark Meta Knight. Dark Meta Knight is the parallel Meta Knight from Mirror World. He resembles the original but with a gray body, red shoes, a scar on his mask and a tattered cape. He then traps Meta Knight and disguises himself as the original. During the fight with Dark Meta Knight he does not give Kirby a sword to use. During the fight he can use the Magic ability, however. Magic causes many random things to happen, one of which is the original Meta Knight flying in and attacking enemies. Meta Knight's sword is called "Master". Meta Knight gives it to Kirby to fight the final boss, Dark Mind.
Kirby: Canvas Curse[]
Meta Knight is an unlockable character that can be purchased at the shop for 25 medals after unlocking King Dedede. Like Kirby, he's been turned into a ball by Drawcia's curse and teams up with the Magical Paintbrush in order to get his body back and save Dream Land. He is the fastest character in the game, but with the lowest health. When he attacks enemies, sword slashes appear over them and a sword slash sound effect is heard, suggesting that Meta Knight is swinging his blade faster than the human eye can follow.
Kirby: Squeak Squad[]
In Kirby: Squeak Squad, Meta Knight appears as a minor antagonist, though not a villainous one. He first appears at the end of world 6, Ice Island, after Kirby defeats Daroach, boss of the Squeaks, and swoops in to take the treasure chest the two were fighting over. While Daroach believes the treasure chest has an amazing power hidden within and Kirby believes it houses his stolen strawberry shortcake, Meta Knight knows the truth. He escapes through a door sealed with five Star Seals. If Kirby collects them, he can follow through to the Secret Sea, the place where the Halberd crashed at the end of Revenge of Meta Knight, where Meta Knight is finishing repairs on the Halberd at the bottom of the ocean.
As the Halberd arises and flies to the Gamble Galaxy, Kirby battles Meta Knight once again. Taking advantage of the situation, Daroach claims the treasure, but upon opening it becomes possessed by the demon Dark Nebula. It is then revealed that Meta Knight had only stolen the chest to stop Daroach, Kirby, or anyone else from releasing Dark Nebula.
Kirby's Epic Yarn[]
Meta Knight appears in Kirby's Epic Yarn as a boss, but not intentionally. A cutscene shows that he is noticing some strange happenings on the Halberd, but is kidnapped by Yin-Yarn the sorcerer and turned into yarn before he can do anything about it. He is then brainwashed and becomes the boss of Space Land. After being defeated, he appears in the next cut scene apologizing to Kirby and explaining that he was being controlled. He later appears again when Kirby is battling Yin-Yarn, where he drops the patch needed for Kirby to turn into Tankbot.
Kirby Mass Attack[]
Meta Knight does not appear in the main game, though he does appear as a boss in two of the sub-games, namely Kirby Quest and Strato Patrol EOS.
Kirby's Return to Dream Land[]
While reading a book, Meta Knight witnesses a mysterious spacecraft crash nearby and decides to investigate. Arriving with Kirby, King Dedede and Bandana Dee the four meet an alien wizard named Magolor. Intrigued by origins of the spacecraft, Meta Knight decides to tag along with Kirby on his journey to repair Magolor's ship. He is one of the four playable characters of Kirby's Return to Dream Land, alongside Kirby, Waddle Dee and King Dedede. Here he uses sword Kirby's moveset, with shuttle loop and hover flap from Wing Kirby's arsenal added.
Kirby: Planet Robobot[]
Meta Knight was one of the first people to notice the Haltmann Works Company's invasion of Pop Star while Kirby was sleeping. He intercepts in his Halberd but is shot down by Access Ark's main cannon. Despite this, he is able to singlehandedly fight his way to the front entrance of Access Ark before being overwhelmed and defeated. Impressed by his fighting skills, Susie transforms him into Mecha Knight, a cyborg general to serve her as the boss of Gigabyte Grounds. After this defeat, he is upgraded and acts as the first boss of Access Ark as Mecha Knight+, but is defeated a second time and freed from Susie's control. In the final fight with Star Dream, Meta Knight teams up with Kirby, fusing the newly repaired Halberd with Kirby's Robobot armor which the two pilot. In Meta Knightmare Returns, Meta Knight progresses through the same stages as the main game, testing his skills. Star Dream tests him against various sword users, including clones of Queen Sectonia and Dark Matter, as well as Galacta Knight.
Kirby Star Allies[]
Meta Knight is seen to become possessed by one of the Jamba Hearts and is then fought as the boss of World of Miracles - Planet Popstar, the second main area of the game. During the fight, he is seen to have gained the ability to split his body in 4 version of himself. After he's defeated, whenever Kirby reaches a Dream Palace and uses the Dream Rod, he can be selected as a Dream Partner to assist him.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land[]
Meta Knight's role in the main story is relatively minor. He appears in Waddle Dee Town after the Colosseum is unlocked and is encountered as a boss in Colosseum mode. Most notably, he serves as the final boss in the Meta Knight Cup and gives Kirby the blueprint for the third Sword evolution upon defeat. He is also encountered as a normal boss partway through The Ultimate Cup. The lore given by the collectible figures and NPC dialogue however paints a greater picture which could indicate a cut Meta Knightmare Mode (or possible future DLC).
It turns out Meta Knight was sucked into the Forgotten Land shortly before Kirby arrived and decided to scout the place out, looking for a way back to Pop Star. In his travels he fought the Beast Pack and became aware of their boss Leongar, however before he could locate Leongar or King Dedede, he noticed Waddle Dee Town's plight and decided to turn back to protect them. Later in the game, Elfilin reveals to Kirby that while he is off saving the Waddle Dees, Meta Knight is keeping Waddle Dee Town safe by staying there to protect any of the residents who were saved from being kidnapped by the Beast Pack again. The description of the collectible figure of his shadow counterpart that's fought in The Ultimate Cup Z also reveals that Fecto Forgo tried to brainwash him to serve them just like the Beast Pack, but he was able to resist due to his strong will.
Super Smash Bros. series[]
Meta Knight in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Meta Knight is a playable character. He is a lightweight fighter who primarily uses his sword Galaxia in high speed, but low damage, attacks. His moves include using his Dimensional Cape to disappear and teleport a short distance, creating Mach Tornadoes, and using Shuttle Loop wings to glide. His Final Smash is called Galaxia Darkness, seemingly renaming the Master after the sword he used in the anime. Galaxia Darkness has him use his cape on an opponent. If it connects, the screen will go dark and Meta Knight will then slash them heavily. If it misses, the attack fails entirely. In the competitive scene, Meta Knight was banned due to his speedy attacks and fantastic recovery. Meta Knight is Brawl's best character according to the Tier list due to him lacking disadvantageous match-ups (with one documented but heavily disputed even matchup against Pikachu) along with his overwhelming dominance in tournaments. Due to being considered "broken", Meta Knight had been banned since January 9, 2012 on the Unity Ruleset. However, after the disbandment of the Unity ruleset, prohibiting him is up to the Tournament Organizer.
He is also available for play in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U, with an altered up special due to the change in flight mechanics and attacks relatively slower. His appearance is similar to his in Brawl with slightly more vivid colors in the overall clothing.
Meta Knight returns as a playable character for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He is slightly faster and stronger than he was in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. He has a new Final Smash called "Darkness Illusion" where he summons a lightning bolt to strike foes in the air, then slashes at them repetitively before launching them sideways.
His Classic Mode campaign is "Two Sides of the Same Coin", where Meta Knight battles two opponents based on characters fighting their evil counterparts, such as battling Samus and Dark Samus. The penultimate match is against two other Meta Knights using the Galacta Knight and Dark Meta Knight costumes.
It should also be noted that he was a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Trophy description[]
- Super Smash Bros. Melee: The mysterious head of the Meta-Knights, he wields his sword with dignity. He delivered his sword to Kirby and demanded single combat in show of his knightly honor; his strict adherence to his code of ethics makes him a rarity in Dream Land. Sometimes he throws off his cape in battle. It occasionally transforms into wings.
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Normal): 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.
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Final Smash): Meta Knight's Final Smash. He flips his cape, and the darkness within envelops his foes and plunges the world into shadow. He then unleashes a series of sword strikes that do terrible damage and launch his foes. In the darkness, Meta Knight can also reach and attack distant enemies. One can imagine Meta Knight zipping back and forth at high speed to accomplish this.
- Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U (Normal):
- EU: 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.
- North America: Kirby's mysterious rival, this masked swordsman appears in several Kirby games. His cape transforms into wings to grant him flight. In Smash Bros., his quick sword skills and aerial agility set him apart. He can jump up to five times in a row, and he has a special move to soar higher.
- Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U (alt):
- EU: 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.
- North America: 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.
- Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U (Final Smash):
- EU: Meta Knight swings his cape to ensnare foes. Darkness falls, enveloping them in an empty void, and then a giant sword slash cleaves the blackness. If the cape doesn't capture anyone, the Final Smash will fail. It has more range than you might think, though, and as long as it catches at least one foe, everyone will take damage!
- North America: Meta Knight swings his cape to ensnare foes. Darkness falls, enveloping them in an empty void, and then a giant sword slash cleaves the blackness. If the cape doesn't capture anyone, this Final Smash will fail. It has more range than you might think, though, and you only have to catch one foe to deal damage to everyone!
| Neutral Special | Mach Tornado |
| Up Special | Shuttle Loop |
| Down Special | Dimensional Cape |
| Side Special | Drill Rush |
Abilities and Equipment[]
Even though Meta Knight is a member of Kirby's species, he cannot copy abilities like Kirby does. Instead, he has honed his skills as a swordsman, becoming virtually unsurpassed by anyone else in Dream Land. According to the Super Smash Bros. series, he is capable of swinging his sword faster than the sound barrier and in Kirby Canvas Curse he can swing his sword so fast, only the slash mark is visible. He is also the only person, other than Kirby, that is capable of wielding the legendary sword Master/Galaxia as the sword will only allow itself to be wielded by strong people. By condensing his body's energy into the tip of his sword and then swinging it, Meta Knight can release a razor-sharp crescent of energy known as the Sword Beam.
Meta Knight's cape possesses many unusual properties. Dubbed the Dimensional Cape in Super Smash Bros.; it is shown to be capable of shapeshifting, growing longer or shorter as Meta Knight needs, and can even transform into a pair of bat wings, letting Meta Knight fly. The cape seems to be able to bend the properties of space in a similar fashion to Kirby's stomach, as Meta Knight has shown numerous times that he can wrap himself in it to shrink down and teleport short distances into and out of battle and his Final Smash in the Smash Bros. games, Galaxia Darkness, functions by using his cape to trap his opponent in a pocket dimension before performing a combo of lightning fast slashes on them.
In all of his playable appearances, Meta Knight is shown to be incredibly fast; running as fast as Wheel Kirby in Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, being able to increase his speed with Meta Quick in Kirby Super Star Ultra and Kirby: Planet Robobot, having a high top-speed and acceleration in Kirby Air Ride and generally being a speedy character in Smash Bros.
Trivia[]
- Meta Knight may be partly inspired by the Mega Man character Proto Man, particularly in his first appearance in Kirby's Adventure. Both characters are enigmatic in nature sometimes acting as allies and other times as rivals to the protagonist and hide their true identities behind masks. Meta Knight's cape teleport is even modeled after the iconic teleport animation used by characters in the Mega Man series.
- Meta Knight is the first of only two fighters in the entire Super Smash Bros. series to have been ranked in SS tier, followed by Fox McCloud.
- Meta Knight is the first fighter in the Super Smash Bros. series (and only fighter in Brawl) to have a different victory fanfare than other fighters from his universe.
- Although he first appeared in Kirby's Adventure, though his name was not known until Kirby's Avalanche for the SNES.
| Helpers and friends in Kirby | |
|---|---|
| Super Star | Biospark • Birdon • Blade Knight • Bonkers • Bugzzy • Burnin' Leo • Capsule J/2 • Chilly • Gim • Knuckle Joe • Parasol Waddle Dee • Plasma Wisp • Poppy Bros. Jr. • Rocky • Simirror • Sir Kibble • Starship • Tac • Waddle Doo • Wheelie • Sword Knight (Ultra only) |
| Star Allies | Beetley • Broom Hatter • Chef Kawasaki • Como • Driblee • Jammerjab • NESP • Plugg • Vividria • Wester • Bandana Waddle Dee • King Dedede • Meta Knight • Marx • Rick/Kine/Coo • Gooey • Daroach • Dark Meta Knight • Adeleine and Ribbon • Magolor • Taranza • Susie |
| Bosses in Kirby: Planet Robobot | |
|---|---|
| Bosses | Clanky Woods • Holo Defense API • Susie • Mecha Knight • Dedede Clone • Stock Mecha Knight • Max Profitt Haltmann • Star Dream • Dark Matter Clone • Sectonia Clone • Galacta Knight |
| Bosses in Kirby Star Allies | |
|---|---|
| Bosses | Whispy Woods • King Dedede • Meta Knight • Pon & Con • Francisca • Flamberge • Zan Partizanne • Yggy Woods • Grand Mam • Goldon & Silvox • Kracko • Twin Kracko • Hyness • Void Termina • Morpho Knight |