Meta Knight

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Meta Knight serves as one of Kirby's most important foes, following a strict code of honor. His boss fights feature him offering a sword to Kirby before battle, though he will proceed regardless of the player's choice. He is always seen wearing a silver mask; when unmasked, he looks identical to Kirby, albeit with a dark blue body and yellow eyes. His eyes were previously white underneath his mask; beginning in Kirby: Planet Robobot, they are yellow without his mask on as well. His speaking voice, while seldom heard, is often deep and accentuated. He sports a navy blue mantle called the Dimensional Cape, which can change into a pair of wings and allows him to teleport. However, these wings appear directly attached to his body in Kirby's Return to Dream Land and Kirby: Planet Robobot. Initially one of Kirby's enemies, he has since developed into Kirby's rival and has been described as an antihero. He has benign intentions, as he will often fight alongside or assist Kirby when necessary for his survival or for the sake of the world.

In Their Own Story

Meta Knight first appeared in the NES game Kirby's Adventure as an ally of King Dedede and boss of the Orange Ocean level, where he fights Kirby to stop him from taking a piece of the Star Rod and to keep it out of Nightmare's hands. He also trains Kirby throughout the game with his army, the Meta-Knights. He is the main villain of the Revenge of Meta Knight mode in Kirby Super Star, in which he invades Dream Land in his signature airship, the Battleship Halberd, and attempts to take it over to end the inhabitants' lazy lifestyle. In Kirby & the Amazing Mirror, Dark Meta Knight—an evil, Mirror World counterpart—traps Meta Knight in the Dimension Mirror and splits Kirby into four copies. After Kirby defeats Dark Meta Knight, Meta Knight helps Kirby defeat Dark Mind. In Kirby: Squeak Squad, Meta Knight appears as a boss who tries to keep a chest sealing Dark Nebula out of Kirby's hands. In Kirby: Planet Robobot, after being captured and transformed into the hostile Mecha Knight, he is rescued by Kirby and helps him defeat Star Dream by letting Kirby pilot the Halberd. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl's story mode, The Subspace Emissary, he seeks to reclaim his ship from the Subspace Army, teaming up with Marth, Ike, Ice Climbers, Lucario, and Solid Snake.

Reader's Guide

Meta Knight is an enigmatic yet honorable swordsman who follows a chivalric code. He wields a sacred, golden sword called Galaxia. He is always seen wearing a silver mask, but in the event that he is unmasked, he looks identical to Kirby, albeit with a dark blue body and yellow eyes. His eyes were previously white underneath his mask; beginning in Kirby: Planet Robobot, they are yellow without his mask on as well. His speaking voice, while seldom heard, is often deep and accentuated. He also sports a navy blue mantle called the Dimensional Cape, which can change into a pair of wings and allows him to teleport. However, these wings appear directly attached to his body in Kirby's Return to Dream Land and Kirby: Planet Robobot. Initially one of Kirby's enemies, he has since developed into Kirby's rival, and has been described as an antihero. However, he has benign intentions, as he will often fight alongside or assist Kirby when necessary for his survival or for the sake of the world. He commands an army called the Meta-Knights and owns an airship called the Halberd, which was originally built to take over Dream Land and later used to defend Planet Popstar from foreign invaders.

Did You Know?

• Meta Knight's eyes were white underneath his mask until Kirby: Planet Robobot, when they became yellow without his mask on as well.
• In Kirby: Squeak Squad, Meta Knight appears as a boss who tries to keep a chest sealing Dark Nebula out of Kirby's hands after it is mixed up with Kirby's strawberry shortcake chest.
• At Apex 2012, Meta Knight was used by half of the top eight competitors and 21 of the top 64, three times as common as the next most-used character, Captain Olimar.
• Meta Knight's unmasked appearance is available as an alternate skin for Kirby in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
• In the anime Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Meta Knight is the last surviving member of the Galaxy Soldier Army, made up of 'Star Warriors'.

Origins and Evolution

Meta Knight debuted in 1993's Kirby's Adventure as an ally of King Dedede and boss of the Orange Ocean level, where he fights Kirby to stop him from taking a piece of the Star Rod and to keep it out of Nightmare's hands. He also trains Kirby throughout the game with his army, the Meta-Knights. He is the main villain of the Revenge of Meta Knight mode in Kirby Super Star, in which he invades Dream Land in his signature airship, the Battleship Halberd, and attempts to take it over to end the inhabitants' lazy lifestyle. Meta Knight is a playable character in the Meta Knightmare mode of Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, Kirby Super Star Ultra and in Kirby Planet Robobot. In Kirby & the Amazing Mirror, Dark Meta Knight—an evil, Mirror World counterpart—traps Meta Knight in the Dimension Mirror and splits Kirby into four, differently colored copies of himself. After Kirby defeats Dark Meta Knight, Meta Knight himself helps Kirby defeat Dark Mind. In Kirby: Squeak Squad, after the chest containing Kirby's strawberry shortcake is mixed up with the chest sealing Dark Nebula, Meta Knight appears as a boss who tries to keep the latter chest out of Kirby's hands. Meta Knight also appears in Kirby's Return to Dream Land and its 2023 remake as one of the four playable protagonists, alongside Kirby, King Dedede and Bandana Waddle Dee, and as a playable character in its multi-player mode. After not appearing in Kirby: Triple Deluxe or Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Meta Knight made an active return to the series in Kirby: Planet Robobot. After being captured and transformed into the hostile Mecha Knight in the game's story mode, he is rescued by Kirby and helps him to defeat Star Dream by letting Kirby pilot the Halberd. Meta Knight appears as a boss and Dream Friend in Kirby Star Allies. Meta Knight returns in Kirby Fighters 2 alongside King Dedede as the main villain of the Story Mode, The Destined Rivals. He also appears as a playable character. Meta Knight appears in the colosseum in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, but does not encounter Kirby in the main storyline.

Combat Style and Equipment

Meta Knight is an experienced swordsman who wields a legendary sword called Galaxia. He follows a strict code of honor, exemplified when he gives Kirby a sword to fight with before starting battle, though he will proceed regardless of the player's choice. He can transform his cape into a set of bat-like wings that allow him to fly. He also sports a navy blue mantle called the Dimensional Cape, which can change into a pair of wings and allows him to teleport. However, these wings appear directly attached to his body in Kirby's Return to Dream Land and Kirby: Planet Robobot. His speaking voice, while seldom heard, is often deep and accentuated. He is always seen wearing a silver mask, but in the event that he is unmasked, he looks identical to Kirby, albeit with a dark blue body and yellow eyes. His eyes were previously white underneath his mask; beginning in Kirby: Planet Robobot, they are yellow without his mask on as well.

Command of the Halberd and Meta-Knights

Meta Knight commands an army called the Meta-Knights to accomplish his goals. He also serves as the owner of an airship called the Halberd, which was originally built to take over Dream Land and later used to defend Planet Popstar from foreign invaders. In Kirby Super Star's Revenge of Meta Knight mode, he invades Dream Land in the Battleship Halberd and attempts to take it over to end the inhabitants' lazy lifestyle. In Kirby: Planet Robobot, after being rescued from his transformation into Mecha Knight, he helps Kirby defeat Star Dream by letting Kirby pilot the Halberd. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl's story mode, The Subspace Emissary, he seeks to reclaim his ship from the Subspace Army, teaming up with Marth, Ike, Ice Climbers, Lucario, and Solid Snake.

Legacy and Competitive Controversy

Meta Knight has become one of the franchise's most prominent characters and has been a subject of numerous theories, particularly regarding his resemblance to Kirby outside of his mask. His role as a player character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl became controversial due to his high attack speed and versatility overpowering much of the roster, leading to bans from the competitive scene. At Apex 2012, Meta Knight was used by half of the top eight competitors, and 21 of the top 64 used him as well, the latter being three times as common as the next most-used character, Captain Olimar. This led to the director of Apex, Chris Brown, to announce that he would be banned from the tournament the following year. He had been banned for use in prior tournaments, though such a ban was not required by the Unity Ruleset, the guidelines most tournaments in the US and Canada follow. The process of approving the ban involved both an agreement by the Unity Ruleset Committee and player consensus, polling members of the forums of Smashboards, AllisBrawl, and the Brawl Back Room. They also polled the top 100 players on Smashboards, who voted in favor of a ban 60–40. Meta Knight returned as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U after the series' director, Masahiro Sakurai, assured some changes to re-add him; among the changes, Meta Knight lost his ability to glide, and his unrivaled attack speed was toned down. He reappears as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Meta Knight's unmasked appearance is also available as an alternate skin for Kirby in that game.