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is a fictional character that appears in many Kirby games. His first appearance was in Kirby's Adventure, yet his name was not known in the US until Kirby's Avalanche.
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Character
Meta Knight wields a powerful sword, and wears a blue cloak and light blue-silver mask. In some games, his mask is removed, revealing that he looks like Kirby, except that he's blue, with his facial features in white.
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Games
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Meta Knight is an enigmatic character. He appears to follow a code of honor, as he always gives Kirby a sword before they fight. He usually is an obstacle in the way of Kirby's efforts, yet at times being supportive to Kirby's goals. Meta Knight has also played role of main antagonist; in the Kirby Super Star subgame, Revenge of Meta Knight, he attempted to take over Dream Land with the intent to end Dream Land's "lazy lifestyle" using a huge battleship called the Halberd.
Almost nothing is known of his background or personality other than his rivalry with Kirby, and how they share a similar appearance. They are not brothers or otherwise closely related. (In the TV series, he even specifically states that they are not.)
Meta Knight commands an army of several unique monsters and allies. He leads a small group of followers called the Meta-Knights (notice the hyphen), which consists of Axe Knight, Mace Knight, Trident Knight, and Javelin Knight (in English versions, they're renamed Meta Axe, Meta Mace, Meta Lance, and Meta Droid, respectively). Since Meta Knight himself is the leader of the Meta-Knights, he is sometimes referred to as "Sir Meta Knight". All of them appeared in Kirby's Adventure and Kirby Super Star at various points in the games to fight Kirby. Another minion of his is an eagle-like bird who pilots his Halberd in Kirby Super Star. He abandons the ship when Kirby destroys the Halberd's Core. Yet another minion is a Sailor Waddle Dee. Waddle Dee is a small, weak creature, who, in Kirby Super Star, stuck by Meta Knight for the fight against Kirby.
The sword Meta Knight wields is called 'Master' in Kirby & the Amazing Mirror.
A character called Dark Meta Knight also appears in that game- an evil version of Meta Knight from the Mirror World. He atacks as Meta Knight attempts to save Dreamland. He looks like Meta Knight but with a gray body, red feet, a scar on his mask and a tattered cape. He traps the real Meta Knight in the Dark Mirror World while he disguises himself as the real one and attacks Kirby.
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Anime
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Meta Knight was also a regular on the anime series Kirby: Right Back at Ya!. In it his role is much clearer. He is revealed as a member of the same group as Kirby, the Star Warriors, and is a high ranking and respected member of the Galaxy Soldier Army which fought against the armies of Nightmare. As in the games, he works for King Dedede, but is in truth an ally to Kirby and only stays with the king to keep a close eye on his schemes.
Much more is known about his personality and background, as he is a fairly prominent character and often goes into flashbacks about his past with the other Star Warriors. He acts as a mentor to Kirby, occasionally training him or defending him when needed, but above all he wants Kirby to learn for himself to eventually be able to defeat Nightmare.
Meta Knight himself manages to be a satirical yet serious character, with many odd quirks and habits that seem to parody the 'stoic loner' stereotype so commonly seen (such as his habit of always standing on top of objects, from tables to statues to trees, some say suggests that he's compensating for his height). He is described as being rather cold, especially by Tiff, who often berates him whenever he allows Kirby and others to get in danger so they will learn their lesson the hard way (he has a great dislike for stupid people). Rarely does he show a softer side, but he is often seen doing rather mundane things, like watching television or going grocery shopping which can have a surreal effect.
Meta Knight is accompanied by Sword Knight and Blade Knight, both of whom originally appeared as sword-wielding enemy drones in Kirby's Adventure. The backstory of their connection to Meta Knight is revealed in the episode of the series, "Hour of the Wolfwrath" ("Loyalty! Sword and Blade!" in Japan). Nightmare's army attacked their home, leaving death and destruction in its wake, and the pair became bandits so they would not starve. During the pair's travels they attempted to rob Meta Knight and were attacked by a monster called Wolfwrath. Meta Knight rescued them, after which they swore loyalty to him and joined him to help out on his quest to find more Star Warriors.
In the English-dubbed version of the anime, Meta Knight spoke with a Spanish accent (provided by Eric Stuart), possibly an impersonation of Ricardo Montalbán (or perhaps just a satirical salute to Zorro, an even more famous masked swordsman). Similarly, the dubbed voice of Sword Knight had an English accent, while Blade Knight's dubbed voice usually mumbled. In the original Japanese version, Meta Knight is voiced by seiyuu Atsushi Kisaichi.
The sword he wields is called Galaxia, and it had an episode of the series explaining its origins.
Meta Knight also appeared in the pilot for the anime as one of Nightmare's monsters.
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Appearances
Meta Knight has appeared in:
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Playable appearances
In Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland, players who completed the game and the additional "Extra" mode with one hundred percent completion got a chance to play as Meta Knight. He had several more moves than Sword Kirby, and his sword (AKA Galaxia) was not only extremely powerful, but also could solve any puzzle, the proverbial cutting of the Gordian Knot. He was able to transform his cape into a pair of bat-like wings in order to fly about like Kirby (without the limitations present with Kirby's method of sucking in air).
Meta Knight was one of the many "rides" in Kirby Air Ride. Meta Knight could be used in all of Air Ride mode and in the Free Run portion of City Trial. He had to be unlocked by the player in each individual mode, by gliding for a total of 30 minutes (not necessarily in one sitting) on Air Ride and by destroying an accumalative total of 1,000 boxes in City Trial.
Meta Knight can be seen as possessing both the Wing and Sword abilities in one, as he uses his bat-like wings to glide across the track and uses his sword to attack. Because of this, Meta Knight has decent top speed with good acceleration, but lacks the ability to boost. (Ironically, he has one of the lowest attacks in the game!) Also, in City Trial, since he is not a "machine", and therefore cannot blow up, he falls down when his health is reduced to zero, and can barely move at all.
During the final boss sequence and after Kirby & the Amazing Mirror was beaten, Kirby could wield Meta Knight's sword (whose name is apparently "Master", according to the pause screen, despite its being called Galaxia in the anime).
In Kirby: Canvas Curse, Meta Knight is an unlockable character. He is the fastest character in the game, although his health is the lowest.
After appearing in Super Smash Bros. Melee as a trophy, Meta Knight has been revealed as a character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. What kind of play style he will have is unknown, but the trailer showed him utilizing his sword, wings, and cape (as a shield). It is confirmed, however, that he will be able to fight with his sword. Also he can fly like Kirby and can glide using his wings.
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Trivia
The English description of Meta Knight's trophy on Super Smash Bros. Melee incorrectly lists Meta Knight's first appearance as being in Kirby Super Star/Kirby's Fun Pak; his real first appearance was in Kirby's Adventure (although his name wasn't revealed until the SNES game Kirby's Avalanche). The description also misreads Meta Knight's name as "Meta-Knight".
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