Meta Knight

Meta Knight (メタナイト) is a fictional character and antihero in Nintendo's Kirby video game series created by Masahiro Sakurai and developed by HAL Laboratory. He first appeared in the 1993 video game Kirby's Adventure as a nameless character, remaining unnamed until the game Kirby's Avalanche. The character also appears in several Kirby comic books, in the 2001 anime series, and as a playable character in the Super Smash Bros. series. Meta Knight is a mysterious but honorable knight. Due to this attitude, he has played the roles of both friend and foe in the Kirby series. He has received mainly positive critical reception since his introduction; his development within the series, from a nameless enemy to one of Kirby's main allies and rivals, was praised. He remains one of the most controversial characters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and has been banned from several tournaments due to his overwhelming dominance in competitive play.

Concept and design
Meta Knight is an enigmatic yet honorable swordsman who follows a chivalric code, exemplified when he gives Kirby a sword to fight with before starting battle. Meta Knight himself wields a sacred, golden sword called Galaxia (ギャラクシア). 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 (originally white) eyes which were originally portrayed as yellow only when he was wearing his mask (from Kirby: Planet Robobot onward however he has yellow eyes even with his mask off). He also sports a navy blue mantle called the Dimensional Cape (ディメンションマント), 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.

Appearances
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 is the main antagonist of the Revenge of Meta Knight mode in Kirby Super Star, in which he tries to take over Dream Land to end the inhabitants' lazy lifestyle by invading in his signature airship, the Battleship Halberd (戦艦ハルバード). Meta Knight is a playable character in the Meta Knightmare mode of Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land. In Kirby & the Amazing Mirror, Dark Meta Knight—an evil, Mirror World counterpart—traps Meta Knight in the Mirror World 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. In Kirby Super Star Ultra, he appears as a playable character in the Meta Knightmare Ultra mode. 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 multi-player mode. After not appearing in Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Meta Knight made an active return to the series in Kirby: Planet Robobot. In addition to 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. He is also given his own adventure once again, as the main playable character of the Meta Knightmare Returns mode. 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 antagonist 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.

Meta Knight also appears in several spin-off games in the series. He makes brief appearances in Kirby's Pinball Land and Kirby's Avalanche. In the latter, his name was revealed for the first time, where he is the penultimate challenger. He is an unlockable character in Kirby Air Ride and Kirby: Canvas Curse. Meta Knight is a boss in Kirby's Epic Yarn, and appears as a boss in two sub-games in Kirby Mass Attack. Though he is absent from Kirby and the Rainbow Curse's story mode, Meta Knight appears as a collectible figurine. The game is also compatible with the Meta Knight Amiibo, which Kirby can use for a temporary increase in attack power.

Meta Knight also appears in four installments of the Super Smash Bros. video game series; in Super Smash Bros. Melee, he appears in the form of a trophy, and in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he is a playable character. However, Meta Knight was temporarily removed from some professional gaming competitions in the United States and Canada as he was considered to be too powerful. 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.

Other appearances
Meta Knight has made several appearances outside of the Kirby video game series, including the 1994–2006 manga Hoshi no Kirby: Dedede de Pupupu na Monogatari written by Hirokazu Hikawa and published by Shogakukan in CoroCoro Comic. In the anime Kirby: Right Back at Ya! he is a main character. In the series he is the last surviving member of the Galaxy Soldier Army, made up of "Star Warriors". He also makes various appearances in the restaurant chain known as Kirby Café.

Various types of merchandising have been released based on Meta Knight's character. These include amiibo, nendoroid, nanoblock, and plush.

Reception
He was referred to by Shacknews as "arguably Nintendo's most recognizable anti-hero". Inside Games writer Sushi praised the scene of Meta Knight ordering his troops to evacuate, particularly Meta Knight murmuring an apology to them when they stay behind, saying that this scene helped make Meta Knight cool and a popular character. Jeux Video staff felt that their mysterious nature helped make him a more popular character. They speculated that Meta Knight's shift from being an opponent to being an ally was due to Meta Knight's appearance in the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! anime, as well as the departure of series creator Masahiro Sakurai. Official Nintendo Magazine writer Chris Scullion felt excited to see him appear in Kirby's Epic Yarn, identifying himself as a Meta Knight fan and attributing his appreciation for Meta Knight to Meta Knight's mysterious nature, discussing how his alignment was unclear. He also argued that Meta Knight was previously not one of Nintendo's bigger characters, only to become a "cult hero" due to his appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Meta Knight is a particularly strong, "high-tier" player character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which made him the subject of commentary by fans and critics alike. 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. Brown believed that, with Meta Knight banned, the game would become more balanced. Apex 2012 was the last major tournament to feature Meta Knight before he was banned. This was not his first ban, 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, the latter being a secret forum for the "best and brightest" Smash players. They also polled the top 100 players on Smashboards, who voted in favor of a ban 60–40. However, the ban took years before it was implemented, due in part to some professional players relying on Meta Knight to win tournaments, as well as the logistics of getting many tournaments on board. It was also an issue that tournament players from outside the US and Canada may avoid Unity Ruleset tournaments if such a ban went through.