Meta Knight (Kirby Air Ride)

Meta Knight Artwork of Meta Knight in Kirby Air Ride. Details Flavor text "Meta Knight with wings spread. Fear the sword!" Unlock for Air Ride Glide for more than 30 minutes Emphasis Acceleration No Charge (dead stop) Wing Sword Top speed 26.40 mph (42.49 km/h) (above-average) Offense power 59 (above-average) Offense multiplier for Copy Abilities and items 1× (average) Defense multiplier 0.2× (average) HP 170 (below-average)

This article is about Meta Knight as he appears as selectable character in Kirby Air Ride. For Meta Knight in general as he appears in the series as a whole, see Meta Knight.

Meta Knight is a selectable character in the Air Ride mode of Kirby Air Ride. Despite not being a "machine," he nonetheless appears on the screen one normally selects a machine for Kirby to ride, and replaces Kirby and the machine if selected. He shares this trait with the sole other unlockable character in the game, King Dedede.

Aside from appearing as a playable character, he appears briefly during the opening sequence of the game, where he can be seen confronting Kirby.

Appearance

Meta Knight flying through the Celestial Valley course.

Meta Knight himself doesn't use a machine, and instead relies on his own wings to propel him through the course, in a manner similar to Kirby holding the Wing Ability. In his right hand, he carries his signature sword, the Galaxia.

Like Kirby, Meta Knight will have a palette swap if the player selects a different color. However, his color scheme will not directly correspond with Kirby's. For instance, the default Kirby pink gives Meta Knight his most recognizable blue-and-purple scheme. When yellow is selected, his feet and shoulder-guards become brown, while his wings and body become green. When green is selected, he instead becomes pink. When purple is selected, his armor becomes black and his boots become burgundy. However, he follows the norm with the blue, red, brown, and white color schemes.

When entering a course, Meta Knight flies in with the same trajectory and velocity a star normally would.

Since he cannot charge, Meta Knight's heads-up-display lacks a charge gauge altogether. In its place is a stylized black wing.

Mechanics

Meta Knight's method of locomotion is almost identical to Kirby's while he possesses the Wing ability. As such, he cannot properly Boost, and attempting to charge will only result in sudden braking. His maximum top speed is 26.40 mph (42.49 km/h), which is slightly lower than the Wing ability itself, but slightly higher than average. He has excellent acceleration and good turning. Despite having wings, he is only average at gliding.

One of his many unique characteristics as a racer is the inability to inhale or copy enemies. Despite this, his Galaxia is throughout the race used in an identical manner to Kirby's Sword ability. It enables him to easily defeat common enemies, to accelerate himself, as well as assaulting and slowing his opponents, all without needing to tap the charge button.

How to Unlock

To unlock Meta Knight for use in Air Ride, player-controlled racers must be airborne for a collective total of thirty minutes or more in the Air Ride mode.

While Meta Knight does not appear in the main mode of City Trial or any of its Stadiums, he can be unlocked for use in Free Run. To unlock him, player-controlled racers must collectively break over 1,000 boxes over the course of several trials.

Colors

Meta Knight can have up to eight different colors when choosing him on the menu. They are as follows:

Starter

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  Default (Navy)

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  Green

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  Blue

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  Red

Unlockable

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  Pink

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  Dark

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  Brown

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  White

Trivia

• Meta Knight's dark color palette is very similar to that of Dark Meta Knight, who would debut in the next game after Kirby Air Ride: Kirby & The Amazing Mirror.

Gallery

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  Ripped model from the game

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  White palette swap Meta Knight in the Checker Knights course