Upper Calibur

Meta Knight using Upper Calibur on Kirby in Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

Upper Calibur is an attack used by Meta Knight and similar knight bosses, which is first introduced in Kirby Star Allies.

Overview

Meta Knight using Upper Calibur on Kirby in Kirby Star Allies.

Charging is required to use Upper Calibur. As its name suggests, Upper Calibur starts with an upper slash after releasing the charge. If the upper catches any opponent, the user will then perform a series of quick aerial slashes to the target(s), and finish by slamming them onto the ground with a heavy slash. If the upper misses, this attack will stop immediately.

The upper cannot be blocked by normal ways of guard. In Version 4.0.0 of Kirby Star Allies, the upper can be blocked by some Copy Abilities/allies with special guard including Ice, Spider, Rick & Kine & Coo, Gooey, Dark Meta Knight, Magolor and Taranza; prior to Version 4.0.0, the upper could not be guarded by any means. In Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Upper Calibur cannot be guarded, but can be parried with Sword's standard attack.

The final slam always deals damage. Whether the upper slash or aerial slashes do damage depends on the user and the game.

Users

Meta Knight

Upper Calibur was first used by Meta Knight as a boss at Sacred Square in Kirby Star Allies. In his version, the aerial slashes don't do damage, and the final slam does low damage.

Meta Knight can also make use of Upper Calibur in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and if he catches Kirby, the attack plays out with special camera angles. Unlike in Star Allies, all slashes from the attack do deal damage. If Kirby uses Sword or one of its evolved variants to parry the attack, he can use his sword to push back against Meta Knight (via the player mashing the attack button). If successful, Kirby will momentarily disarm Meta Knight and leave him open to attack. If, at that point, Kirby touches his sword to become Meta Knight Sword Kirby, the masked swordsman is forced to use a backup sword for the remainder of the fight. The timer in the Colosseum pauses when Upper Calibur successfully hits Kirby and resumes when the combo ends. If Upper Calibur hits Bandana Waddle Dee, it does not trigger a cutscene. Instead, it simply deals damage.

Morpho Knight

When Morpho Knight uses Upper Calibur, it may teleport before the upper.

In normal Morpho Knight's version, like Meta Knight's, the aerial slashes don't do damage, and the final slam does low damage.

In Morpho Knight EX's version, the aerial slashes each deal damage, and the final slam does more damage, the total damage being about 40% of Kirby's maximum health. Morpho Knight EX may also use Upper Calibur as one of his possible Counter attacks (similar to Meta Knight the Dream Friend's and Parallel Meta Knight's Galactic Counter).

Morpho Knight only uses Upper Calibur in Kirby Star Allies, and does not use it in Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

Dark Meta Knight

Dark Meta Knight can use his own version called Dark Calibur as a Dream Friend, its command being "Press and hold B, and then release + ↑".

Dark Meta Knight's version functions basically the same as Meta Knight's version but with a few differences: While the upper can catch most common enemies, it does not catch mid-bosses or bosses; instead, when the upper connects to a boss, he will still perform the aerial slashes in the fixed area, but they will stop immediately when the boss leaves the aerial slashes' hitboxes. During Dark Calibur, the upper and the aerial slashes both do damage, and Dark Meta Knight is invincible during the whole attack.

Like most of Dark Meta Knight's moves, Dark Calibur can be granted elemental powers. Notably, if he's given the Bluster element, Dark Calibur will be performed in a similar way to Mach Tornado as he does aerial spin slashes instead.

Parallel Meta Knight

Parallel Meta Knight, who can be considered the EX version of the boss Meta Knight in Kirby Star Allies, has a souped-up version of Upper Calibur. In his version, the aerial slashes do damage, and the final slam does high damage, the total damage being about 70% of Kirby's maximum health, which is even higher than Morpho Knight EX's version.

Phantom Meta Knight

Phantom Meta Knight, a neon doppelgänger of Meta Knight who solely appears as a boss in the Colosseum of Kirby and the Forgotten Land, has a souped-up version of Upper Calibur. In its version, it may make a duplicate of itself and both will charge at Kirby in Phase 2. It can still be parried by Sword or one of its evolved variants, forcing it to use a backup sword for the remainder of the fight. The timer in the Colosseum pauses when Upper Calibur successfully hits Kirby and resumes when the combo ends. Like his original version, it does not trigger a cutscene upon hitting Bandana Waddle Dee.

Kirby

Kirby using Upper Calibur on Wild Edge in Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

“

Press L/R + A to Sword Slide. Follow with A, then rapidly press B to do an Upper Calibur attack!

”

— Weapons-Shop Waddle Dee, in Kirby and the Forgotten Land

In Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Kirby is able to use the Upper Calibur after evolving Sword to Meta Knight Sword with the Blueprint obtained after completing the Meta Knight Cup in the Colosseum. Rather than being a charged attack, it is instead performed by repeatedly attacking after a Sword Slide and Upward Slash, serving as an upgraded variant of Sword Dive.

Trivia

• Despite being named internally in the game files and officially in Japanese guidebooks, Upper Calibur was not named in-game in Kirby Star Allies. It would only officially receive translated names in other languages for Kirby and the Forgotten Land.
• Based on the Chinese localizations, Upper Calibur's name may originate from Excalibur, the legendary sword.
• Upper Calibur is similar to some Final Smashes from the Super Smash Bros. series, notably Ike's Great Aether and Cloud's Omnislash.
• Meta Knight's Final Smash in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Darkness Illusion, looks very similar to that of the Upper Calibur, in which he begins with an electric Up Thrust (similar to Meta Knight's Up Thrust when given the Zap Power Effect from Kirby Star Allies), then does a series of quick aerial slashes, and finishes by knocking the opponents horizontally instead.

Names in other languages

Upper Calibur

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	アッパーキャリバー Appā Kyaribā	Upper Calibur
Traditional Chinese	上霸者劍 Shàng Bàzhĕjiàn	Upper Calibur 霸者劍/霸者剑 could be the translation of Excalibur.
Simplified Chinese	上霸者剑 Shàng Bàzhĕjiàn
Dutch	Hoge Calibur	High Calibur
French	Calibur ascendant	Ascending Calibur
German	Empor-Calibur	Upwards-Calibur
Korean	어퍼 칼리버 Eopeo Kallibeo	Upper Calibur

Dark Calibur

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ダークキャリバー Dāku Kyaribā	Dark Calibur
Traditional Chinese	闇霸者劍 Àn Bàzhějiàn	Darkness Calibur
Simplified Chinese	暗霸者剑 Àn Bàzhějiàn
Dutch	Duistere Calibur	Dark Calibur
French	Calibur noir	Black Calibur
German	Dunkelcalibur	Dark Calibur
Italian	Calibur oscura	Dark Calibur
Korean	다크 칼리버 Dakeu Kallibeo	Dark Calibur
Spanish	Calibur oscura	Dark Calibur