Meta Knightmare!

Meta Knightmare! is a mode featured in Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land. It plays like the main game, with the main difference being that Meta Knight is the playable character instead of Kirby.

Like the Extra Game, Meta Knight has only three vitality bars. Aside from this, Meta Knightmare! has some major differences from the main game. It does not a save feature, so it can only be completed in one sitting. Meta Knight's only weapon is his sword, and he cannot use any Copy Abilities. To compensate for this, Meta Knight can use a variety of unique moves, such as flying with his wings instead of hovering like Kirby, and his sword can light fuses and smash posts into the ground whereas Kirby can only do so using the Fire and the Hammer ability respectively. The Goal Game and Sub-Games are all absent, and in the hub area, all doors that would normally lead to a Sub-Game are locked up. The mode ends once Meta Knight defeats King Dedede, meaning that he cannot move on to the eighth level, the Fountain of Dreams, to battle Nightmare.

Meta Knightmare! would be followed by two modes in subsequent games: Meta Knightmare Ultra in Kirby Super Star Ultra and Meta Knightmare Returns in Kirby: Planet Robobot.