Mach Tornado
| Mach Tornado | |
|---|---|
 Mach Tornado in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. | |
| User | Meta Knight |
| Universe | Kirby |
| Article on WiKirby | Mach Tornado |
| “ | Attack by turning into a tornado. Move left and right while spinning. | ” |
| —Brawl manual description | ||
| “ | Spin and strike enemies. Press  repeatedly to spin longer.
|
” |
| —Description from the Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS Foldout | ||
Mach Tornado (マッハトルネイド, Mach Tornado) is Meta Knight's neutral special move. When activated, Meta Knight spins at high speed, causing a slight pull on nearby opponents. He slashes them multiple times and traps them. This makes escape via directional influence difficult. When the Tornado is finished, the last hit dealt causes slightly more than moderate knockback, but can be very dangerous if used near the top of the screen as Meta Knight could self-destruct if he cannot touch stage edges in his helpless state when off stage or with the addition of being put helpless, can be punished. Mach Tornado can be controlled by pressing left or right to move in that direction, and going upwards is done by pressing the button for a special move rapidly, which also extends the amount of time Meta Knight spins.
This move can be used for recovery as well. It gains great horizontal distance on top of some vertical distance, especially if Meta Knight jumps before using the move. It also has near instantaneous start-up lag, and with multiple large hitboxes that can clash with ground and aerial hitboxes, it provides great protection to Meta Knight. As a result, it is arguably one of the best recovery options in Brawl. However, something to note is that Meta Knight will bounce off of edges rather than grabbing them if he hits them while he is in the tornado. He also cannot grab edges during the first few frames of his helpless animation out of the tornado. Meta Knight receives 20% additional knockback if he is hit out of Mach Tornado.
Mach Tornado can also go through and cancel most projectiles it hits, save for projectiles with transcendent priority and those with hitboxes that deal 10% or more (as they deal too much damage to be clanged with by Mach Tornado's hitboxes).
In Smash 4, Mach Tornado is still a highly damaging move and difficult to escape from, but the move lasts considerably shorter unless the player button mashes. It has a more limited use as a recovery because of nerfs to its momentum, traveling a much shorter distance horizontally and gaining almost no vertical height.
Customization
Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the known variations:
| 1. Mach Tornado | 2. Entangling Tornado | 3. Dreadful Tornado |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
| "Twirl and hit enemies multiple times. Press repeatedly to increase spin." | "Pull enemies in, and then hit them straight up into the air." | "A more powerful Mach Tornado, but the amount of spins can't be increased." |
- Mach Tornado: Default.
- Entangling Tornado: Pulls in enemies and hits with a more powerful single hit attack, but it reduces the move's horizontal control in the air.
- Dreadful Tornado: hits harder, but it cannot gain any vertical height by tapping the special move button repeatedly, has less damage potential than the original (21% → 13%), and the already high ending lag on the default Tornado has been increased. Arguably one of the worst custom specials in the game, due to its slew of flaws and offering no practical advantage over the default Tornado.
Entangling Tornado being used in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
Dreadful Tornado used in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.
Origin
Control-wise, this move is like Kirby's "Tornado" ability that appears in many of the Kirby games. Holding B will make him gain height. Meta Knight first used it in Kirby Super Star, where he transformed into a yellow tornado to attack. In the actual Kirby games, Mach Tornado refers to an attack that he (and Dark Meta Knight) uses where he flies to the side of the screen and launches a gigantic tornado towards the other side of the screen by charging and then stabbing his sword to the ground.
Gallery
Mach Tornado in Brawl.
Mach Tornado in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
Trivia
- In Kirby Super Star Ultra, Meta Knight had his own mode where he went through various levels from the other sub-games called Meta Knightmare Ultra. In it, he could absorb energy by defeating enemies, and when he had enough power, he could perform special techniques. One of them was also called Mach Tornado, but instead of being a small tornado, it was a Final Smash-esque screen clearing attack. Since KSSU was released after Brawl, it's likely that the move was named after Meta Knight's neutral special.
