as reluctant as I am to say it, in a strict tournament sense (1v1 matches, no items, 4 stocks, 8 minutes on a non-banned stage) MetaKnight is an overpowered character. His worst matchup is against Diddy Kong which still is 55% in MK's favor. That said, without metaknight Brawl is more balanced than Melee or even Smash 64 were. It may have some different mechanics that make the game somewhat uncomfortable to play, but on a pure mechanical level, Brawl is more balanced than melee is.