Stalfos

Stalfos are recurring enemies in the Legend of Zelda series. They appear in every game except The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. One of the most frequently appearing enemies in the series, Stalfos are skeletal warriors who attack with swords, shields and occasionally, their own bones.

The Legend of Zelda
Stalfos appear in a select few of dungeons, occasionally as a group, with each member armed with two swords trying to attack Link. During the Second Quest, Stalfos attack with sword beams.

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Stalfos are found in various palaces, equipped with a single sword and one shield. Owing to the fact that they hold their weaponry at torso-height, their lower body is rendered defenseless. Their are two varieties of Stalfos, red and blue, with the blue being stronger. Red Stalfos simply attack with their sword, but Blue Stalfos can jump and perform a Downward Thrust.

Stalfos Knights wear a helmet and breastplate, making them more durable, but otherwise they are identical to regular Stalfos.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
In A Link to the Past, Stalfos are unarmed, but instead throw bones at Link to damage him, as well as jump to avoid his attacks. They can be found in variations of white, blue or red, similar to Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. Certain Stalfos also have the ability to detach their skulls from their body, in order to send them towards Link to damage him. They can easily be beaten using a bow

A larger form known as the Skeleton Warrior appears in the Ice Palace dungeon and has weapons unlike the regular Stalfos.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
In Link's Awakening, Stalfos again have no weaponry other than the ability to jump in order to cause damage. Hooded Stalfos also appear, whose attack patterns are very similar to the Moblin in the game.

A large Stalfos, Master Stalfos appears as the mini-boss in Catfish's Maw. He guards the Hookshot, and must be defeated four times. He can be defeated by being repeatedly slashed with the sword and then destroyed with bombs.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
In Ocarina of Time, Stalfos appear as mini-bosses of the Forest Temple as well as other extant locations. Here, the Stalfos frequently fight Link two on one. Sometimes in the two-on-one battles, Link must defeat both Stalfos within a certain amount of time of each other. If Link defeats one but fails to defeat the second within the time limit, the first Stalfos will be revived and must be defeated again. Not all two-Stalfos battles are like this, however. There are a total of 16 Stalfos in the game.

Also in Ocarina of Time, the Stalfos's existence is explained. A Kokiri girl in the Lost Woods tells Link that everyone not of the Kokiri become Stalfos if they lose their ways in the mazelike woods, suggesting that the Stalfos Link battles are wayward travelers.

When Link is a youth, he can encounter the Stalchild, a smaller, unarmed version of Stalfos.

Stalfos have 2 major attacks. The first one is letting its guard down, raising its sword and striking for 1 heart. To defend, either hit the Stalfos when his sword is raised or block it with your shield. The other attack is jumping and attacking dealing 2 hearts. To defend this, dodge it by going around and attack the Stalfos in the back.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
In Majora's Mask, no actual Stalfos are encountered, but at one point, Link encounters Igos du Ikana, the skeleton king of the ruined Kingdom of Ikana, and his two bodyguards, all of which attack very similarly to the Stalfos from Ocarina of Time. The only way to defeat these enemies is to damage them sufficiently, then use the Mirror Shield to shine sunlight upon them.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages & The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
In Oracle of Ages, a blue Stalfos is the miniboss of the Ancient Tomb, the final dungeon. It shoots balls of energy at Link that can be reflected back at it with a sword. When hit, it turns into a baby and becomes vulnerable to damage. If Link unsuccessfully deflects the Stalfos' attack, he becomes a helpless infant himself. In the Sea of Storms, Link meets a Pirate Captain, assumed to be a Stalfos, and his crew, who have become lost in the maze-like sea. In exchange for a Zora Scale, Link is given the key to the entrance to the final dungeon. In Oracle of Seasons, the Pirate Captain appears once more. It is later revealed that the Stalfos Captain was once the King of Labrynna and husband to Queen Ambi, and that he was somehow transformed into a Stalfos while lost at sea.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords
Stalfos jump around, dodging Link's attacks. They must be cornered or stunned with the Boomerang.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Stalfoses rarely appear in dungeons on the Great Sea; however, they make quite a number of appearances when Link attempts to reform the Triforce of Courage. They are larger than previous Stalfoses, and as such, much slower. They hobble around on short stubby legs while swinging around large spiked clubs. They wield the maces inexpertly and spin violently across the room while using them, often losing their balance.

When Link repeatedly slashes one or plants a bomb near a Stalfos, their bodies shatter into several segments and their heads leap around the room. In order to keep them from reassembling, Link must destroy their heads. It is also possible to cut them in half, in which case their torso and lower body walk around separately. Taking a Stalfos's mace while in its shattered state and waiting until it reassembles causes the Stalfos to pull off its left arm and use it as a weapon until it retained its weapon. Another possibility is to shoot the Stalfos in the head with arrows while it is still completely intact, damaging it slowly but keeping a safe distance.

When a Stalfos' head falls off, Link can use his Skull Hammer to destroy the Stalfos in one hit. However, this method is not fully recommended due to the long time it takes to fully slam the hammer down, especially in conjunction with the speedy bounces of the Stalfos' skull. However, Link can stun the head with his Boomerang to buy him enough time to swing the Skull Hammer.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
There are two types of Stalfos in The Minish Cap, blue Stalfos and red Stalfos. The blue ones dash towards Link to collide with him, while the red ones throw bones at him. Sometimes a Stalfos disguises itself as one of the breakable skulls in a dungeon, during which Link can actually absorb the Stalfos in his Gust Jar to destroy it. If Link uses the Gust Jar on Stalfos that are walking around while in their full state, it removes the head, causing the body to wander around slowly. A decapitated Stalfos will not notice or attack Link, but will hurt him if he touches it. It may also walk blindly into a bottomless pit, something that ordinary Stalfos do not do. The head can also be removed with the Cane of Pacci.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Stalfos are again armed with swords and shields, and can only be killed by dropping bombs on their broken corpses, or, alternatively, by using Bomb Arrows or the Ball and Chain.

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
Stalfos appear in the Isle of the Dead, Mutoh's Temple, and Isle of Ruins. There are two kinds of Stalfos in the game; blue ones that throw bones and red ones that wear pirate hats and use swords. Similar to The Wind Waker, you need to destroy their heads. They can easily be defeated with the hammer, bomb, or bombchu. They are usually hidden amongst the other dead skeletons that lie on the ground, but when they are approached, they will get up and fight. Bombs can be thrown at them from a distance before they get up. Their heads can be pulled off their bodies using the Grappling Hook.