Daily Debate: Which Version Of The Stalfos Has The Best Design?
Posted on July 18 2019 by Sean Gadus
The Stalfos are one of the most iconic enemies in The Legend of Zelda series. These fierce skeletal warriors have hounded Link since 1986, and never let a little thing like death get in their way of opposing our hero.
Throughout the years, there have been many different designs for the iconic humanoid skeletons. With each new art style and game engine, the designers have given the Stalfos a distinct look. This includes things like changing the size and shape of the skeletons, along with switching up the weapons the undead warriors wield.
With this in mind, which Stalfos has the best design? The original Stalfos was depicted in art as an undead warrior wielding two deadly swords. In A Link To The Past, some Stalfos were able to detach their head and hurl it at the player. Ocarina of Time re-imagined the Stalfos as brutish, armored warriors with crooked swords. The Wind Waker transformed the Stalfos into squat, mace wielding thugs that required the player to destroy their skeletal heads. While Twilight Princess‘s design has many similarities with Ocarina of Time (wielding a sword and shield), Skyward Sword harkened back to the dual wielding warriors from the original Zelda.
Which design of the Stalfos was your favorite? Do you think Breath of the Wild‘s sequel feature the traditional humanoid Stalfos? Let us know in the comments below!
Sean Gadus is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon. His first Zelda game was Ocarina of Time, and he loves all of the 3D Zelda games from 1998-2011. The final battle of Tears of the Kingdom is one of his favorite final battles in the entire series. He wants to help build a kinder, more compassionate world. You can check out his other written work at The-Artifice.com.
