10 Strongest Non-Boss Enemies In The Legend Of Zelda Franchise

When the franchise transitioned to 3D, the Stalfos received a major glow up. Earlier variations of these skeleton enemies were run of the mill mooks, foes Link could dispatch with a few swipes of his sword. Some of them could jump, or throw their bones, but that was about it.

Come Ocarina of Time, things were changing in Stalfos town. The reimagined calcium-rich deviants were now armed and well versed in hand to hand combat. They’d been kitted out with sword and shield, and no longer relied on throwing bits of themselves at the hero. They’d happily take him on one on one.

They became increasingly hard to destroy, too: by Majora’s Mask, it wasn’t enough just to defeat them. Knock them into a pile of bones and they’d soon reassemble and come back at you. Link was forced into desecrating their corpses further, burning the cursed remains with sunlight or smashing their heads into dust.

While the Stalfos have lost their nobility in recent games - they’re no longer skeletal soldiers, just bony brutes - their resilience and hit power make them formidable foes.