The MYSTERY of Stallord's Origin in Twilight Princess (Zelda Theory)

[@elitegamer9310]

I think that Stallord was just used by the Guerdo for gladiator matches. The Arbiter's Grounds were once Guerodo territory and it looks like a colosseum. Also, surrounding Stallord in his first phase are undead Hylian troops, which could indicate that, during the war, the Guerdo brought Hylian POW's to Arbiter's Grounds to fight for entertainment.

[@HyruleGamer]

Interesting take on it :D

[@CoffeeJip153]

I was about to comment this and then I come down here and see this... good one man good one.

[@DIe3llie]

This was my thought too

[@nishikascorpio7830]

I mean... he has weapons in his face.

[@LegendStormcrow]

I have another theory on this. What if it was instead of a regular coliseum rather a place of testing. The Hylian POW's may still have been forced to fight, but they were looking for a warrior of Link's skill to take as a husband to the tribe, or merely as a trial by combat. I know it sounds strange, but between the name of the dungeon, the culture of the Gerudo and everything else about the dungeon it makes a lot of sense. I don't think it was just pure entertainment on the part of the Gerudo. Doesn't fit with their racial culture.

[@HoffMatt]

I'm surprised you didn't mention the musical connection, since Stallord's second phase battle music is an obvious remix of Volvagia's.

[@arctic3023]

Wish I could like this comment more because that’s such a great connection and should be loved and seen

[@HyruleGamer]

That's more of a reference imo but could have been worth mentioning :)

[@kitbloodk2842]

Did you know it's confirmed that valoo and valvogya are related

[@sheikuh7736]

And that breath of the wild fire dragon (don't know the English name)also have backward horns

[@gavinbrown216]

Sheikuh 7 it includes din, but that’s all I remember off the top of my head

[@kirisuma2186]

L: "Who?" S: "Stallord man.... you know? Legendary old Creature?" L: "Never heard of you."

[@LuEz49]

Kirisuma nice

[@goji253]

I clicked on this video precisely to look for this kind of comment.

[@Jwick-xu8cz]

Damn i was bout to write this. Gg you got me

[@bobmasters9871]

Link: "who are you?" Stallord: I'm Stallord" Link: "Who?" Stallord: "Come on man, Stallord, renowned demon?"

[@bgheseger6937]

Link: never heard of ya Stallord: devourer of worlds? destroyer of realms? king of the dead? Link: nope nada nuh uh

[@fullmetal1666]

HAHAHAHAHAHA

[@fullmetal1666]

HAHAHAHAHAHA

[@meryarcus4699]

Where's stallord I'll give you one better: who is stallord? *No, I'll give you one better: why is stallord*

[@CryWolf0651]

Nobody asks HOW is Stallord...

[@mariodanielfilho3415]

Isn't he the Legendary Outlaw?

[@docfallout]

Nice

[@epicgamernoisesintensifies6238]

How is stallord? What is stallord?

[@nishikascorpio7830]

When is Stallord?

[@DunantheDefender]

With the slew of corpses at his disposal, I always thought Stallord was an execution method.

[@HyruleGamer]

Oh true! That could be the case :D

[@nota444tm2]

Cant be the case. He's more likely as a gladiator's last opponent. Him being an execution method would mean the gerudo just basically be jabba the hut sending victims to the rancor pit

[@alpha00z26]

@@nota444tm2 exactly what i thought its more a gladiator fight thats why the skelotens had wepons and armour

[@lyrebirb83]

@@nota444tm2 I mean... You know that they didn't expect the man to win against the lion right?

[@atnam44]

"horn-like structures", "inverted horns, if you will" My man they're just horns. There's a lot of animals that have backwards-facing horns irl

[@papiargente9027]

And also, Vovalgia and Stallord share the same music but a bit remastered in TP. That's the biggest link we could have from the devs.

[@dylanstafford3414]

Heh, "link"

[@Terrible_Peril]

Dylan Stafford beat me to it

[@katherinelewis2735]

i agree with you on the music connection.

[@seretith3513]

Also with King Dodongo, who looks more logical to me

[@TheCyber416]

@@seretith3513 Maybe some amalgamation of both to make the ultimate creature of necromancy?

[@Fire_Summoner]

Stallord has what looks like Hylian soldiers around him with weapons in his skull. What happened could've been that Stallord was used and rested in the grounds, before Ganandorf was captured and Stallord was killed.

[@HyruleGamer]

Very possible :)

[@bgmarshall]

Could've Also been a similar thing to the stalnox in the castle in botw that was used as a test for soilders when it was a hinoux

[@Crydus]

Maybe the hylian soldiers are the ones who died when they tried to capture Stallord - although nothing seems to point toward any chains which might have been used to secure stallord.. I heard the theory that stallord was a beast to whitch the ones sentenced to death had been fed. - but even then I find the whole room curious.

[@spoons250]

Love the twilight content. Criminally underrated game.

[@HyruleGamer]

Thanks! I agree, such a fantastic game :)

[@alexmichnowicz5873]

It really is the best game in the series

[@kitbloodk2842]

I wouldn't really call it underrated

[@EberTLOZ]

you mean overrated

[@HyruleGamer]

@@EberTLOZ N o

[@tuckermyszkowski156]

I'm so glad people are still talking about twilight princess even with botw and botw2 being big focuses

[@HyruleGamer]

Thanks for watching :)

[@Casledin]

1: it looks to me like Stallord has the decayed remnants of fur 2: I didn’t think that was a “fire” ball, more of an energy ball. Loads of Zelda enemies shoot balls of energy. 3. Stallord has a different number of fingers. The number of fingers/toes/claws a dragon has is kinda something that they pay attention to in Asian countries, as it signifies what country the dragon is from. Also, if they were the same species, I doubt they’d have such drastically large differences (size, fingers, teeth, and horns) considering there wasn’t much time for them to evolve. Furthermore, I don’t know what Volvagia’s skeleton looked like, but I imagine it was drastically different. Stallord had an eerily human skeleton, as far as the arms, hands, and ribcage. Ultimately, I’m calling the dragon theory a bust. Though I could potentially see demon. Ganondorf is known as the Demon King, so it’d make sense to see his underling reanimating a demon.

[@Werewolf914]

One point I bring up in defense to the size,is the Dragons in Breath of the Wild, sure they're Spirits, but still they're massive Dragons, the scale and design of Dragons in Zelda changes a lot, some are Deities, others Monsters, it's possible Stallord was from a breed of Dragon we haven't seen, as for the energy ball he fires, Lizalfos have Electricity powers in BotW, and Dragons being essentially giant Lizards it's possible they to have different abilities the Electric Lizalfos are found in Deserts same as Stallord, maybe he was some type of Electricity Dragon, but instead of shooting lightning he could charge up balls of energy?

[@bgmarshall]

@@Werewolf914 invalidated It is unkown exactly, but botw is over 10000 years away, probably much more considering the advancement in technology, as the only similar thing created prior by the shieka is the boss from tower of the gods

[@nariopolus]

Yes! The fact that Stallord has a rib cage is a major point here. I would heavily doubt volvagia having a connected rib cage due to its snakelike appearance, to be honest, it looks more like a dodongo than anything else we’ve seen. Even the fireballs...

[@seretith3513]

He didn't said these species split up after OoT But yes, i to don't think Stallord is a Dragon He is more likely a Dodongo-species

[@JG-wp8qx]

It's called a Twilit Fossil, so maybe it's another species entirely, not yet seen because of the destruction of the mirror of twilight. Maybe if there is time travel in BotW 2, we'll be able to refight bosses from previous games, and get new information. It would be interesting to see.

[@BanditGames]

A dragon... Twilight Princess... AND Ocarina of Time?! This may be my favorite theory of yours yet sir! Very very well done! Never thought about Stallord not having legs. Neat!

[@HyruleGamer]

Thanks a lot man!

[@nikosmetallinos2153]

Totally disagree on Stallord having a connection with Volvagia. It's quite clear that he has a humanoid skeleton. Its ribs are identicle to a human's skeletal structure. The head is close to that of a hoofed mammal. It could be a hybrid that fought with people for Gerudos' entertainment

[@JariDawnchild]

Or a creature they may have sacrificed at some point or another. The Arbiters' Grounds were built over the ruins of the Spirit Temple, after all. Now, whether or not the Gerudo did it, or it was later done by Hylians when they started using it as a prison, I've no idea.

[@bellaeon5646]

8:52 Okay, that's hilarious. It looks like he's impatiently waiting for something to happen, tapping his claws into the ground. XD I could see two possibilities as for why Stallord is in Arbiter's Grounds - one being that it was being used like a war elephant or as a Colosseum animal. First one is less likely, but it could’ve been pretty awesome and/or hilarious to see someone just riding Stallord into a battle. I’d love to see more dragon enemies in the future. There’s more than enough types of regular dragons, wyverns, drakes and wyrms for Link to slay and I want to slay them all.

[@HyruleGamer]

Lol, yeah that's possible :) Thanks for watching!

[@abigailmccarthy9982]

Tarrasque. I want to see Link fight a Tarrasque.

[@thepieguyinthesky2363]

Wouldn't most the sand around stallord be turned into glass because of the heat he would give off?

[@gobineko8121]

@@thepieguyinthesky2363 Sand when heated doesn't just become glass. You need to have the high heat of a kiln and the right purity of sand. If the sand lacks the right amount of silica, or contains too much dust or dirt, it won't become glass or good quality at least. Do to the amount of ruins and crumbling structures at the arbiter's grounds, it's probably safe to assume it is highly impure sand.

[@thepieguyinthesky2363]

@@gobineko8121 ok, but the sand would most likely still nearly melt because of those impurities, dust and dirt melt really, really easily, magma ranges from 700 to 1300 degrees and some rare kinds go up to 1600, sand requires you to get it to 1700 degrees to get glass, what I'm trying to say is, the sand there should be much different than it is portrayed in the game IF the stallord was secretly volvagia

[@accountoftheultraimaginato4012]

I like this theory. Also, I would like to point out that horns usually grow with age. Therefore, my guess is that Stallord, at the time of the game, was about twice Volvagia's age. Perhaps Stallord was Volvagia's mate, and hid unseen until it was captured and brought to the Arbiter's Grounds, near the events of Ganondorf's execution. I also saw a theory that said that Stallord was used by the Gerudo for gladiatorial combat, and that seems likely, given the undead Hylian soldiers that surround it.

[@SchneeflockeMonsoon]

Anime has “best girl” and do a degree, so does TP in Midna, but Stallord is BEST BOSS! So much fun to fight, with everyone’s favorite item. (Fingers crossed for a spinner in botw2, but without the inertia loss.)

[@HyruleGamer]

Yes haha

[@IAmMugel]

I'll have to say Koloktos from Skyward Sword is actually best. Really didn't like the game overall, but that boss was just something amazing and super satisfying.

[@SchneeflockeMonsoon]

IAmMugel Granted. Tie?

[@IAmMugel]

Schneeflocke Monsoon I can accept that. Stallord was indeed a super fun boss. In the end it’s hard to pick between the two

[@ciarangale4738]

frankly the best thing i think they could do in BotW2 is bring back dungeon items and a reliable weapon. the weapon system kinda fit with botw because it was basically scrounging up whatever link could to recover from the calamity, but i feel it made it less fun imo

[@LegendStormcrow]

Between the skull, horns, arms, and spine, I gotta say that he looks like some kind of enormous version of a lizalfos. Still could be a dragon. Could also be Lizalfos are decended from dragons.

[@gabrielsperano2638]

Maybe an in between

[@boynenoble8274]

Only problem with this theory is that stallord has a massive rib cage where as valvagia has a very serpent like body

[@shadowwolfy6058]

Exactly my thoughts, it just didn’t make sense, also the fact that Stallord has the four horns thing, whereas Valvagia has just the two

[@chrisshorten4406]

Not to mention, it also has actual hair (as opposed to a flaming mane).

[@dragonlord908]

@@shadowwolfy6058 there is a part of Volvagia's skull plate that looks like it could've evolved into horns. Right under the eyes.

[@koopatroopa7968]

you know how Hyrule gamer mentioned disparities between male and female creatures? it could be that a male Volvagia would’ve had a bigger body in order to attract mates.

[@aronbrackman4576]

TP was the first Zelda game I ever played, and to this day it's still my favorite

[@HyruleGamer]

Awesome!

[@CarlosSaulRodriguezA]

Also don't forget that those types of dragons fly because magic, not wings, so it's possible for stallord to fly only with his head i guess...

[@Fluffkitscripts]

On that note, wouldn’t it make sense for the reason he didn’t fly in phase one to be that the sand was physically trapping him, and that breaking his body (the part that was stuck) freed him?

[@CarlosSaulRodriguezA]

@@Fluffkitscripts not really, dragons are lazy, it had a little army (useless, yes) and maybe it could not detach it's head... i mean, would you "break" yourself as you said? No, that's dumb... Will you start flying once a kiddo broke it for you? Absolutely. And also... game mechanics... lore-wise phases are not included in the stories i guess? xD

[@Fluffkitscripts]

@@CarlosSaulRodriguezA I’m not saying he “broke himself”. Link hit him a bunch of times with a big metal gear.

[@0TanookiSuit0]

I think Stallord is the remains of a boss that we've fought before, albeit in a different timeline. First, let's go back to the events directly after Ocarina of Time when Link returns to his past as a child. Ganondorf's betrayal is laid bare before the King of Hyrule, his schemes foiled. Eventually, Ganondorf is defeated, captured, and sentenced to death for his crimes against the royal family. But what occured before that? Surely Ganondorf didn't go down without a fight. He had an army of Gerudo warriors and potent dark magics at his disposal. It's somewhat implausible to assume that Ganondorf's capture wasn't preceded by an extended and violent conflict. I subscribe to the theory that the Arbiter's Grounds are the remains of the Desert Colossus from Ocarina of Time converted into a prison to punish Ganondorf and his followers for their crimes. One must also consider another ally at Ganondorf's disposal at this time: His surrogate mothers, Koume and Kotake, aka, Twinrova. Link returned to his past at the end of Ocarine of Time to live out his childhood. A past where Twinrova had yet to be defeated. This sinister, ancient witch would have been one of Ganondorf's most dangerous resources in his rebellion against Hyrule. Let's pause for a moment and look at Stallord's appearance again. Draconic head with horns. Fearsome clawed hands. Breathes fire. No lower body to speak of. There is one boss that fits the bill perfectly. "Gwah hah hah! I was summoned from the Dark Realm by Twinrova! See my true form! Feel the might of a dark dragon!" - General Onox, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons I believe that Stallord is none other than the remains of the Dark Dragon Onox (or another Dark Dragon from the Dark Realm), summoned by Twinrova to defend Ganondorf against the invading forces of Hyrule during the conflict that must have preceded his capture. In life, Stallord/Onox was probably defeated by a faction of Hyrule's army during this war given the fact that his skull has been impaled by spears and the sands below him are filled with the skeletons of armored soldiers. The Onox that Link defeated was on a completely separate timeline, and why wouldn't Twinrova summon him to bolster their forces when the chips were down? That's my theory anyway. What do you think.

[@A_Lion_In_The_Sun]

I like that theory, the skull is very similar. The only issue I have with it is that Onyx in his dragon form had these strange corporeal arms (meaning they weren't connected to his body) whereas the stallord has regular arms

[@ultimateblade3767]

I like this theory. He could have had a slightly diffrent appearance due to being in a different timeline.

[@viroxzyn1267]

in ocarina of time the gerudo dont truely follow him infact by the end the gerudo arent on gannons side

[@derpydinosaur8449]

While yes I agree with some people saying that his appearance has changed a bit (probably because of it being a alternate timeline.) There is a couple things bothering me... 1. The gem: Or whatever that thing is in his head, idk its purpose... maybe it's what allows him to transform? Whatever the thing is its missing on stallord... and if it was removed, it would've left some type of hole or indent. 2. Arms: Another person kinda said it some imma save myself some time and skip over this 3. Wings: They might be small but they're there. Now ya can argue they fell off a while back... ya can say that about a lot of this skeleton, but then we could say its king dodongo Get my point? Some remain of it would be displayed somewhere... With all that I don't think its him, but it is some type of dragon... or a very mutated, unique Dodongo. Don't ask why but everything I look at stallord, I feell like theres Dodongo genes in there somewhere

[@Quandry1]

@@derpydinosaur8449 I personally think people are far too desperate to link the games and codify the timelines. Even though the Dev's have admitted that they don't work off of a timeline and just pay homage to things they like in older games sometimes. So it's possible that Dodongo held a bit of an inspiration for it. Breath of the Wild is a good example. it takes inspiration for a lot of games but trying to actually fit it into the timeline is problematic at best and destructive to the entire accepted timeline structure at worst. And it's always had games that have just kind of suffered from "Well we have to put it somewhere" like the original legend of Zelda and Legend of Zelda II.

[@Eevee9777]

I hate how BotW didn't have traditional bosses. I really hope that BotW 2 brings back traditional dungeons and bosses. Also, the Hinox at 0:55 is like "HEY! ME NO LIKEY BEING SHOT IN EYE! STOP IT MEANIE!!" Edit: Stallord is my favorite boss battle in Zelda, and I'm really happy that you did a video like this on it :D

[@HyruleGamer]

Yeah I feel like many people felt that way, I'd love to see a sorta hybrid/combo of traditional bosses and the open world style :) Thanks!

[@TJDious]

Your mom has traditional bosses.

[@Eevee9777]

@@TJDious ????????? wha?

[@CabeliotCometier]

@@Eevee9777 The Blights, and Kogha... Did you forget, cuz... Understandable

[@kiyrof.-c.9847]

I’m surprised there was no link to Dinraal, especially since he has the same backwards curling horns, fire element, and body structure to volvagia

[@HyruleGamer]

Oops

[@Solibrae]

Volvagia, Valoo and "Stallord" could be all be related to Dinraal in some way.

[@blackshaddow5005]

Volvagia and stallord do not have a similar bodystructure. Volvagias is that of a snake (check the death cutscene), stallords is not. Stallord has a sternum while volvagia has ribs from head to tail

[@livthedragon]

Let’s get into anatomy. Stallord has no wings, two legs/arms, and no confirmation of back legs/arms. If we look at the anatomy of a Lindwrum, it follows this exact description. A Draconic head with two front arms, and no back ones. A snake-like body, and can be seen both with or without a firebladder. Dinraal is NOT a Lindwrum. They have 4 legs, as well as an ability to fly. This Chinese style is called a Lung Dragon, and Farosh and Nayru follow this as well. Now that that is out of the way, hybrid chains. There are 3 main draconic species, the rest are hybrids. Wyvern, Drake, and Wyrm. Look them up if you must. But as a quick overview, Wyrms (Wee-urms) have a draconic head with no other limbs, no wings, legs, or arms. Wyverns (Why-verns) are similar, but ARE NOT dragons. Dictionaries will list them as a dragon, but that is completely wrong, dragons are actually a species of Wyvern. They have two legs and wings, and nothing else. Lastly, drakes. Basically dragons, but no wings. Now Lindwrums are 3/4 Wyrm and 1/4 Drake, so they have two arms and an otherwise serpentine body. Volvagia is a Lindwrum, and I think Stallord is one, too. Dinraal and the others are NOT LINDWRUMS! As I said, Lung Dragons. 1/2 Drake and 1/2 Wyrm, making a Drake, but with a long, serpentine body in between. Think Chinese dragon, but they have NO wings. In conclusion, they are a similar species, with similar ancestors, but they are NOT the same.

[@blackshaddow5005]

@@livthedragon " I think Stallord is one, too" is not a satisfing answer, because nothing is known about the lower body of stallord. I think it's more likely for stallord to have (or rather had have) legs, because stallords bodystructure is not at all serpentine (sternum / ribs at the chest, but not at the belly...)

[@sailorsaix1668]

What a name. Stallord.

[@HyruleGamer]

Indeed lol

[@SchneeflockeMonsoon]

Śãīłør Šâïx I love how casual Zant’s use of it is though. He’s just on his way out with the mirror shards, and he’s like “oh, hey, Link’s here. I wonder if I can kill him. Ya know, while I’m here.” And then just leaves.

[@reeseolsen4052]

@Schneeflocke Monsoon Ya know I never really saw it that way (just assumed Zant had already broken the mirror & scattered the shards)but now I can't see it any other way (what other reason does he have for wandering around the prison).

[@SchneeflockeMonsoon]

Reese Olsen Right? I one day heard someone say: “Zant’s a child. He gets what he wants, or he throws a tantrum. He says stuff that he thinks sounds cool, but doesn’t actually do much that makes sense. When you fight him as a boss, he has 0 original ideas. He just copies old bosses and then copies you.” It’s really very funny when you think about it.

[@Sugondeeze_Nuts]

A name that says: "Say no more" (Even though it says 'Twilit Fossil')

[@MindForgedManacle]

A little confused why you called Ganondorf in Twilight Princess the "descendant incarnation" if the Ganondorf in Ocarina. Aren't they the same character from the Child timeline, just after imprisonment in the Twilight Realm?

[@HyruleGamer]

My mistake

[@zach4463]

I want a prequel to twilight where you have to go against the living stallord. He clearly has an army at his command. I believe he was a previous evil lord

[@DA_7]

Your theory is pretty convincing. On top of everything you said, I've always believed that since the arbiter's grounds is a prison, stallord's chamber and the dragon itself were used for execution purposes. Maybe they fed him the worst criminals or something? Hope that doesn't sound too gross lol. Loved your video anyway, and I wish they continue taking darker/more mature approaches to the franchise. Just like twilight princess and majora's mask.

[@HyruleGamer]

Thanks :)

[@ekeneanyanike7013]

Thought I should just mention that Stallord’s boss theme is a remix of the Boss theme from Ocarina of time. Which fits your theory of Stallord being the same species as Volvagia.

[@HyruleGamer]

That is true, likely more of a reference imo

[@Shkumped]

Theory: thin Molduga? Evidence: Sand

[@HyruleGamer]

Haha

[@doctorprofessoroblivious1282]

Are we sure that Stalord isn't literally Volvagia? Twilight Princess Ganondorf was captured and imprisoned *before* he had a chance to do anything to Hyrule, meaning he never resurrected Volvagia to terrorize the Gorons. The arbiters grounds is also within Gerudo territory. Ganondorf could have properly resurrected the imprisoned Stalord to terrorize the Gorons during OOT, but in the child timeline, never got the chance, and told Zant about his original plan, and how it could be remixed as it were.

[@georgehayward532]

Zant: I'm so powerful Link:in grunts and text options (he must be strong) Zant: summons stalord Link: (oh shit this bitch is OP) Midna: laughs and murders Zant without the full power of the fused shadow (Midna is best sidekick and badass)

[@BirdieSenpai]

THIS IS THE VIDEO I HAVE WAITED THIRTEEN YEARS FOR. THANK YOU, MY SCOTTISH BROTHER. Edit: Fun facts that aren't particularly related to anything but interesting nonetheless - Stallord is known as Hah-rah Gigant in Japanese and, in Link's Crossbow Training, has an extra third set of inverted horns in addition to the two sets already present in Twilight Princess. Double Edit: Anyone think it might have been a sort of execution beast particularly heinous criminals may have been lowered down to on the moving platform or perhaps a test for Hyrulean Knights to fight against similar to the Hinox (a Stal-Hinox by the time of Breath of the Wild) used to test Hyrulean Knights in Hyrule Castle?

[@HyruleGamer]

Thank YOU for watching :D

[@jakereich2080]

I think the King would not want that thing at Hyrule Castle, one because it could kill soldiers, two because it could destroy the castle and with that gone, a chance at Hyrule.

[@theorganicsage4544]

11:43 “You guessed it” Me: “Nipples” “Horns” Me: “Oh-“

[@CeranVA]

I feel that in a world as varied as the LOZ-verse, Stallord could easily have been anything. He could have been a demon created from hundreds of skeletons fusing into a dragonic shape, or he could have been a random land-dragon that the Gerudo kicked the shit out of.

[@HyruleGamer]

Fair enough :)

[@ducktender397]

stalords origins is one of my favorite zelda theories that people do, thanks for another great video!

[@HyruleGamer]

Thanks!

[@ghostfurret9184]

Loved the video! Stallord is my favorite boss in Twilight Princess, so the theory on its history makes it even better

[@HyruleGamer]

Thank you! :)

[@thomasr.6669]

I remember always thinking Stallord was a giant rat skeleton growing up lol. I don’t know why. Maybe it was due to all the ghost rats in one of the rooms in the dungeon 😂.

[@Joe-ik1ph]

This is a fascinating theory. I first asked myself why Stallord would be in the desert if it is similar to Volvagia, but that led me to thinking about a polar bear vs a brown bear. They are very similar, but can't survive in each other's environments. So Stallord was like a desert dragon and Volvagia was like a volcano dragon. But there is another question. Why was Stallord in the Arbiter's Ground? It might have been moved there, but I don't think so. More likely, the Arbiter's Ground was built over the dead dragon.

[@HyruleGamer]

Thanks :)

[@michaelprowland]

Stallord: Lord of the Stalfos? Lord of the Lizalfos? A Dino-sized Lizalfos?

[@antjesseharrismusic]

I think that Stalchildren's oversized hands would be a similar match for Stallord's design. more interesting is that it can summon the corpses of Hylian soldiers, which is a very Stallord type power to have lol. but it would bring the question of why would it have access to that many corpses in this area that's sealed off far from the heart of the Artbiter's Grounds?

[@reeseolsen4052]

Gladiatorial beast that feasts on prisoners, think lions and such. I suppose one could also kinda connect with the 2nd level of Impel Down, the Wild Beast Hell, in a way as well.

[@livthedragon]

Argorok is technically a Wyvern, Valoo is a drake, and Volvagia is a Lindwrum, but we’re not gonna get into that.

[@Ashetron]

Your love for this game really shows in the amount of effort and time put into this very believable theory. Good job!

[@HyruleGamer]

Thanks a ton!

[@sharpshooterxigbar5713]

Yet it’s an absolute shame that he called TP’s Ganondorf a descendant of OoT’s ganondorf. When in fact they are the same individual. That kinda ticked me off ngl.

[@faerylnhiikira1053]

HG: "What kind of creature might Stallord have been?" Me, before the video (and having never played TP): "It looks kinda like a dragon." HG: "It looks a lot like Volvagia, a dragon." Me: "Called it!"

[@dingyskydiver6114]

anyone else seen to notice the symbols on the wall that kind of look the lens of truth in the stallord dungeon room?

[@HyruleGamer]

A little but I believe that's Gerudo text :)

[@luisfernandocaelhernandez9599]

Yes

[@hannahrohlfing7898]

Love this take! While my personal theory is a little different to yours, they aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. The weapons in stallord’s skull implied that people were fighting it, and it IS in a room shaped like an arena. Maybe when the prison was still active, stallord was both contained there, while also being used as a sort of punishment/ultimatum for prisoners. Many prisons with arenas had gladiatorial combat, with the prize of victory being freedom, or a shortened sentence. In the case of stallord, perhaps freedom was offered as a prize, but never granted, as all of those who tried died.

[@Kerpkoop]

He always looked more like a Dodongo to me, personally. The head structure is a lot closer to that. Esp if you take into account the Hyrule Warriors version. They breathe fire, have inverted horns, the back legs are tiny so I could easily see them being buried in the sand. I see a lot of mentions to the theme being that of Volvagia’s in the comments but the Slain King Dodongo in OOT and Volvagia’s remains are both on death mountain so I think it holds up that they could’ve remixed the theme but that’s still a King Dodongo. Maybe a subspecies to the one in OOT or just an evolution of OOTs it was dangerous enough the Gorons sealed the cave. I can easily see them moving one to the Arbiter’s Grounds. Also Dodongo’s have kings, the biggest and meanest. This is a lord of the stals, not a coincidence. One more thing, look at the spine and compare it to the hyrule warrios version, it’s a bit closer to that then Volvagia’s species.

[@MrMoron435]

same bro i always thought he was a skeleton dodongo

[@BloodedBleiz]

Stallord is actually my all time favorite boss. Hes unique, compared to others. And I feel you on your theory, however... Its the fact he breaths smoke or ash as a partially full skeleton, and fire as just a head. But then... Theres the fur behind his head. Which is never really touched on, by any theories, books, lore or anything. Theres even some on his upper ribs... I always wondered what that initially was. Or why his body structure was that of giant, and almost human like. The head just feels... Off (no pun intended), compared to the rest of the body.

[@anonymus_knight4417]

That theory sounds plausible but i have something to say how Stallord might looked like alive. As you see is the ribcage of him more like one of a human, not very long. Volvagias ribcage is way longer as he has more of a snake type body and he only has arms as he glides trough the air like a snake on the ground with some kind of magic (just look up the Skeleton of a snake and you know what i mean). So we surely dont know how the rest of Stallords body looks like because its burried in sand but i beleave that he must have had legs simmilar to his arms. That means he is walking on the ground and not flying like Volvagia Thats just my idea i hope you guys like it

[@ZonarohGaming]

《Nora Draco》 I feel like this is pretty logical, while it’s possible that any extra ribs and stuff could have broken over time like Stallord’s teeth were, but I had always imagined Stallord as like a 4 legged monster or a 2 legged lumbering beast (Think hinox waking animation). That said I feel like the fire dragon theory is pretty good especially considering Stallord’s skull does actually fly on its own for phase 2, combined with similar body features.

[@HyruleGamer]

Interesting ideas :D

[@RisaKazura]

The issue of Volvagia and Stallord being related is the fact that Volvagia is a serpentine dragon. A serpantine dragon's skeletal structure would be akin to a snake, having a full body rib cage. The horns, though alike, also prove this theory false. Volvagia has only one set for horns on it's head (two horns) and Stallord has two sets (four horns). And to add to this a bit more, Stallord had more finger bones. Four fingers and one thumb, while Volvagia has two fingers and one thumb. Though, the theory was very enjoyable. I did like listening to it. ^^

[@tired5488]

I am so happy you made this theory

[@HyruleGamer]

Glad to hear :D

[@thelastmysteriouszonai5499]

Great video HG! I think too that Valoo isn't a descendent from Stallord,because Valoo has a much longer neck then Stallord!

[@AldersinStoneHeart]

Wow i just uploaded too XD what a coincidence! Love these videos HG keep it up!

[@HyruleGamer]

Nice! Thanks a lot :D

[@AldersinStoneHeart]

Hyrule Gamer I wanna hopefully one day make videos like these, also ur channel is growing like a weed XD

[@thevoidwalker0443]

Twilit Fossil Stallord from Twilight princess kinda looks like it's infected with malice bec it's an reanimated creature that had purple eyes.

[@HyruleGamer]

A little yeah :)

[@thevoidwalker0443]

@@HyruleGamer according to what ive found it is vary likely that it is infected with malice bec it acts like a mindless monster, i think Nintendo has been hinting at malice sense their first game in the timeline. it seams that most of the dark magic that raises the died is malice.

[@finntastic6225]

I believe that maybe Stallord is like a big Goron. Think about it if he is related to Volvagia then it is possible that he could have grown bigger like big Goron. Also, in both of the boss fights they are both seen in a hole in the middle of the boss fight arena.

[@HyruleGamer]

Interesting... :)

[@ElectricShark446]

I haven't really watched the video yet, but it looks like Farosh.

[@livvie_lavender]

I swear I just fought this enemy the other day and scary lol. And yoo I love your videos!

[@HyruleGamer]

Nice haha!

[@YuGiOhEMAN]

Another similarity, though small, is the hair. Just behind Stallord’s skull are tufts of hair or at least what looks to be hair. Volvagia’s hair is located in the same place.

[@BloodedBleiz]

However if you look carefully... Its on his ribcage as well, albeit the upper ribcage

[@cleosdemise9508]

Skeleton hinox: *Stal* - nox And *Stal* - lord? Hmmm

[@purplestar322]

new creature???

[@A_Lion_In_The_Sun]

I think the lord suffix just comes from the fact that it's big.

[@GriffinheartPlays]

"be sure to grab a snack or drink" *quickly grabs peanuts and a coke zero*

[@Matzkxmx]

10:29 its always the same ganondorf so yes he knew

[@HyruleGamer]

Indeed!

[@Matzkxmx]

@@HyruleGamer but I don't know if his triforce piece keeps him alive or the "we will do this shit forever" curse from demise. I like to believe it's the second because that would kinda explain why Ganondorf let's out the demise ooze out in the botw 2 trailer. We all know that he is not the guy who wants to be controlled like a puppet and maybe he noticed the curse and got pissed

[@bgheseger6937]

Everybody asks what is stallord. But nobody asks how is stallord

[@zendzend5107]

Might just be me but I feel that Stallord's design is a lot like General Onox from the Oracles games in his dragon form.

[@iBenjamin1000]

there I am, west of the great plateau, whatever region has that tower that you can't climb to the bottom of since it just descends into the void. I'm between he cliffs and the grasslands when I see the biggest goddamn fire dragon I've ever seen. Absolutely magnificent. First thought: Take a picture. Second thought: Can I kill it

[@ScottyFang]

12:27 anyone else notice that when stallord wakes up, he rears back & roars the same way that volvagia does when he comes out of one of the magma pools

[@HyruleGamer]

Yup!

[@sagacious03]

Well-researched & very engaging theory! Very glad to have found this, & very glad you uploaded it! Looking forward to your next!

[@lillydevil2486]

There's also the fact that Stallord's head can float. And one could argue that the reason his 'first stage' didn't float, was cuz half of it was buried in the sand. WHO KNOWS how long that spine goes XD

[@ChaoticHoly]

I hate to completely disagree...but I completely disagree and offer my alternate theory based on the shape of the boss and how it fights Link. Is Stallord a dragon? Yep. However, Volvagia is serpentine, while Stallord is far broader of chest like a classical European dragon. And we never see what's below the sand - it could be hips & legs, it could be a long or stubby tail - who knows. Now, what Zelda boss do we know instead that: A) Is a European-style dragon B) Is wide/robust of body C) Breaths fire/energy orbs D) Is capable of continuing to fight after his head is cut-off. If you answered **Gleeok**, then you win a cookie. I think Stallord is a fossilized remnant of a single-headed Gleeok. The long neck(s) of the original Gleeok were needed to illustrate animation back on the NES, but by the time of the GameCube such a limitation was no longer needed. But trying to use/animate multiple heads for a boss that size would likely be too much for the GameCube to consistently handle. So...single head, shorter neck, all Gleeok.

[@HyruleGamer]

No worries with disagreeing, the video is just my thoughts and a way to create a discussion :D Interesting ideas and thoughts!

[@arcticdino1650]

I think the fire powers of stalord are like how bubbles are flaming skulls. We know from Tri Force Heroes that stal enemies can become bubbles. I think that Stalord could be an ancient demon, like Staldritch of Spirit Tracks.

[@Emperoad]

I think Volvagia is just a younger version of Stallord. Nobody said Volvagia was as grown up as it possibly can. And dragons usually (kind of obviously) live longer than humans.

[@andrewm5367]

Literally beat this boss an hour before this video dropped! Excellent timing. Twilight Princess is the only Zelda game I've yet to finish and lockdown has given me the push to get this done!

[@bigsad5859]

one thing I noticed you didn't mention, the fur mane on the neck. also great job with the whole dinosaur thing :)

[@dylanstafford3414]

Argorok is my second favorite boss in Twilight princess. Topped only by Ganondorf.

[@kaitlynbrown1896]

this is an awesome theory, however, I think it's odd they were able to get such a powerful creature down in that chamber...

[@HyruleGamer]

Thanks, I appreciate it :D

[@pokeyant1912]

For some reason stallord reminds me of a Goron so perhaps it is an undead corrupted goron

[@alacru1]

Holy creep! I never realized Volvagia's lack of feet. Poor worm, so weird

[@ttongx9352]

0:35, yes since infernal beasts and monstrous eels aren’t fantasy.

[@angelhernandezvega6064]

I never thought about what Stallord could have been until I saw the thumbnail. Then I was like, "It's gotta be Volvagia."

[@Dt-2030]

5:19 Hyrule Gamer: Enemies do Prose- Me: that's in the bloopers

[@Agamer2907]

12:00 not sure if anyones noticed but the animation were volvagia's and Stallord are pretty similar to volvagia's when they pop out of one of the lava holes.

[@sohopedeco]

I just started playing Twilight Princess this month, seizing the opportunity of extra time during the quarantine. I've litteraly just beaten Stallord 15 min ago and then came straight to see what you had to say about him in the video.

[@Shotnthdark]

Nice video! I was thinking Stallord was an enemy made by the Twili when they tried to take over Hyrule.

[@hoo7797]

I do believe that Stallord is either Volvagia itself or a member of its species that was imprisoned in Arbiter's Grounds for some reason. (I know Volvagia was said to have died hundreds of years before OoT, so if Stallord were to be the very same dragon that we see in the Fire Temple, then my theory is that Ganondorf resurrected Volvagia in the Child Timeline too, but it was imprisoned along with him and the other criminals. Then it was imprisoned in the Arbiter's Ground for very long, and the corpses that rise to defend it during the battle are all the soldiers that were sent to kill it but failed. I believe it died of starvation, and in order to bury it, possibly to hide the smell of rotting flesh, its chamber was filled with sand.)

[@BabyKitty4347]

Another connection between the three dragons are that they all have some sort of hair/fur; as Stallord's skeleton seems to have an orange colored, decaying mane of fur hanging behind his skull, similar to the orange-fire mane of Volvagia. Valo seems connected as he has a beard as well, though, grey in color.

[@katherinelewis2735]

i agree with you on the Vovalgia and Stallord connection these are 2 of my favorite Zelda bosses.

[@HyruleGamer]

Awesome!

[@kmparado]

Volvagia has a more snake type body. Its skelleton is basically just a giant spine. Stallord’s ribcage highly sugests that it had a torso. That is a difference WAY more significant than they both having horns

[@KadenMacKay]

1:30 If this moment in the gameplay footage isn’t relatable, I don’t know what is

[@person3961]

Also just an additional fact- sand is really effective to put out fires bc can limit oxygen access required for combustion so if you wanna put out a fire demon cover it in sand

[@ryanaguilar7276]

Also playing into your theory that the chamber was designed to kill it with sand; the reanimated soldiers that pop up as you fight him could have been the soldiers that died while they forced the beast into the pit before they filled it up. We also know that Volvagia is a female of it's species so the double horns and bigger features could be a because it is a male; so I think there is a lot going for your theory. Great video keep it up.

[@HyruleGamer]

Cool ideas, thanks!

[@ZonarohGaming]

I had a similar idea with Volvagia and Stallord being the same species just different genders but I had thought that Volvagia didn’t have a canonical gender, the closest I could find was a mistake where they accidentally had characters refer to Volvagia as male as opposed to female. But generally I agree it would be “Sexual Dimorphism” as a more likely candidate.

[@pluspiping]

IMO, the most interesting and on-point observation in this video is how Stallord is buried in a pit of SAND. If Stallord was a fire demon (or fire dragon) it would make sense to EXTINGUISH it by burying it in a pit of sand, much like how a campfire is best extinguished by dumping sand on it. And as you said, the sand would also hold the beast down as it (and its flames) got snuffed out. The aftermath of which is how we first find it, buried in sand.

[@thillsification]

There's a line in here that makes no sense .. "could the Ganondorf in TP have known about the legend of volvagia and what is descendant-incarnation in ocarina of time .." I have no idea what Hyrule gamer means by this sentence

[@jarg_64]

I feel like he is a reference to the Dodongo from OoT as when it dies it has its front ... arms? Paws? Legs? Out with its head as the body is submerged in Magma being trapped as it solidifies, as for what it was alive, it can be anything but a dragon or dragon dodongo hybrid sounds about right

[@Kaldrin]

Makes sense, and it reminds me of the "adult volvagia" like skeleton in Sws's earth temple. You forgot to mention Volvagia's theme (also being king dodongo's) plays during Stallord's second phase.

[@josephbeaulieu1569]

I like the theory that prisoners were made to fight Stallord and all died, which is why it summons all the soldiers who died fighting him, and when Ganondorf fought Stallord he killed it, so the sages had to resort to execution.

[@2014saints]

Around 10:35 you seem to imply that the Ganondorf from OoT and Twilight Princess are two different individuals. (iirc) Ganondorf from OoT, TP and WW is one person. He lived for hundreds of years.

[@TheSeaofScience]

I think Onyx (in his dragon form) from OOS has more similar features than volvagia

[@tylerseverance5789]

Even Captain Keeta says "excuse me, sir" to Stallord

[@_Tzer]

Now we need to wait for a dragon fangame of zelda where you fight it alive

[@kyleschulz38]

Has anyone ever noticed How Zant was talking about "Stallos" before bringing him back to life? He said, "But this is truly a bittersweet reunion". Aka Link (his past hero self) defeated this enemy before

[@ellobodehielo]

Another connection you didn't mention is the fighting style. Volvagia either flies around and spits fire or pokes out of the ground with only the upper torso exposed. Stallord does the same thing and a more minor connection is that you only finally kill it, after hitting the head with a blunt object.