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

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

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

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

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.

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

"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

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.

Love the twilight content. Criminally underrated game.

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.

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

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!

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.)

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.

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

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...

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

Theory: thin Molduga? Evidence: Sand

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

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 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?

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.

What a name. Stallord.

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.

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

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 😂.

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?

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

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

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

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

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.

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?

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

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.

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

I am so happy you made this theory

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

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.

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

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.

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!"

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Your videos are always well thought out and enjoyable. Thanks HG!

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

nice stallord vid, I got pretty giddy when you brought up Dinosaur classification

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

Love every single video of yours! How about more Skyward Sword theories, Lanayru Desert past for example?

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!

I have played TP so many times and I never thought about this! Great theory! (as always)

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.

Hey Great Video HG, I think you're spot on with your theory, really great video :), you really go in depth in your videos and its what keeps people coming back, along with the fact that your videos are amazing nevertheless, isn't it amazing to think about stallord in death mountain? A giant colossal dragon that ripped through the rocks...

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

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

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.

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.

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

Suprised I've never seen your channel around before! Nice theory.

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.

I think the length of the neck between the two also helps tie them together as the other options had a much longer neck. Probably a good call on this and smart on you for using oot as a point of reference since the game already did that

Awesome video, Keep up the good work

Yoo i didint expect this type of video to be uploaded early

I've been waiting for this explanation since I fought him waaaay back when the game first came out, I am not disappointed.

Hey man, I'm Italian and I really enjoy your videos. I'd like to add subtitles to your videos because I think these fantastic theories should be spread even to those who don't understand English,

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

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.

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.

I was thinking it was a creature that they put it in the arbiters grounds to punish the prisoners

For all the connections to dragons in the video, Stallord seems more like a skeletal version of King Dodongo to me.

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)

I'd be grumpy too if I woke up with a giant toothpick in my head XD

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

My first thought on seeing stallord was volvagias skeleton. The first stage of the battle he even acts like volvagia

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

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.

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

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

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.)

Cool, actually first thing that came to my mind when I first played Twilight princess was "holy sh*t, is this volvagia?" I don't know it just came to my mind in that moment

I also noticed that Stallord has an eerily similar appearance to the dragon Dinraal from Breath of the Wild, with a similar head shape, horns and since the sand covers most of the giant pit that makes up the boss arena, it can also be implied that there is a long snake like body underneath all that sand

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

I'm binge watching Hyrule Gamer because I'm SO behind.

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.