Stalfos Knight

Stalfos Knights, also known as Skeleton Knights are a variety of exceptionally large, strong Stalfos that appear in A Link to the Past, armed with large blades. They are stationed in the Ice Palace, where they drop from the ceiling in certain rooms to attack. They then proceed to leap across the room to assault Link. Attacking a Stalfos Knight with a sword will simply cause it to collapse into a heap, only to reform shortly afterwards. They commonly appear in pairs.

The only way to destroy a Stalfos Knight is to attack with a certain weapon when they have crumpled in a heap, Bombs. A single Bomb once the knight is stunned is enough to destroy it for good. If Link does not have Bombs, it is actually possible to destroy a Stalfos Knight with repeated hits from a Boomerang, but it takes many many strikes to deliver the final blow. Stalfos Knights often drop bombs for Link to collect when they are destroyed.

Stalfos Knights also appear in the Palace of the Four Sword of the Game Boy Advance release. These knights are a red color compared to those in the Ice Palace, but they are the same strength.

The Stalfos Knights in A Link to the Past are the largest non-boss enemy in the game, and are about four times the size of a regular Stalfos and tower over Link.

Trivia

 * The regular Stalfos of The Adventure of Link share the same Japanese name as the Stalfos Knights of A Link to the Past, Stalfon.
 * Master Stalfos from Link's Awakening is a particularly dangerous Stalfos Knight boss that is defeated in the same manner as those in A Link to the Past.
 * Early screenshots of Ocarina of Time show Stalfos with a very similar design to the Stalfos Knights of A Link to the Past.
 * The behavior of Stalfos Knights and Master Stalfos went on to influence the behavior of normal Stalfos in Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess, such as using Bombs on their bones to destroy them.