Dio Brando/Games

A summary of Dio Brando's history and movesets in video games. =Heritage for the Future=

Heritage for the Future (Arcade/PS1/Dreamcast)
DIO from Stardust Crusaders appears as 2 fighters in Heritage for the Future, Evil Incarnate/Shadow DIO and, simply, DIO.

This is the only official JoJo game to feature as DIO's voice actor, who would be replaced by Takehito Koyasu in the future. As this game was released before the Stardust Crusaders anime, the colors for both DIO and The World are originals, although, rather coincidentally, the default costume for DIO's boss form happens to match the exact colors of anime DIO of the same costume.

{{Tabber
 * Shadow DIO|

Evil Incarnate / Shadow DIO
Evil Incarnate DIO (邪悪の化身ディオ), or "Shadow DIO" in the English localization, is the form DIO takes for most of Part 3 while waiting for his body to completely assimilate. To reflect this, his moveset involves mainly open-hand light and heavy attacks (which ties into how weak the left side of his body was if Dio happens to have his animations be performed when facing right).

The World in this form, is also depicted as a faint-and-clear silhouette.

Moveset and Gameplay
In the game where Active Stands are prevalent, Shadow DIO is a passive Stand User. He can deal a lot of damage with full offensive attacks without an Active Stand via a solid amount of frame-traps and pseudo-disjointed pokes with his silhouette-version of The World, even though he lacks the more defensive and utility-type traits of having an active Stand. He also has a counter-reversal move, a reference to his encounter with Hol Horse, that helps this playstyle to be more effective, which can be used either for offense as a reversal punisher, or defense when DIO himself is under pressure.

While not shown in the manga or anime in earlier chapters, Shadow DIO is capable of throwing knives. These knives, while not too fast for up-close combat, can push enemies further back and gives him a semblance of anti-air defense. The angle of the knives can be varied (straight forward or in a fanned-spread either upward or forward, and he can throw knives twice. The first knife throw has a large amount of hitstun and can be used to ease into combos, though either version is meant to control a certain range of space.

His eyebeam projectile can be charged to an incredibly powerful and unblockable level, sometimes causing a Stand Crash in one hit. But like his normal form, it can easily be ducked under.

His Stand attacks are effective as surprises, and capable of juggling and/or short bread-and-butter combo finishers. Combined with his own attacks, he deals a lot of damage in a short time, more so within The World, when he stops time.

His Super Combo, "Punishment", deals heavy damage if it connects. However, it cannot be incorporated into combos easily and works better as an out-of-pressure reversal or a frame trap. His other Super Combo, called "Charisma", takes two levels of power, but the buds coming out of his hair are unblockable and home in on the enemy. The slow start-up animation of this move requires it to be a part of the combo, in order to perform the move without being interrupted by the enemy's attacks (or to be used during the opponent's wakeup to lock them down more effectively).

Trivia
If Shadow DIO is transformed by Alessi's Stand, he will transform into Wang Chan carrying Dio's severed head in a jar from the final few chapters of Phantom Blood.


 * DIO|

DIO
This is the appearance DIO takes for the final chapters of Stardust Crusaders. A majority of his "open-handed" attacks are now properly clenched into fists (his light and hard attacks), signifying his better control over the body. The World is also fully revealed.

This DIO comes with 2 different versions, one being a playable 'Greatest High' DIO, and the other being a boss DIO.

In the Story Mode, DIO will wear his jacket for the first round in the final battle against him, and his abilities will be limited. Upon being defeated once, he will shed his jacket and declare it to be the final round, regardless of how many rounds the player sets.

Moveset and Gameplay
His moveset now resembles Jotaro's, with a few touches of his own. In contrast to Jotaro, DIO is more effective with his Stand on. His Stand combos are effective at dealing a lot of damage to the enemy in a short time. As such, DIO specializes in quick disposal of an enemy.

His Blazing Strikes can be manipulated to hit low, where the enemy must guard low. This makes his attacks unpredictable, keeping opponents on their toes. His Space Ripper Stingy Eyes attacks, now with different commands, are now completely unblockable, though the animation is notably slower and lack any ability to cause a Stand Crash right off.

His Road Roller, though weak in JoJo's Venture, now deals greater damage in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. His Chi no Shoukan (Bloody Summoning), added in the second game, requires the enemy to be hit before he sucks their blood. The scene when he connects with the move is considerably graphic, with a cutscreen of the enemy's face being punctured by DIO's fingers.

While he does have considerable damaging potential, he does have handicaps; His super moves cannot be integrated into combos in such a way that they will chain together. However, his super moves have a degree of invincibility, which increase his effectiveness in close-quarter battles, even when predictable. DIO players tend to rely on frame traps or mistakes from the enemy to inflict damage. To be able to use him well, DIO players must have the reflexes to perform their super moves at the right moment and often with right judgement.

His The World - Time Stop is particularly deadly at 10 levels of power. He can deploy a lot of knives (particularly the Active Stand version of the Super Move) repeatedly, especially point blank on the enemy, and perform Road Roller before the power gauge goes below level 1. If the enemy is big in size, the more the enemy will take damage from the knives. It is a gamble though to successfully perform The World against a human player, but the damage it inflicts is worth the effort.

His time stop ability can be foiled by attacks that bring total invincibility to its user, Vanilla Ice being one such character. True to the manga and anime, Jotaro also can usurp the timestop from DIO if he does his own timestop command in the right moment.

Trivia
If DIO is hit by Alessi's Stand, he will turn into Nukesaku. }}

=Phantom Blood=

Phantom Blood (PS2)
Multiple different versions of Dio appear in the game, reflecting the events of the original story. Although two iterations can be used in 77 Rings Knights Mode, most of his playable variations are exclusive to Dio Mode, a mode where the player follows the story through Dio's perspective.

=All-Star Battle=

All-Star Battle (PS3)
Dio appears in this fighting game as two separate fighters; the first being "Dio Brando" from Part 1 Phantom Blood, and the second being "DIO", from Part 3 Stardust Crusaders. This marks him as one of only three characters with two incarnations in the game, the others being Young/Old Joseph Joestar and Original/Kosaku Yoshikage Kira.

Vampire characters (Dio Brando, DIO and Vanilla Ice) and Pillar Men characters (Wamuu, Esidisi and Kars) can't fight on stages that contain sunlight. To play on those stages they need to be equipped with the Red Stone of Aja on the character select screen, which is unlocked by beating their respective parts in Story Mode.

{{Tabber|Dio Brando|

Dio Brando (Part 1)
Dio Brando from Phantom Blood uses the rare Vampirism Style as part of his moveset, which allows him to follow up on any number of his skills with attacks that let him steal small amounts of his opponent's health or even Heart Heat Gauge.

This is also the first piece of JoJo media to feature Takehito Koyasu as Dio's Japanese voice actor, replacing all of his other voices prior. Since this casting decision, Takehito has remained as Dio's voice actor for the anime adaptation, as well as future, related games like Eyes of Heaven and All-Star Battle R.

Command List
Dio has 900 HP. His moveset mostly comprises the vampiric feats he had done in the original manga.

Gameplay Overview
Dio falls into the "rushdown" archetype of character, wielding high-speed mobility and a healthy mix of unblockable attacks, command throws, and high-low mix-up attacks to maintain an overwhelming offensive against a defending foe. His aggressive playstyle is compounded by his ability to freely cancel many of his skills into his dedicated Super Jump, rendering many maneuvers safe that would otherwise leave him vulnerable. Dio also has multiple ways to chain into his signature Vampirism-style abilities while attacking to rapidly take both his opponent's health or Heart Heat for himself. His HHA is a very valuable asset, dealing all of its damage in a single hit and striking at all ranges, allowing him to readily punish unwise actions regardless of distance and potentially inflict massive Counter Hit damage in the process.

Dio's core weaknesses are lower-than-average health to offset his Vampiric powers, as well as the potency of his aggression being affected by his foe's own familiarity with him. Without proper handling, placing him in high-risk combat scenarios can lead to massive amounts of health lost, and even with his Super Jump ability there are always gaps in his offense that a savvy opponent can exploit. Because of these, he must not make himself too predictable in order to continue taking the advantage of his formidable offensive potential.

As a whole, Dio is a extremely tricky, aggressive, close-ranged fighter. He holds the means to repeatedly assault his foe from multiple angles with few obvious openings for counterattack, and exert constant pressure until he finally bypasses their defense. Using his great maneuverability, he ultimately aims to get within melee range of his opponent and then continuously force them to guess how to properly defend against his physical onslaught.

Trivia
Part 1 Dio, after performing his Space Ripper Stingy Eyes HHA, rears backward much like both versions of DIO did in Heritage for the Future.


 * DIO|

DIO (Part 3)
DIO from Stardust Crusaders is now of the Stand Style, wielding The World which he can turn "on/off", changing movesets, as well as having access to the Stand Rush ability returning from the Capcom game, , being able to attack in conjunction with his Stand.

As with his Part 1 iteration, this DIO is also voiced by Takehito Koyasu for the first time.

Costumes
DIO's Special Costume B is from JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE OVER HEAVEN, a light novel written by with illustrations drawn by Hirohiko Araki, and released as part of the special JoJo 25th anniversary project "VS JOJO".

Command List
DIO has 840 HP.

Gameplay Overview
During combat, DIO can use a multitude of different attacks that were featured in Stardust Crusaders. The World possesses great utility, allowing him to effectively battle from most ranges, primarily midrange. Many of his moves utilize his Stand's ability and power to deliver surprise attacks and break through defenses with unblockable moves. Even in the absence of his Stand, DIO by himself has an above-average set of abilities that can still effectively counter a predictable offense, and even steal his opponent's health as per his vampire powers.

His control over time provides uniquely powerful options; not only within his characteristic time stop that leaves the opponent completely at his mercy, but also with the ability to escape combos at the cost of Heart Heat. This way, if DIO has enough Heart Heat, he can both force his opponent to approach and challenge him with the threat of him stopping time, and simultaneously keep them cautious when actually attacking him, as certain combos on their part cannot be guaranteed.

However, DIO has much lower than average health compared to the average character, making mistakes and losing interactions very costly for him. When not in Stand ON, his odd abilities can take some time to fully grasp, and thus he can feel a bit weaker without The World active. Finally, DIO's best combos are of a higher level of execution than most, requiring good practice and familiarity to properly execute. Aside from characters considered better than him, DIO has a natural enemy in none other than Jotaro, as Jotaro has specific means of countering DIO exclusive to him alone that can turn the advantage against him.

True to his character, DIO is a versatile and complex fighter, wielding an impressive variety of abilities and skills, and thus boasting many options for not only offensive but also defensive purposes. Overall, he builds upon a balanced, jack-of-all-trades character archetype, combining his time-stopping powers with vampiric abilities to unleash immense combo damage.

Trivia
}}
 * When DIO performs a stand-alone Time Stop, The World flies outward, arms outstretched and hands curled into fists similar to how it appeared in the OVA.
 * DIO has the most unique pre-battle dialogues with other characters. This includes conversations with Jonathan, Jotaro, Old Joseph, Polnareff, Kakyoin, Avdol, Hol Horse, Vanilla Ice, Giorno, Enrico Pucci, and both parts of himself.
 * P3 DIO was the most voted character for the fan-vote All-Star Battle League and even won the tournament, beating Jotaro Kujo in the final match.

=All-Star Battle R=

All-Star Battle R (Various)
Takehito Koyasu returns as the voice actor for both characters, having voiced them in both  and the various anime adaptations. Like with the rest of the cast, most - if not all - voicelines were re-recorded, and new ones were added.

{{Tabber|Dio Brando|

Dio Brando (Phantom Blood)
"Weakling, weakling!! (貧弱貧弱ゥ！！)"

Dio Brando (ディオ・ブランドー) was confirmed for All-Star Battle R during the game's initial announcement trailer.

Although his moveset remains fundamentally the same as his from All-Star Battle, a few tweaks have been made to both balance the character and fit him into the overall gameplay changes that All-Star Battle R brought along.

Costumes
Dio Brando, like the rest of the roster currently featured in the anime adaptation of their Part, Dio, by default, sports the outfit that he wears in the Phantom Blood anime adaptation.


 * DIO|

DIO (Stardust Crusaders)
"Useless, useless, useless, useless, useless, useless, useless, useless, useless, useless, useless, useless, useleeeess! (無駄無駄無駄無駄無駄無駄無駄無駄無駄無駄無駄無駄無駄ァーーーッ！)"

- DIO's Stand Cry

DIO was confirmed for All-Star Battle R during the announcement trailer. He is one of the four characters playable in the game's Early Access Demo alongside Jonathan Joestar, Jotaro Kujo, and Jolyne Cujoh.

Although his moveset remains fundamentally the same as his from All-Star Battle, a few tweaks have been made to both balance the character and fit him into the overall gameplay changes that All-Star Battle R brought.

Costumes
DIO, the rest of the roster currently featured in the anime adaptation of their Part, DIO, by default, sports the outfit that he wears in the Stardust Crusaders anime adaptation. The most significant alteration to his appearance are colors of his clothes and Stand to match the anime.

Moveset Changes
DIO uses the Stand Battle Style, fighting foes with The World.

The following movelist only includes DIO's new and updated moves from All-Star Battle R. For the rest of his moveset, see his All-Star Battle section.

Updated Moves
}}

=Eyes of Heaven=

Eyes of Heaven (PS3/PS4)
For information on Heaven Ascension DIO, check out his article exclusively.

{{Tabber
 * Phantom Blood|

Dio Brando
Dio Brando of Phantom Blood was confirmed for Eyes of Heaven alongside Iggy, N'Doul and Old Joseph Joestar.

He is of the Vampire style. As such, a number of his abilities allow him to not only drain his opponents' health, but also to enter a Vampiric Power-Up Mode, boosting his movement speed and attack damage, among other things. All damage to him aside from Ripple-based will become "white damage", that can be healed over time, and inversely, Dio will take more damage from Ripple-based attacks.

With the release of the Phantom Blood anime, his costume is completely different to that of All-Star Battle, replacing his primarily yellow color-scheme with a redder look. Additionally, Takehito Koyasu reprises his voice acting role from All-Star Battle, having also voiced Dio in the anime.

JoJolities

 * Prepare to be frozen in your tracks!: Dio must connect "MUDA MUDA MUDA!" 3 times. (200 Points)
 * Do you remember how many breads you have eaten in your life?: Dio must connect his Style Action 5 times. (200 Points)
 * I, Dio, will kill you!: Dio must Retire an opponent. (300 Points)
 * I reject my humanity!: Dio must retain a Vampiric Power-Up Mode for 20 counts of the battle timer. (500 Points)
 * You thought you stood a chance?: Dio must win within 50 counts of the battle timer. (800 Points)

Tournament
Dio Brando is paired with Joseph Joestar (Part 2) in the Eyes of Heaven Tournament, defeating Caesar Zeppeli and Shigekiyo Yangu in the first round, but eliminated by Kars and Pet Shop in the second.

Trivia
He has special dialogue when teamed up with Jonathan in his Dual Heat Attack, where both, while showing great disdain for the other, reluctantly accept each other as partners.


 * Stardust Crusaders|

DIO
DIO of Stardust Crusaders was confirmed for Eyes of Heaven alongside Vanilla Ice. He appears as one of the 6 playable characters in the game's second demo.

He is both a Stand User and a Vampire. As a Vampire, he is able to steal opponents' health. All damage to him aside from Ripple-based will become "white damage", that can be healed over time, and inversely, DIO will take more damage from Ripple-based attacks. As a Stand User, DIO is one of many characters with wildly varied abilities that grant him uniqueness in battle.

Unlike All-Star Battle, DIO now sports default colors to match the Stardust Crusaders anime adaptation, most noticeably wearing a black shirt rather than his previously green one. Also, like the Part 3 anime, Takehito Koyasu reprises his role as DIO's voice actor from All-Star Battle.

JoJolities

 * It's only fitting that I finish you off with The World's true power!: DIO must use his Style Action. (200 Points)
 * WRYYAAAAA!: DIO must connect a Powerful Attack as the third step in a mid-air combo. (200 Points)
 * Heh heh heh! I knew you'd never be able to match The World's power and precision!: DIO must connect "MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!" five times. (300 Points)
 * Idiot...: DIO must connect "This is... The World!" 3 times. (500 Points)
 * You haven't even noticed that you're dead.: DIO must land a Dual Heat Attack while time is stopped. (800 Points)

Tournament
DIO is paired with Jonathan in the Eyes of Heaven Tournament, defeating Will Anthonio Zeppeli and Koichi Hirose in the first round and Wamuu and N'Doul in the second. In the semifinals, they defeated Mariah and Esidisi in the first round, but were eliminated by Kars and Pet Shop in the second.

In the semifinals, DIO is introduced in another team, paired with Jotaro. They defeat Mariah and Esidisi in the first round, but were eliminated by Jolyne Cujoh and Gyro Zeppeli in the second.

Trivia
When paired with Jonathan during his Dual Heat Attack: While Jonathan agrees to fight with DIO for the battle only, DIO notes that such a statement only proves that they are the same person. }}

=Diamond Records=

Diamond Records (Android/iOS)
Dio appears in Diamond Records as a playable character with various different iterations, ranging from Dio Brando in Phantom Blood, to multiple versions of DIO in Stardust Crusaders. Additionally, his severed head appears as part of Wang Chan's moveset.

DIO (Stardust Crusaders)
Normal=

=Pitter-Patter Pop=

Stardust Crusaders
=Jump Titles=

Cult Jump (GB)
DIO appears as one of the ten characters from the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure franchise in the game.

Jump Super Stars (Nintendo DS)
DIO is one of the many playable characters in Jump Super Stars. He can only be unlocked after clearing the game once.

He has three potential "battle panel" formations: a 4-block, a 5-block and a 6-block. All three have his characteristic "MUDAMUDA!" stream of punches as one special attack. His other special attack varies depending on the formation: With the 4-block, it's "The World, Circle of Knives", with the 5-block it's "The World, Road Roller" and with the 6-block, it's "The World, Time Stop". He also features in two "support panels" - the 2-block "Eye-Crushing Kick" and the 3-block "WRYAAAAA!" - and one "help panel" which renders the player's battle character immune from damage for a short period of time.

In terms of playing style, he is best for long-range attacks and uses a combination of punches and kicks. The World gives him a longer range than most characters, but at the cost of his speed. Dio is able to drains an opponent's health in close quarters (via sticking his fingers in their neck) and transfers it to himself. He can use "Space Ripper Stingy Eyes" as a regular attack, and has an aerial move which involves throwing knives.

Interestingly, he receives a power boost when his "battle panels" are placed beside those of from Shaman King and/or  from Busou Renkin. He is also able to perform a special tag-team attack with from Naruto called "Sharingan World", whereby DIO's homing daggers and Sasuke's shuriken slice through all enemies on the screen.

Jump Ultimate Stars (Nintendo DS)
DIO returns in the Jump Super Stars ' sequel, Jump Ultimate Stars and retains his previous playing style.

In the game, DIO can receive a power boost when his panel is placed beside Giorno (whom asks if DIO is one person with two bodies), Jonathan (who mocks him with his iconic line "MUDAMUDA!") and Taizo from Taizo Mote King Saga (whom asks if DIO remembers how many pairs of underwear he had worn to date, parodying Dio's classic line)''. ''

DIO also provides an ally boost to from Dragon Ball Z  (he asks Freeza if he also seeks for immortality) and Dr. Mashirito from DR.Slump (he asks if Mashirito has his ideology; after winning comes world domination, a goal shared by both villains).

J-Stars Victory Vs (PS3/PS4/PS Vita)
Aside from being mentioned by Jonathan only once in Story Mode, he does not appear in any form in the game. However, hidden data was found in the game for him and Jotaro as playable characters (alongside other Weekly Shonen Jump characters Yoh and Dai, from and  respectively).

Jump Force (PS4/Xbox One/Nintendo Switch/PC)


DIO of Stardust Crusaders was officially revealed for Jump Force alongside Jotaro Kujo on February 1, 2019.

As DIO's official voice actor since 2013, Takehito Koyasu voices DIO in this game as well.

Unlike most other JoJo games published by Bandai Namco since All-Star Battle, DIO here has a brand new model to fit with the rest of the game's artstyle. Much of his moveset in Jump Force also appears to be originally animated, with few noticeable similarities between it and his Eyes of Heaven moveset, for example. Unlike Jotaro's appearance in this same game, DIO does wear the same color-scheme as in the Stardust Crusaders anime.

Moveset
=Miscellaneous Games=

GioGio's Bizarre Adventure (PS2)
Stardust Crusaders DIO appears in the game's opening during a scene where Giorno Giovanna looks at the picture of his father in his wallet, replicating the action taken in an early chapter of Vento Aureo.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (SFC)
DIO will sporadically appear throughout the game to taunt the heroes and comment on what tarot cards have been chosen for them. He appears as the final boss of the game and, unlike the manga, the entire Joestar group is pitted against him (this includes Jotaro, Joseph, Polnareff, Kakyoin and the then-meant-to-be-deceased Avdol and Iggy.) He primarily uses his Stand, The World, and its time stop ability to deal major damage to the player characters. However, he has the glaring weakness of taking much more damage from attacks dealt by Jotaro within his own stopped time.

Stardust Shooters (Android/IOS)


DIO appears as one of the several Part 1 and Part 3 characters who possess a Metal Strike, with several different appearances.

For his Part 1 variations, his younger self's Finish Move attacks the opponent with a punch followed by a fingerprint (mimicking the same finishing blow he dealt to Jonathan in their first fight), while his vampire versions attack the opponent with his fingers while sucking their blood.

For his Part 3 variations, his Shadow DIO Finish Move makes him attack the opponent with his hair, while his normal version attacks the opponent with his Stand's "MUDAMUDAMUDA!" rush.

By being the greatest villain in the game, his Metal Strikers are naturally the hardest ones to obtain in the game, usually requiring special conditions and tasks to be earned.

Last Survivor (Arcade)
DIO was one of the characters first confirmed during the game's announcement.

A second version of the character name DIO (Greatest High ver.) (DIO (最高にハイ)) was announced on March 11, 2021, and added to the game on March 17.