All-Star Battle/Diavolo

Diavolo is a playable character in All-Star Battle. As one of the seven main antagonists, Diavolo is stronger than most characters and his ability to cause massive damage per individual hit makes up for his limited combos.

As one of the majority of playable characters in the game with the "Stand" Style, Diavolo can turn King Crimson on/off, changing movesets. However, unlike the vast majority of Stand users in the game, he does not have access to the Stand Rush ability that returns from the Capcom game; None of his skills allow him to attack in conjunction with his Stand, as every single one of his attacks, including all of his normal attacks, are delivered solely by King Crimson. He shares this trait with Hol Horse and Guido Mista.

King Crimson acts as a powerful Stand whose melee attacks deal great single-hit damage and easily knock the opponent off their feet. When it is active, Diavolo's Heavy ground and air normal attacks knock the opponent down, and his crouching Heavy attack knocks the opponent into the air; His crouching Medium attack fills in the role of tripping the opponent. These melee attacks can be used to set up combos as most of his skills lack the potential to do so. Diavolo has 900 HP.

Gameplay Overview
Diavolo is a close-ranged, bruiser-style of fighter specializing in heavy single hits. As both his HHA and GHA are not striking attacks that can be used in combos, his damage output is intrinsically higher to compensate. This allows his combos to remove higher amounts of health even without the need for Flash-Cancelling to extend them, making his power consistently formidable. Although he boasts great striking power while in Stand Off, while King Crimson is active, he becomes more suited towards grappling with both a command Throw and anti-air attack to intimidate defensive foes. Diavolo's various counters assist his offense by forcing his opponent to act cautiously when attacking, especially when he has the Heart Heat necessary to use his greater special powers that neutralize their abilities in various ways. Said counters also alleviate any opportune readiness to punish his attacks, and he can easily overcome projectile-wielding characters.

That being said, Diavolo's attacks are slower and his abilities are limited in quantity. While he excels at close-quarters combat, he is incongruous with an aggressive, "rushdown" style of play; This is due to the holes in his offense often leaving him open to retaliation. As he places emphasis on counters, inopportune attempts to use them can result in punishment. Diavolo possesses lower-than-average health, and slower Heart Heat generation, meaning that he can afford to make fewer mistakes in battle. To wield him with any degree of success necessitates better experience and understanding of the game's mechanics than most.

In essence, Diavolo is a brutish combatant who unleashes tremendous damage for much less effort than other characters. His balanced mix of offensive and defensive techniques, simplified combo structures, and naturally high damage-dealing capabilities have led him to being viewed as one of the best characters in the game, debatably the best alongside Joseph Joestar and Giorno.