Jonathan Joestar/Games

Intro A summary of Jonathan Joestar's history and movesets in video games.

=Phantom Blood=

Phantom Blood (PS2)
Jonathan is the main playable character in the game's Story Mode. Throughout the game, the player controls many different versions of him, sometimes with wildly differing movesets.

=All-Star Battle=

All-Star Battle (PS3)
Jonathan is a playable character in the PS3 game. He was confirmed along with Will Anthonio Zeppeli and Johnny Joestar. He is a Ripple-user character along with Will, Joseph, Caesar, and Lisa Lisa. Jonathan has 1000 HP.

Moveset
Jonathan's moveset mostly comprises of the Ripple-based moves he had used in the original manga.

As the first and original JoJo, Jonathan is understandably designed as a balanced, beginner-friendly character, embodying the "Shoto" archetype. As such, he carries with him hallmark moves of the archetype such as a projectile, a rising anti-air/reversal attack, and a forward-moving attack that hits multiple times, among other abilities, making him reliable and easy to grasp to those familiar. Due to being a Ripple User, Jonathan's special skills offer more damage and combo extensions when enhanced. With Ripple-enhanced skills, Jonathan has a wealth of methods to power through attacks and knock his opponent into the air for easy follow-up attacks, and when applied together, lengthier and higher-damage combos come naturally to him.

However, Jonathan predictably struggles at range especially against Stand Users, requiring him to extend himself well into other characters' ranges to battle, although some of his moves help alleviate this. He also lacks any special movement options, rendering his maneuverability somewhat limited despite excelling at close combat. Jonathan's biggest weakness is a reliance on Heart Heat, as he tends to suffer more than other Ripple Users due to his short range and lack of strong combos in the absence of Ripple-enhanced abilities. At the same time, should he have a surplus of Heart Heat to spend, Jonathan may secure himself a chance to make a comeback during a losing battle. Overall, Jonathan can be considered a well-rounded character leaning towards close-ranged high offense, and with good management of Heart Heat his damage output and other capabilities will remain steadfast.

Miscellaneous
Besides the Part 1 characters, Jonathan has a special intro with DIO's Part 3 incarnation, where Jonathan expresses horror at Dio seemingly being alive again while DIO remarks on "JoJo"'s appearance before him possibly being "a challenge from the past."

=All-Star Battle R=

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R
Jonathan 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 Jotaro Kujo, DIO, and Jolyne Cujoh

Major changes from All-Star Battle

 * Zoom Punch: Both versions are performed much faster, with the Medium input now executing quickly enough that it can be chained into from normal attacks, offering Jonathan a basic and free combo extension.
 * Tackle: The attack no longer sends the opponent flying into the stage wall, now only dealing great knockback. This results in the opponent getting launched at a slower velocity, making it easier to successfully chain into more moves from it.
 * This is my final Ripple!: This skill leaves Jonathan with a much smaller amount of health than before upon revival.
 * Sendo Ripple Overdrive: The wave travels much faster, and pushes the opponent back further on-hit.
 * Overdrive Barrage: The input for this skill has been changed to + //.
 * The Sword of Luck & Pluck: This skill has a longer start-up period, but the slashes are delivered much faster.

=Eyes of Heaven=

Eyes of Heaven (PS3/PS4)
Jonathan was confirmed for the game alongside Will Anthonio Zeppeli and Robert E. O. Speedwagon. Unlike the previous game, Jonathan's main color scheme is now based on his anime appearance.

Moveset
Most of his moveset and character model remains the same from All-Star Battle. New additions to Jonathan's attacks includes him using the spear he attacked Dio with shortly after his transformation as a Powerful Attack. Several of his new combos and sidesteps are now based on his boxing skills (displayed during his childhood in Part 1).

As a Ripple User, Jonathan has a Ripple Gauge that determines the strength of his attacks.

JoJolities

 * One-in-a-Million Potential: Jonathan must completely fill his Ripple Gauge. (200 Points)
 * Father! Grant me your final power!: Jonathan must connect a Powerful Attack as the third step in a mid-air combo. (200 Points)
 * I want to become a true gentleman!: Jonathan must successfully execute 5 Combo Breakers. (300 Points)
 * I'll knock you until you cry like a little girl!: Jonathan must achieve a collective hit count of 200. (500 Points)
 * Own your fear!: Jonathan must Retire an enemy with a Dual Heal Attack. (800 Points)

Tournament
He is paired with DIO in the Eyes of Heaven Tournament, defeating 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.

Relationships in Eyes of Heaven
(The information below derives from a Video Game not written by Araki. As such, it may not be considered canon.)


 * Giorno Giovanna: When the two are the same team, Giorno will ask Jonathan everything he knows about DIO. If victorious, Giorno will mention that DIO is his father, surprising Jonathan.
 * Jotaro Kujo: At first it was upsetting that Jotaro referred to Jonathan as his ancestor. Later Jonathan felt in his heart that he was succeeding his own lineage, to the point of asking Jotaro to finish Heaven Ascension DIO in his place during the main story's final battle. Also, if Jotaro is Part 4 version, he mentioned to Jonathan's grandson and Jotaro's grandfather Joseph Joestar.
 * Joseph Joestar: Jonathan is impressed by Joseph's tactics and Ripple. He states that Old Joseph reminds him of his father.
 * Kars: Upon encountering him, Jonathan will recognize Kars as the one who created the Stone Masks and seeks to kill him and destroy the Stone Masks. Kars seeks to kill Jonathan simply because he is a Hamon user and later attempts to recruit him to his side, considering his death to be a waste.

=Diamond Records=

Diamond Records (Android/iOS)
=Pitter-Patter Pop=

JoJo's Pitter-Patter Pop! (Android/iOS)
=Jump Titles=

Jump Ultimate Stars (Nintendo DS)
Jonathan appears as a support and help character in the game. His 2 Koma support summons him, after which he headbutts his target and performs a combo on them. His 3 Koma support involves him tossing Ripple roses at the enemy, striking them with LUCK & PLUCK and performing a Scarlet Overdrive on them. His help koma gives the character 1 SP bar more after being defeated.

He serves as an ally boost with DIO, mocking his classic line "it's useless!" and Mutou Kazuki (from Busou Renkin), by saying he feels the sun's power in Kazuki (since they need the sun's light in some of their attacks, Jonathan's Ripple and Kazuki's lance).

J-Stars Victory Vs (PS3/PS4/PSV)
Jonathan is a playable character along with Joseph Joestar (Part 2), both representing the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure franchise in the game.

Jonathan's color scheme is the same one from the TV Anime series. Both Jonathan and Seiya (from the SAINT SEIYA franchise) share the same battle theme, called "Brave Soldiers".

He also makes brief appearances in the game's opening sequence, as he can be seen alongside other Jump heroes, and at some point watches Gintoki race against Ryotsu (from KOCHI-KAME franchise).

Moveset
Jonathan's moveset consists of most of his attacks featured in Part 1. His main gameplay-style involves regular combos ending with his Sunlight Yellow Overdrive (it can be extended for more damage up to 49 hits), his Zoom Punch as a long range attack, a ranged variation of his Scarlet Overdrive wave on the floor and his Luck & Pluck sword return as a 3 Hit-Combo that can be used to inflict large amounts of damage. Aside from similar attacks from his All-Star Battle moveset, Jonathan's new moves include him using a spear (the same one he used in the Joestar Mansion to fight Dio) and a charged dash attack that continues until he hits his target with his shoulder.

His special move unleashes a stronger version of the Sunlight Yellow Overdrive, following with a Scarlet Overdrive that launches the opponent away. Some of his famous JOJO poses appears as taunts and intro/victory poses.

Story Mode
Jonathan's role during the Story Mode is limited to quick appearances. During Toriko's team arc, the player takes control of the duo Gintoki Sakata (from the GINTAMA franchise) and Boa Hancock (from the ONE PIECE franchise), as they both claim to have seen a person walking across the water towards their direction. The person is revealed to be Jonathan, who challenges the player's team, claiming that he's training to defeat Dio (likely a reference to Zeppeli's Ripple training, when they followed Poco by running over the water). After the battle, Jonathan appears surprised he lost the match and says he still needs more training, then introduces himself by saying "My name is Jonathan....Jonathan Joestar."

Interactions
Despite not having any specific conversation or interaction with Joseph, they both appear as rivals in one of the promotional videos for the western version of the game, J-Stars Victory Vs +, with their battle titled "WHEN GRANDSON MEETS HIS GRANDFATHER!". Oddly enough, the trailer begs the question "IS THE FLAME OF YOUTH STRONGER THAN THE WISDOM OF AGE?", which erroneously implies that Jonathan, as Joseph's grandfather, is much older than him, as well as alive by the time Joseph is 18 years old, rather than the game's incarnation of him being only two years older than his grandson as the two are from completely different time periods.

=Misc=

JoJo's Venture (Arcade/PS1/DC)
Jonathan appears near the end of JoJo's Venture ' s intro in a montage of various manga panels from Phantom Blood and Stardust Crusaders, along with Speedwagon, Erina, and Dio. This small appearance marks Jonathan's first appearance in a video game.

GioGio's Bizarre Adventure (PS2)
Jonathan appears in the game's title screen demo cutscene along with Jotaro, Josuke and Joseph, representing how Giorno inherited their "golden soul." Jonathan is mentioned in the game's prologue cutscene, and also makes an appearance as part of two manga panels representing the events of Phantom Blood in the same cutscene.

Stardust Shooters (Android/iOS)
Jonathan is one of the first 3 available characters the player must choose to be his first team leader (alongside Joseph and Jotaro). Several of Jonathan's appearances appear as Medal Strikers.

Jonathan's FINISH move consists of an animation wherein he strikes his enemy with several punches in a second while his Special Level 3 Leader ability has him use Scarlet Overdrive on all enemies on the field.