Dio appears in the PS3 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.
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.
Gameplay
Dio has 900 HP. His moveset mostly comprises the vampiric feats he had done in the original manga.
He 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.
Command List
then 
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+ / - Light (): Dio delivers a high knee, and the attack becomes a middle attack that cannot be blocked crouching.
- Medium (): Dio delivers a shin kick, and the attack becomes a low attack that cannot be blocked standing.
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+ // + // + // + // 
+ + + 2 ATK Buttons As a successful Counter Hit doubles the damage of only a single initial hit, the damage increase to this HHA is massive compared to most other attacks in the game. Coupled with the attack's speed and range, it becomes an excellent tool for retaliation and punishment.
If this HHA is used to K.O. Jonathan, a special animation will play where Jonathan futilely tries to block the beams and whispers "Erina..." as he falls.
+ 3 ATK Buttons, or 
Medal List
Costumes & Tints
This section requires expansion.
Dio Brando Normal
Poses
This section requires expansion.
Dialogue
Story Mode
Phantom Blood
(仮面
2. Land a Great Heat Attack. (1500 G)
Dio: Do you remember how many breads you have eaten in your life?
(血戦 Kessen)
2. Land the "The Sword of Luck and Pluck" skill. (1000 G)
3. Win a round with a Heart Heat Attack. (Jonathan Joestar Publicity Art)
Jonathan: I'll cleanse the world of your filth!
(仮面
2. Land the "Frozen in your tracks!" skill. (1000 G)
Dio: Do you remember how many breads you have eaten in your life?
(血戦 Kessen)
2. Land the "Vaporizing Freeze" skill. (1000 G)
3. Land a Heart Heat Attack. (Dio Brando Publicity Art)
Jonathan: I'll cleanse the world of your filth!
Gallery
Media
Music
Glossary
Art & Misc. Moveset Callbacks
Misc.
References