Josuke Higashikata (JoJolion)/Games
Video Games
All-Star Battle (PS3)
Josuke makes his debut in the PS3 game, as the only Part VIII playable character. He was confirmed for the game alongside the first DLC character, Yoshikage Kira.
His appearance in the game was a surprise for fans, as Part VIII was still fairly recent and only 3 volumes into its story. As a result most of his moves, animations, taunts and such are based on those three volumes, making a couple of his animations somewhat limited and awkward.
Move set
Josuke can use Soft & Wet to remove his own friction, allowing him to back-spin to attack the enemy; the longer the attack, the more damage is done (something similar happened to him during his fight against Sasame Ojirou). Additional input during the attack makes him stop and kick the opponent away. Josuke can create several bubbles and use it as a slow-projectile attack, increasing the number of bubbles based on input, and he can surround himself with bubbles as an offensive shield (similar to how he "shaved" by stealing the stubble on his face and placing it on Hato and Joshu Higashikata's faces). His "ORAORA!!" punch can also be linked into a throw. Soft & Wet can also perform a powerful side kick that sends the opponent flying into the far wall (similar to how he fought against Kyo Nijimura's Born This Way).
His HHA is him using a bubble created by Soft & Wet to take the eyesight of his enemy (recreating his automatic self-defense against Joshu in the first chapter of Part VIII). His GHA is him using Soft & Wet's bubble once more to steal the friction from his opponent's body, making them slip to the ground and leaving them vulnerable to an uppercut by Soft & Wet that knocks them into the air, followed by an upward rush of punches before S&W delivers a powerful punch that sends them spinning out.
Story Mode
With the absence of a major antagonist, Part VIII's Story Mode consists of Josuke facing all the previous JoJo protagonists (starting with Jonathan all the way to himself) with no logical reason. They all appear from the Wall Eyes like Josuke and see him as an enemy, sinking back into the ground when defeated. Baoh also appears as the last Extra Story fight with Josuke, with their battle named "Baoh the Visitor". After defeated them all, Josuke proceeds to search for Yasuho Hirose before the "To Be Continued" arrow appears, putting in motion the story of JoJolion.
Costumes
Josuke has an alternate costume based on the attire from the first image of him ever released (the one used to confirm and promote Part VIII in Ultra Jump). His main colour scheme is based on the same image, while his alternate color, which is white, appears to reference Part VIII's Yoshikage Kira, as when Soft & Wet is activated, it is pink in coloration similar to that traditionally given to Killer Queen.
Localization
For the western version of the game, Josuke (JoJolion) was given the name "Josuke Higashikata 8" to avoid confusion with Part 4's Josuke Higashikata, who was given the name "Josuke Higashikata 4".
Eyes of Heaven (PS3/PS4)
He was confirmed for the game alongside Joshu, Narciso Anasui and Enrico Pucci with C-Moon.
He forms a tag-team with Joshu as the only two Part VIII characters in the game.
Tournament
He is paired with Anasui in the Eyes of Heaven tournament, but was eliminated in the preliminaries by Part IVJotaro Kujo and Diego Brando from Another Universe.
Trivia
- When he is given the name "Josuke Higashikata", his name is written in a different kanji (定助 instead of 仗助) than that of the Part IV protagonist's (of note is that this name is pronounced the same as Norisuke IV's birth name).
- The first name he recieved is a reference to Part IV main antagonist Yoshikage Kira.
- Josuke can perform the 100-metre dash within 11.3 seconds.[1]
- The brand of his hat is SBR (a reference to the Steel Ball Run race).
- The protagonist's amnesia and initial identification with "Yoshikage Kira" draws a certain parallel to Dead Man's Questions, in which Kira is shown to be a wandering ghost with no knowledge of his identity or his whereabouts.
- Josuke is the second protagonist to utilize bubbles in combat, the first being Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli.
- Instances of Josuke's similarity to Jotaro Kujo include his hat (Josuke is protective of it, and in illustrations it bears Jotaro's trademark palm piece); his Stand Cry is "ORAORAORA"; and the marine theme of his attire bears similarity to Jotaro's in Part IV along with the fact Kira, one of the two halves that make up Josuke, having an occupation as a Marine Biologist.
- Physically, Josuke is supposed to look strikingly similar to Jotaro, but due to Araki's evolving art style, this fact is not apparent when compared to Jotaro's original appearance in Part III. However, the resemblance can be seen when compared to more recent drawings of Jotaro.[citation needed]
- In a way, Josuke and Part III DIO bear some similarities: Both of them are a "fusion" between two beings and both bodies were originally submerged in the beginning of their respective parts: DIO underwater and Josuke underground.
- The protagonist's All-Star Battle voice actor, Mitsuaki Madono, is the original VA for Noriaki Kakyoin in Heritage for the Future.
- Fans gave him the name Jo2uke or Gappy (in reference to the distinct gap in his teeth) to avoid confusion with the other Josuke.
