Games With Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure References

It’s a common misconception to think that Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure is a recent series, mainly due to its animated adaptation by David Production that has been airing since 2012. But Hirohiko Araki’s original manga has been in serialization since 1987, meaning it has influenced various other works, both inside and outside of Japan.

Related

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: 7 Strongest Vampires, Ranked

These vampires in the Jojo Bizarre Adventure series stand out as the strongest of their kind.

Posts

By  David Heath

There’s a reason the term “Jojo Reference” has been a meme for years, and it has not only plagued the anime industry, but also the wonderful world of gaming. There are many video games that feature one or more references to this classic anime & manga series. And while some of them are quite obvious, several others are mind-blowing.

10 Castlevania

The Entire Franchise

A Stone Mask, very similar to the one that turned Dio Brando into a vampire, can be found and equipped in Symphony of the Night, Curse of Darkness, Portrait of Ruin, and one can even be seen in the Netflix animated series. There’s also the Dawn of Sorrow boss, Zephyr, who wields knives and can stop time similarly to Dio in Stardust Crusaders.

Yet there’s an argument to be made that the entire Castlevania franchise is a big Jojo Reference, since both series are centered on different generations of the same family (the Belmonts and the Joestars) trying to stop one powerful vampire (Dracula and Dio).

9 Cyberpunk 2077

Photo Mode Poses

Because of its setting and origins, CD Projekt Red’s recent release may be the last place where a player may expect a reference to Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. This one, however, can be found within the game’s photo mode, in which V can be positioned in ways that resemble the signature poses of many Jojo protagonists.

Related

10 Best Poses In JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Ranked

There are several notable aspects to Jojo's Bizarre Adventure's setting. Posing is one of the most well-liked actions. Here are the best of them.

Posts

By  Oluwatokiloba Folami

These specific references are: V's Bizarre Buongiorno is Giorno Giovanna’s pose, V's Bizarre Gesture is Joseph Joestar’s pose, V's Bizarre Step is Josuke Higashikata’s pose, and V's Bizarre Pick-Up Line is Jotaro Kujo’s pose.

8 Fortnite

Hana & Keleritas

Fortnite already has many official player skins based on classic series from Weekly Shonen Jump, like Dragon Ball, Naruto or My Hero Academia. There’s a big chance that Epic Games will add Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure content in the near future. Until then, these particular skins are the closest thing so far.

Back in Chapter 4: Season 1 of Fortnite, the skins named Hana and Keleritas were released, with Hana having a similar design to Jolyne Cujoh from Stone Ocean, and Kalaritas being referred to as her “inner demon”, an obvious reference to the concept of Stands. He can even be seen doing Dio’s classic “WRYYY!” Pose.

7 Hi-Fi Rush

Zanzo

Tango Gameworks’ recent rhythmic hack & slash game Hi-Fi Rush is brimming with style and charm, so it’s no wonder that there’s a character whose entire existence is a Jojo reference. This is the case for the third boss of the game, Zanzo. As expected, he strikes a few signature poses from characters like Jonathan Joestar or Killer Queen.

But Zanzo goes even further in his references: He can also be seen performing the beloved Torture Dance from Vento Aureo. To top it all off, the classic purple katakana from the series can be often seen vibrating around him when he’s talking.

6 Undertale/Deltarune

Mad Dummy, Mettaton, and Queen

Toby Fox’s magnum opus is filled to the brim with internet memes, so it’s expected that it has its fair share of Jojo references. During his battle, Mad Dummy will shout “Useless!” And attack by throwing knives, similar to Dio Brando. There’s also Mettaton, who strikes many poses that resemble popular Jojo poses.

The references continue in Undertale’s spiritual successor, Deltarune, with the character known as Queen being pretty much a walking reference to Killer Queen, Yoshikage Kira’s Stand: Her battle theme is called “Attack of the Killer Queen” and she can blow up the things that she touches, just like the Stand from Diamond is Unbreakable.

5 Skullgirls

Many Color Palettes & Elements

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure has had a big impact on the fighting game genre ever since Capcom released Heritage for the Future, back in 1999. Because of this, there are many fighting games that recycle elements from that one, with Skullgirls being one of the most well-known instances.

The K.O. Portraits in this game are based on the ones seen in Heritage for the Future, Valentine has a knife attack based on Dio, there’s an NPC that resembles Jotaro in the River King Casino stage and Celebella has an attack in which she strikes a similar pose to Jotaro & Star Platinum’s. Finally, Big Band, Eliza, and Marie have color palettes that are based on Jotaro, Dio, and Jolyne respectively.

4 Street Fighter/Tekken/The King of Fighters

Three Different Jean Pierre Polnareffs

Way before Skullgirls and Heritage for the Future, there have been Jojo references in the 3 biggest and most iconic fighting game franchises. Jean Pierre Polnareff’s design has inspired the likes of Benimaru Nikaido from the King of Fighters, Paul Phoenix from Tekken and Guile from Street Fighter, with this last character also having elements from Rudol von Stroheim.

Related

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R – Ever Battle Style, Ranked

Here's how the various battle styles in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R rank.

Posts

By  Adeolu Adeoye

The Street Fighter series has several other characters that are based on Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure characters: Rose is based on Lisa Lisa and Juri Han is based on Jolyne Cujoh. It is no wonder that Capcom would later go on to develop Heritage for the Future a few years later.

3 Dark Souls

The Set of Thorns

In one of the most obscure Jojo references ever made, Dark Souls features the infamous Set of Thorns, an armor that is based off of the 77 Rings challenge from Phantom Blood, in which combatants had to defeat many opponents and wear their rings after each battle, slowly increasing their weight.

Tarkus and Bruford were some of the very few knights who completed this challenge. This is quite an impressive Easter Egg, considering the 77 Rings challenge was completely cut from the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure anime. There’s also the Dark Souls III boss, High Lord Wolnir, who bears a strong resemblance to Enya the Hag’s Stand, Justice.

2 Devil May Cry

Nobodies, Sin Scissors, Dante, & Many More

Series creator Hideki Kamiya is a self-declared fan of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, so he obviously added a lot of references to his hack & slash series: The Nobody enemies can be seen wearing the Stone Mask, the Sin Scissor enemies were called Death Thirteen during production (Just like the Stand from Stardust Crusaders) and most important of all, Dante is confirmed to have been inspired by Joseph Joestar from Battle Tendency.

Luckily, the Jojo references didn’t stop even after Hideki Kamiya left the franchise. In Devil May Cry 3, the Quicksilver Style is based off of The World, Dio Brando’s Stand. Finally, the pachinko game Devil May Cry X: The Last Judgement has a victory animation for Dante, in which he mimics Jotaro Kujo in the anime opening, STAND PROUD.

1 Bayonetta

The Little Devils

When Hideki Kamiya left Capcom in order to create his own studio, he didn’t stop adding Jojo references to all of his games, and Devil May Cry’s spiritual successor, Bayonetta, was no exception. The entire series is brimming with a signature style and personality that is reminiscent to both DMC and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.

As far as specific references go, the first Bayonetta game features the Little Devils: A group of small demons who can be summoned by the titular character. They all have their own personality and their respective numbers written on their head. Kamiya himself later confirmed that they are based on Sex Pistols, Guido Mista’s Stand from Vento Aureo.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image

JoJo Bizarre Adventure

Display card tags widget

Action

Fantasy

Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget

Release Date

October 6, 2012

Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end

Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Creator

Hirohiko Araki

Studio

David Production

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll, Hulu, Netflix, Tubi, Amazon Prime Video

Powered by

Expand Collapse