Celebrating over 35 years of history, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R is a love letter to Hirohiko Araki's manga. It features over 50 characters from the franchise's long history, but it's also packed to the brim with references and easter eggs to iconic moments from throughout the series.
Those going into All-Star Battle R might not pick up on these right away, but true manga and anime fans should be delighted to see these small touches that really bring the game to life. This list has a few references that will make true fans of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure smile.
10 Recreating Jonathan's Death
Jojo fans will recall this infamous moment from the end of part one when Jonathan and Dio had their final showdown. Dio, only a severed head, managed to catch Jonathan with his Space Ripper Stingy Eyes, mortally injuring him and setting the stage for Jonathan's death.
Knocking out Jonathan with Dio's Heart Heat Attack will cause a special animation where Jonathan futilely holds up his hands to block it, referencing this iconic moment. He'll even whisper "Erina," the name of his wife whom he gave his life to protect.
9 Vampires Burning In Sunlight
While vampires burning up in the daylight is a common trope, it functions as a great reference in All-Star Battle R regardless. When triggering the Dramatic Finish on the DIO's Mansion stage, characters are knocked out of the balcony into the daylight. Vampire and Pillar Men characters will subsequently burn up.
This is actually a reference to Vanilla Ice's death in part three, where Polnareff killed him by pushing him into daylight. Additionally, Kars as the Ultimate Life Form will not burn in the daylight, reflecting his newfound immunity to it thanks to the Super Aja.
8 Ugly Iggy
Non-JoJo fans may be confused as to why Iggy's only alternate costume just makes him uglier. His head is bigger, he has protruding jowls, and his eyes look like they're about to pop out of his head. Jojo fans, though, will definitely appreciate it.
This is a reference to Iggy's design when he initially appeared in part three. He was very ugly and odd-looking but became progressively prettier throughout the part. His final design from his fight against Pet Shop is his regular costume.
7 Jotaro Can Stop Time Too
In the climactic final fight of part three, Jotaro discovered he had the same type of Stand as DIO, allowing him to stop time. In All-Star Battle R, both Jotaro and Dio can layer their time stop moves on top of each other, allowing both to move in stopped time.
Not only that, but Jotaro can reenact the final part of the fight when hit by Dio's Great Heat Attack. He avoids being flattened by a steamroller at the last second by stopping time. It costs two bars of his own Heart Heat Gauge, but it's worth it for the reference (and to avoid some damage).
6 Josuke's Hair Rage
Fans of part four will surely recall Josuke's anger over his hair being insulted. It was inspired by a man who saved his life when he was a baby, so he's very sensitive about it. The All-Star Battle developers went so far as to turn this into a unique game mechanic.
Josuke has a counter that, when activated, will cause every character in the game to spout off a unique taunt about his hair. Subsequently, he'll enter a powered-up state for a limited time. You'll almost want to play every character against him to see what they say.
5 Slowing Down Sheer Heart Attack
Yoshikage Kira's Sheer Heart Attack is unstoppable; it will chase down his opponent until it connects and takes them down in a fiery explosion. Much like in the manga and anime, though, Koichi Hirose has a unique counter.
With Echoes's Three Freeze, Koichi was able to make Sheer Heart Attack weigh much more and slow it down to a halt. Similarly, using any move that applies Three Freeze on Sheer Heart Attack in All-Star Battle R will slow it down and almost nullify its effectiveness. This even forces Kira himself to become heavier and forces him to crouch.
4 Giorno's Slow-Motion Punch
At the beginning of part five, Giorno discovered he could imbue others with life energy, massively increasing their senses and making it seem like time has slowed down. His Heart Heat Attack is a recreation of this initial discovery, but there's so much more to it.
Not only does Bucciarati recreate his initial reaction when punched, but every character in the game has a unique reaction to Giorno's attack. Many are great references, like Polnareff's tongue trying to point at something behind him when Hol Horse held him up.
3 Purple Haze Distortion
This one is rather unique, as even manga readers may not catch it. Pannacotta Fugo infamously disappeared halfway through part five, not taking part in the final conflict. Despite this, he has a seemingly new power in All-Star Battle R called Purple Haze Distortion.
This is, in fact, a reference to the light manga spin-off Purple Haze Feedback, which focused on Fugo after the events of part five. He managed to evolve his Stand and gain a power-up to its poison. Even material from outside the manga isn't off-limits in this game.
2 Jolyne's Thousand Pitches
Early into part six, Jolyne had to fight the Stand user Miraschon, who forced Jolyne into a bet where she had to throw and catch a baseball 1000 times. At the end of their fight, Jolyne technically completed this bet by pitching a baseball at Miraschon's face 1000 times.
Jolyne's Heart Heat Attack is a great reenactment of this moment, using her opponent as a stand-in for Miraschon. The combo counter even goes up to 1000 hits during this attack, far more than you would ever see from any other character.
1 Breaking Through Love Train
This one is just for manga readers. In the final arc of part seven, Funny Valentine had acquired the nigh-invincible power of D4C Love Train. Only the Golden Spin and its infinite rotation could break through and kill him.
To represent this, Johnny and Gyro have unique animations when using their Great Heat Attacks on Valentine. He summons D4C to defend himself, only for both protagonists to use the Spin to break through and attack him. This is especially cathartic for fans of Gyro, allowing him to land the decisive beatdown he never could in the manga.