One of the most influential pieces of media that is still ongoing to this day is Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. The series originated as a manga in the late ’80s and its author, Hirohiko Araki, is still releasing chapters, with the Part 9 of the series beginning in 2023.
The manga has been adapted into various anime adaptions, with the 2012 series still ongoing as well. The iconic nature of the series, with its signature style and eccentric characters, has been referenced throughout media, and video games are not exempt from this. So, which games have the most iconic Jojo references?
8 Bayonetta
It is no surprise that a series like Bayonetta has referenced Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Bayonetta as a character is charismatic enough to be a Jojo character, and her posing helps push this case as well. While Bayonetta’s eccentricity could be seen as a reference in itself, there is a more specific reference as well.
Bayonetta can summon different demons using her climax attacks, and the Little Devils she can summon are a reference to Mista’s stand Sex Pistols from Part 5. Like Mista’s stand, the little demons are numbered, and one of the numbers is missing due to it being seen as unlucky.
7 Bloodstained Ritual Of The Night
On its surface, there are no obvious references that you can notice right away when playing through Bloodstained Ritual of the Night, but when you get further in and start unlocking some unique cosmetics, you can tell that someone on the team was a big Jojo fan.
The most noticeable costumes include the Stone Mask, an iconic reference to the relic from Part 1, and the Hyperventilater, which looks very similar to the training mask that was used by Joseph Joestar in Part 2. As well as this, there is a secret boss that gives you the ability to stop time, and the effects for this ability match the effects used for DIO’s The World ability from Part 3.
6 Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 is well-known for the massive amount of customization options it gives you when playing through the game. While the character customization options you are given at the start don’t seem to directly reference Jojo, when you unlock the photo mode, you will notice some obvious inspiration.
There are multiple poses you can put the main character V in, named: V’s Bizarre Pose, V’s Bizarre Buongiorno, V’s Bizarre Gesture, V’s Bizarre Step, and V’s Bizarre Pick-up Line, all of which match poses that are pulled off by Jonathan, Giorno, Joseph, Josuke, and Jotaro respectively.
5 Danganronpa
A common character trope in a lot of Japanese media especially is the delinquent character, and in releasing Part 4 in the late ’90s, Araki added a twist to this trope that can often be recognised in later delinquent characters. Josuke from Part 4 styles his hair into a pompadour and is shown to get incredibly angry when anyone chooses to mock this choice.
Since then, it has been seen as a Jojo reference whenever a delinquent in any media styles their hair similarly to Josuke and has a reaction like this when ridiculed, and one of the most recognizable examples of this is Mondo Owoda from the first Danganronpa game. Mondo’s bike gang is even a direct reference to Josuke’s stand being called the Crazy Diamonds.
4 Fortnite
Fortnite has become well-known for its common anime crossover events, with the battle royale game now featuring skins for characters from Naruto, Dragonball, and Jujutsu Kaisen. However, one of the most requested crossovers that is yet to happen is with Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.
In spite of this not materializing yet, this has not stopped Fortnite from making references. During Chapter 4 Season 1 of Fortnite, that happened to take place when the anime of Part 6 of Jojo was being released, Fortnite debuted the skin Hana. Hana closely resembled Jolyne from Part 6 of Jojo, and she is often paired with the skin Keleritas who is shown to pose like DIO from Part 3 and resembled a stand.
3 Genshin Impact
While the references to Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure in Genshin Impact are relatively minor, they are just as interesting to uncover. The most obvious is the pose done by Fischl in her character announcement artwork, which is a direct reference to Jonathan’s iconic pose.
Potentially more interesting, however, are the references that were removed. Before Genshin’s first major update, the achievements now named Abyssal Crusader and Hilichurl Champion, were once called Stardust Crusader and Gold Experience Requiem, both direct references to the title of Part 3, and Giorno’s stand from Part 5.
2 Hatsune Miku Project Mirai DX
Since the modern Jojo anime adaption began airing, Jojo memes have gained popularity and have become infamous within the fanbase. One of the most well-known inside jokes within the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure fandom is DIO’s attack on Jotaro at the end of Part 3 when he throws a roadroller at Jotaro.
In Hatsune Miku’s most adorable rhythm game on 3DS, you can customize the rooms of different Vocaloids. One of the items you can add to the room is a reference to the gruesome battle, being a miniature road roller. When you interact with the decoration, you get the lines “MUDA MUDA MUDA!” and “WRYYYYY!”, both catchphrases of the iconic Jojo antagonist.
1 Street Fighter
The Street Fighter series has a history just as long as Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and throughout its entries, multiple references to the long-running manga series have been made. To name just a few, Dhalsim’s stretching arm attacks were inspired by Baron Zeppeli, series veteran Guile is a hybrid of Polnareff and Stroheim, and Rose is a clear reference to Lisa Lisa, with her attacks inspired by the Hamon she wields as well.
There are even references in newer Street Fighter characters, like Juri taking inspiration from Jolyne, and Seth featuring moves that match DIO and Star Platinum.