Last time, we discovered the secret of Dio's Stand at the cost of everyone in the party except Jotaro. This time, it's the final showdown.
Dio: Enough... My curiosity is satisfied... Playtime is over. Jotaro! I'll finish you with one blow. Jotaro: Rrrraaaaauuugggghhh!! Dio: After the incident 100 years ago, I swore to see to it personally that none with Joestar blood be left alive... The World's true power shall make it so! The World! Time stop!
Dio: What!? Wh... Whaaat!? I swear... His finger just moved! Don't tell me...! His finger just moved! I-impossible... It can't be! "The same type... of Stand..." Dio: The same kind of Stand! My The World... His Star Platinum... They're the same kind of Stand! Jotaro: (twitch! twitch!) Dio: !! Bastard... Can he see!? Or is he moving his finger without knowing it!?
Dio: ............... Jotaro: ................. Dio: ...Were you... watching? Jotaro: ................. Dio: I asked if you were watching!! Answer me, Jotaro! Jotaro:I'm not into that kind of stuff... Dio:JOTAROOO Jotaro: ...Come again, Dio? ...I haven't a single clue what you mean. Dio: Rnngh...
Dio: Whaaaaaaaaat!? He... he really can... move! ...It was just for an instant... but he moved! The magnets... were just... a red herring... Just for show... He wanted to lure my in closer! ...Rnngghhhhhhh! This boy!... This Joestar child... He's wormed his way into my World...!!
Jotaro: Luckily, I was able to use the magnet trick to get you in close enough for a punch... But it seems like unless I bash your brains in, it won't do much damage...
Dio: You followed me with your eyes... All while time was stopped... It seems you can see my actions very clearly... Jotaro... Jotaro: ............All thanks to you. Dio: ...Seems you owe that Kakyoin one... He was the one to figure out my World's secret... And once you realized how it works, you infiltrated my World completely...
Dio: That's why I, Dio, have been thinking... Just how long can you move in stopped time? Is it 2 seconds? 3? Jotaro: ............... Dio: Perhaps you really can move for 5 seconds just like me, and are just pretending you can't... Hm hm... Well? Am I getting warmer? Jotaro: ............(This is bad... I can probably move longer the more practice I get, but now... I can only do it for a blink... If he finds out, I'm screwed... Give me a break. I've gotta drag this out somehow...) Dio: Haha! Of course you don't want to tell me! Don't get me wrong... I still don't think you can move for more than an instant. Jotaro: ............... Dio: ...But... It's not completely out of the question for someone able to move in stopped time, so let's just say you can. Though I still have the advantage, I'd be better off not getting close... Jotaro: ............... Dio: Which is why... I've thought of a way to stay outside your reach AND gauge how long you can move, Jotaro!
This is apparently considered the hardest version of the boss, and if you try to fight then you can't choose to escape later. We're going to run and let things play out.
If stopping time is Dio's #1 most iconic attack, throwing a hundred knives would be #3. We'll see #2 later.
Only one batch is knocked away before Jotaro grinds to a halt.
It's really nice when the game occasionally decides to do my job for me.
I think this line is incredibly funny, because Dio seems like a person whose very first traffic jam was like, fifteen minutes ago, and now he's trying to sound profound.
Jotaro: God, he threw a lot of these things... My favorite uniform is in shreds, damnit... Thankfully, I stuffed my shirt and hat full of magazines after he broke into the store, just in case... But I didn't think... He'd throw such a torrent of them... 3 in my arms... 1 in my leg... And they all made fairly deep gashes... Jotaro: He thinks I'm finished, though, so there's nothing else for it... I'll play dead and wait for my chance. It's my best option. If he pulls something like that again... I don't think... I'll be able to weather it... If I don't find a way to smash his head... He won't die.
Dio: I'll sever his neck with this! Say your prayers, Jotaro!
Polnareff in with the headshot!!
Jotaro: (Polnareff...!) Dio: Now isn't that a shame... Polnareff. When you ambushed me... I was thinking... Just a tiny bit more... If you had just put the tiniest bit more power into that kick, you would've churned up my brains... Polnareff: But... but I... Damn it... You son of a...
Not sure where they got "kick" out of this, since it's pretty obvious everywhere that he uses Silver Chariot's sword to stab Dio.
Jotaro: (You've gotta be kidding me... At this rate, he's gonna kill Polnareff, too... If I'd just played dead and waiting for my chance to attack, things would've been fine, but this... Give me a @#$% break!) Jotaro: (Looks like I'll have to do something reckless... It'd be easy enough to save Polnareff's neck... I could just stand up, wave my arms around, and yell "Hey, Dio... I'm still alive. You won't get away with this!"...He'd just smirk, turn around, and come after me with a bloodthirsty grin... but there's no way he'd be dumb enough to get within my Star Platinum's range.) Jotaro:(What would The Machine do...?) Imagined Cascada:HIT HIM WITH A ROCK JOJO Jotaro: (If he knows I'm conscious, he'll stop time with The World and use his knife attack again... And if that happens, I'm as good as dead. There's only one way to get close to him, and that's to keep him from finding out I'm still kicking! Ugh... when time was stopped, I was giving it my all just to move a finger... Now I'm trying my damndest to stay still! Talk about ironic...)
Stopped clock right twice a day, et cetera.
Dio: Shoot at that guy lying over there. Doesn't matter where... I just need to make sure he's dead. Policeman: G-guhh.... Dio: Come on! Don't forget to aim.
Dio: ...............I could swear I heard him make a noise... Perhaps I just imagined it? Jotaro: (The hell does he think he's doing!? I managed to stop the bullet with Star Platinum... But now I've got his full attention... He's suspicious... He's coming to check... This is where... things start getting dicey...) Dio: His breathing... Jotaro: ............... Dio: ...............Nope, can't hear it. He isn't breathing at all... Then... his heartbeat...
Dio: ............... Jotaro: (Nghk... ngh... This... this seriously hurts............... I... I can't do this... I'm seriously going to... to pass out... ...This is no joke... I'm... I'm really going to be killed by my own Stand...) Dio: ...............His heart has stopped... He's well and truly dead. I really must've been hearing things. ...But I'll chop his head off anyway. Better safe than sorry, eh, Jotaro?
I cannot fucking believe how many pregnant pauses are in the dialogue at this point.
Remember how everyone's basic resuscitation skill is "Cardiac Massage"? Jotaro actually gets an improved version called "Revive" that restores with 50% HP as a reference to this scene.
Jotaro: Finally... -pant- -pant- That was close... Too close... But I finally did it... I got him... But stopping my own heart... I never thought it would come to that... Jotaro: No time to get comfortable... Dio's a monster who was buried on the seafloor for 100 years... I'd be surprised if this was all it took to finish him off... Dio: You...'re... de...ad... Jotaro: ...............
Dio: How... This is... impossible! My legs... They're... powerless... I can't stand up! Jotaro: ............... Dio: My head is killing me... I-I think I'm gonna puke...! U-urgh... How could this be!? Why do I, Dio, feel so horribly ill!? Is it because... that Jotaro damaged my head so considerably!?
Something I really appreciate about how Araki writes villains is that they often struggle and freak out just like the protagonists do. It helps create a solid back-and-forth in the longer battles.
Jotaro:But I get the feeling The Machine would want me to do it the FUN way... Dio: R-rgh! Jotaro: I almost feel a tinge of guilt kicking you when you're down like this... Nah, on second though, I don't. Because of you, my friends, along with hundreds of innocents, have lost their lives... Dio: ..................Mmhmhmhmhmhmhmhmhmhm... Hmhmhahahaha... Ahahahahahahahahaha... Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! The World!
Nice detail to include the little knife sprite.
Dio: You've lost to my knowledge of the city! Do you remember this street!? Or do they all look the same to you tourists!? Jotaro: ...............! N... no... You aren't...!
Joseph: ...Nn... Jotaro: ...Damn... you... Dio!! Joseph:...you... kids... Dio: Mmmmmmmm, that hits the spot! As expected, Joseph's blood is a perfect fit! It suits my body well! Not only have I completely recovered... I'm more powerful than ever! Mwahahahaha...
Joseph: Jo... taro... It doesn't matter what Dio does to my body now... Whatever you do, don't let him make you lose your head... Forget about me... I did what I had to do. Kakyoin solved the mystery of Dio's Stand... And I relayed his final message to you... The Machine sacrificed herself to protect you... Cascada:...that's bullshit, old timer... Joseph:...I didn't trick an ancient superbeing... into causing a volcanic eruption... blasting him into deep space... during the War... to take lip from you... kid... Cascada:...whatever... Joseph: We all did what was necessary... We all fought Dio together... And we all paid the ultimate price... Jotaro: Am I... seeing... Gramps' soul...? Joseph: You can move a little while in his time stop, can't you? Those 2 to 3 seconds... use them wisely. No matter what Dio does, keep your cool... If you lose your temper and rush in head first, things won't end well...
Jotaro: !! You... dirty son of a...! Dio: Freshly squeezed! Mhahahaha! Jotaro: Gramps... I know you said to stay calm... But... That's not gonna happen! No one could stay calm after seeing this!
Both of them leap into the air!
If you want to "actually" defeat Dio in the battle system, this is your last shot. He's a combined unit with The World now rather than two separate enemies, so he's got fewer turns. To reflect Jotaro's ability to move in the frozen time, this version of Dio also doesn't use Time Stop.
He's not terribly hard, but we might as well see the manga's version of events through properly.
It's a nice touch from Araki that despite Dio's grandstanding he consistently loses the straight 1-on-1 punch-outs, even after powering up.
Jotaro: (Gramps... You were right... My anger has made this situation ugly... But... It's not because I'm too angry... It's because I'm not angry enough!) Dio: 8 seconds! Mmm... ♪ I feel sublimely refreshed! I could just break out into song! Mmhmhmhmhahaha! I've lived an immortal existence for over 100 years... And this is the first time I've felt so spectacular! Hee hee hee hee! It's all thanks to the blood of a Joestart! I'm on top of the world! Hahahahaha!! Jotaro: ...............!! Dio: 9 seconds have passed! I stopped it for 9 seconds! But it looks like 9 seconds is my limit for now... Jotaro: (This... goddamn son of a...) Dio: WRYYAAAAA!
Dio: Hm hm hm... 1 second! 2 seconds! Jotaro: (I don't know why, but... After stopping time, he vanished from sight...) Narration: ...But Jotaro ceased wondering. Whatever Dio was planning, Jotaro knew he had 2 seconds to attack... Jotaro: (I've only got those 2 seconds to smash his face in with Star Platinum!) Dio: 5 seconds! Jotaro: (One thing's for sure, Dio... The second I see your ugly mug again... I won't be able to control myself anymore.) Dio: 6 seconds! Jotaro: (Come and... get it... Dio...) Dio: 7 seconds! Jotaro: !!
What else to say about the road roller other than that it's yet another infamous moment? It's usually Dio's ultimate attack in fighting games and has been an internet meme for decades, most notably in the form of the "mudah.swf" Flash animation.
Arguably the 93 OVA's biggest misstep is swapping out the road roller for an oil tanker to get a big explosion. It really just isn't the same.
Dio: !! Wh-whaaaaaaaaaat!? Jotaro: The one who stopped time was me... I did it once yours was at 9 seconds... That's how I got away... Dio: J...! Jotaro! T-this can't be! Jotaro: How's it feel, Dio? Not being able to turn and face an enemy that's breathing down your neck... You look like someone treading water who's just about to come up for air... when, bam, your foot gets caught and you're dragged back under... So? How is it? Dio: ............... Jotaro: But... I don't feel sorry for you. At all. Dio: Nnrgghgh!! Jotaro: Time has resumed.
In both the 90s Capcom fighter and the more recent All-Star Battle, if Dio (or Jotaro) uses their time stop move, the other can also input the move to start moving in the stopped time. I've always thought this was cool as hell.
Dio: How... How could this be!? How could I, Dio... How could I, Dioooo...!! Jotaro: As soon as morning comes, you'll be dust... There's a reason for your failure, Dio... One very simple cause...
