Who should I play?
The easy answer is you should play the character you think is the coolest. Playing a simpler character to learn the game won't teach you anything about the character you actually want to play, so if you already have a character in mind, there's no reason to avoid playing them right off the bat.
I'm a beginner. Which characters would be good for me?
However, it's impossible to deny that some characters are better suited to beginners:
Jotaro is a close range brawler with equally strong options in the midrange. Gets his hits by outspeeding or outboxing the opponent's moves before converting said hits into combos with monstrous damage that lead to oppressive 50/50 okizeme.
Shadow Dio is unique midrange character that rewards reading and conditioning the opponent. Very feast-or-famine, as he has excellent damage, okizeme and movement but starts to struggle as soon as he's put on the back foot due to his weak defensive options.
Chaka is a Weapon Stand character focused on close range combat. Constantly switches between Stand OFF's excellent mobility and Stand ON's higher variety of options including access to the situational but strong Learning Counter.
Avdol is a jack-of-all-trades who heavily rewards fighting game fundamentals. His lack of any real weakness allows him to adapt to nearly any situation or matchup. Has some of the best-in-class tools for nearly any situation, although he can struggle to take back momentum once he's at a disadvantage.
Hol Horse is a zoning oriented character with several useful projectile attacks at his disposal. Although he is quite limited up close, his gameplan relies on frustrating the opponent to make mistakes before punishing them with anything ranging from basic positional advantage to Touch-of-Death combos.
I don't care about the simple characters, show me the cool ones!
One of the best things about HFTF is just how inventive some of the characters in the cast are (for better or for worse):
New Kakyoin is a zoner-rushdown hybrid that combines oppressive limb zoning with equally oppressive mixups thanks to his unique Stand ON hoverdash. As if that wasn’t enough, NKak also has access to Nets, which bolster every facet of his gameplay.
Iggy is a dog. Play someone else.
Mariah is a setup-based zoner with a unique level-up mechanic. Although she’s far weaker than most of the cast, landing hits with her Outlet S-Moves will upgrade all her special and super moves, leveling the playing field somewhat.
Alessi fights in the midrange and gets the bulk of his damage through his unique Child Transformation mechanic - hitting the opponent with certain moves will transform them into a child that can’t block, which allows him to wail on them while they’re defenseless
Devo is widely considered to be the first real example of a puppet character, and he embodies the archetype perfectly. Effective doll placement allows Devo to attack from two directions, which gives him obscene damage, mixup potential and neutral control.
