This is the second entry of the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure HD Ver. overview and today we’ll take a look at the first set of characters. If you missed the first entry, click here .

Jotaro Kujo wields an Active Stand called Star Platinum. Jotaro’s signature moves include Blazing Fists, which can be controlled in air, and Star Finger, which you can hold in place while moving for some tricky setups. One of his Super moves is actually the ability to stop time for a few seconds!

Avdol

Mohammed Avdol wields an Active Stand called Magiian’s Red, which has the power to control fire. With moves like Cross Fire Hurricane, a projectile, and Fire Wall, a strong uppercut, he sounds like a good character for those transitioning from other Capcom fighting games. He even has a dive kick (Flame Kick ).

Iggi

Iggi is a Boston Terrier who wields an Active Stand called The Fool. Like his wielder, The Fool is quite bizarre: it does not have an actual form; instead it controls sand particles around him whenever manifested. He has a few charge moves (Sand Crush and Sand Attack) as well as a few runaway tools like a teleport (Sand Magic), hover and an air-dash – enough to make your opponents eat dust sand!

Mahrahia

Mahrahia is a character with very interesting mechanics (one of my favorites); her Stand is a Passive Stand, called Bast , and is used solely to magnetize her opponents, making her specials and supers way more effective. At higher magnetism levels, her Electric Shock and Homing Collection will track her enemies a lot faster; also her Iron Crush will deal a lot more damage!

Chaca

Chaca carries a Weapon Stand called Anubis . While Anubis is put away, Chaca has very few good options; but when it is unsheathed, Chaca becomes quite dangerous. He can learn his opponents’ moves with his Forget Me Not and use this technique to cancel the block stun and counter that specific attack. This advantage only lasts as long as you don’t get hit or let your Standbe Crushed . One of his supers, Super Learning, requires 2 levels of meter and doesn’t deal a lot of damage, but learns all of his opponents’ moves, allowing him to counter any attack!

Pet Shop

Pet Shop is a bird who wields a Passive Stand, Horus . If one-button projectile is how you spell “zoning game,” then that is the essence of Pet Shop’s game plan. His Stand seems to do all the hard work for him, sending flying icicles everywhere, but his always flying stance and insanely fast air-dash are big parts of his keep away game. Combine that with his homing attack, Frost Missiles, and the deadly Icicle Break, and Pet Shop becomes one of the scariest characters in the game.

Black Polnareff

Black Polnareff wields both Silver Chariot and Anubis, which in this case, is a Passive Stand. With its help, Black Polnareff can use the Forget Me Not to learn his enemies’ attacks and counter them at any time. Besides this extremely useful tool, Black Polnareff also has rekka-style attacks with high/low mix-up potential, Ogre Slash, and a short uppercut, Double Sword Master. Add that to a set of unique Stand attacks and Black Polnareff becomes very unpredictable.

Hol Horse

One of the highlights of Hol Horse’s gameplay is the ability to direct the bullets from his Weapon Stand Emperor . This can be tricky since he is vulnerable while setting up the bullets’ paths, but very useful if you can predict your opponents’ movements. He’s got a Trace of Bullets super which shoots more bullets at the cost of more meter, and one of my favorite supers in the game, Strongest Combination, in which the game freezes momentarily and The Hanged Man creeps in slowly to deliver a deadly stab!

Midler

Midler has the help of her Active Stand The High Priestess, which can take different metal-based forms. With High Priestess activated, Midler’s attack range increases and she gains access to the tricky Saw Blades and their different trajectories. Her super Dinner Time is one of her best tools against grounded opponents that abuse random attacks. With the right timing you can even combo after it, if you’re still hungry.

Joseph

Joseph Joestar wields a Weapon Stand called Hermit Purple and his main goal is to save his daughter Holly Kujo. While not one of the most bizarre characters in the roster, Joseph certainly has some unique options. With his signature Energy Snare, he can either hold his opponents in place and send damaging energy volts or pull them towards himself to extend his combos. He also has a very useful counter-move, Tactician’s Trick, which immediately crushes the opponent’s Stand.

Kakyoin

Noriaki Kakyoin wields an Active Stand called Hierophant Green. Kakyoin not only has great range, but also extremely useful traps. He has the option to set up a Mystic Cloak and Mystic Trap and hold them in place while he maneuvers around the opponent for a tricky setup. In addition to his directable super (Indy’s Arm) Kakyoin has got the second best representation of the manga art direction in the game: the Punishment Time super.

That’s all for today; but tune in next week for an overview of the remaining characters on this bizarre roster.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure HD Ver. is coming out on August 21 ^st on PSN ($19.99) and on August 22 ^nd on XBLA (1600 Microsoft Points) .