Overview
Jotaro is a very fluid character that has strengths in many areas, but his standout character trait is his strong punish game. Jotaro has access to a very fast stand on jab in s.5A that leads to knockdown and even stand crash on small or damaged guages. On top of this, he posesses s.214AA, one of the best supers in the game. It is loaded with I-frames, and can be held to be later cancelled or released, removing a large amount of risk for using the move and creating a mix up oppurtunity. This will be expanded upon later. These two tools combined with his other tools such as 6B and s.5B (marvelous counterpokes) allows Jotaro to threathen knockdown into death at almost any moment.
A general gameplan would be to space the opponent out with your exceptionally strong buttons, then punish an overextension on block or in neutral and convert into knockdown. This leads to Star Finger, the biggest thing about Jotaro's overall gameplan. Star Finger is one of the scariest things in the game because the opponent is forced to guess. If he/she guesses wrong, then that's over 50% of their health taken away with a potential tandem confirm. You can use Jump C, 6B, or 2A for the Star Finger mixups, and it has to be done before releasing the attack button used for Star Finger.
A common question is "When should I use stand ON/OFF?" To put it in an analogy (thanks CaineTemple) think of stand OFF and ON as your sword and shield respectively. Stand OFF allows for quick movement, high damage, and strong pressure. Whereas stand ON grants you access to the inherently strong properties of stand on, double jumps, no chip, can't be knocked down, while granting access to s.5A, s.5B, and s.214AA. Transitioning between the two modes at the right moments to utilize each in the right situations is the key to strong neutral and overall gameplay. You will get used to this with time, but stand ON neutral is typically easier to grasp at a beginner level.
Neutral / Footsies
Jotaro has a lot of strong buttons and it's important to be aware of the current situation and apply these normals accordingly. Some of Jotaro's strongest buttons will be listed below and divided into 3 catagories: Poke, Counter poke/Whiff punish, and moves to catch those waiting for a whiff punish. Note order does not signify anything, and these are not your only good buttons, merely the best. The amount of bad tools Jotaro has is quite limited compared to other characters, so do not underestimate buttons not on this list, as most likely have a place in Jotaro's game.
Strong Pokes:
d.5A - A confirmable, fast normal that can stuff enemy ground approaches incredibly well. It is not to be used as frequently as the other normals on this list, but it is very crucial to apply when the time arises. Proper use of this normal seperates good Jotaros from great ones.
d.s.5A - Although it can be ducked, it is an insanely fast, disjointed, moving jab that converts into knockdown and standcrash on medium and small gauges. It also has a large role to play in your anti-air game, as it is excellent at beating out lateral jump-ins such as Chaka's hyper hop. It is also used in tech chasing alongside s.j.C and s.2C.
s.5B - An insanely strong button, s.5B does massive stand gauge damage while being one of the most disjoint normals in the entire game. It is quite hard to contest for most characters, making it a superb poke as well as a counter poke.
s.5A - Similar to d.s.5A but in place. What makes this worth mentioning is the fact that this move can be done near instantly from stand on using s+5A. Proper use of this will make movement far more fluid as you can cancel dashes into one of the stronger anti-airs in this game, or convert into knockdown on a grounded hit.
d.5C - A fast, long range poke that can be cancelled on whiff, a very important normal to assert your control over neutral in some matchups. While important to not overuse, it's just another strong tool in Jotaro's arsenal.
Strong Counter pokes / Whiff Punish tools:
s.214AA - An insanely strong super and a core part of Jotaro's identity. Proper use of this super can make playing against Jotaro incredibly scary. It has so many applications, but to keep it brief and only mention a few, we should observe a hypothetical situation. Jotaro presses s.214AA and during super flash we see that the opponent is not pressing anything. In normal situations this would mean a waster super and a potential punish. With Star Breaker we can hold it down to threaten several options. If they roll, cancel and throw. If they wait, delay the release or cancel into a low or grab. There are so many options open to you - and I haven't even mentioned the I-frames you get on START-UP AND CANCEL.
s.5B - Everything mentioned above still holds through as you will rarely find yourself losing to other buttons upon proper use of s.5B, making it an excellent counter poke to confirm into knockdown with. An important part of your kit in many stages of the game, try to apply it as well as you can.
6B - A quick low kick that leads into insane damage due to being a stand off normal. This is your best counter-poke and whiff punish tool up-close in stand off. It is fairly active and is quite potent after pushblock against several pressure strings.
d.s.5A - Same as the previous section except now the speed is used to catch the opponent after they whiff a normal from a decently far distance. Confirming into good damage and knockdown from such a strong normal is very useful.
s.5A - Also same as the last section, as the the on demand nature of s+5A allows Jotaro to halt his dash and throw out one of the strongest moves in the game to usually beat out any attempts to stuff your dash cleanly. When used as an anti-air, it can be comboed into s.2C.
s.2C AA - When s.5A won't suite the angle of jump-in, s.2C fills in. Very active and deals with jump-ins quite well. Can also be used similarly to s.5A when inputted s+2C, but now for vertical anti-airing. Also leads into Jotaro's suprisingly decent tech chasing game.
3C AA - Similar to s.2C in the angles it covers, but now in stand off!
Moves to catch waiting opponents:
d.2A - A dashing stand off low that can be confirmed into respectable damage. Can catch many opponents off guard, an important tool to utilize.
d.s.2A - Your go-to stand on low. Confirms into knockdown well.
66 S 6A+C - Although the notation may appear intimidating, all this is is dashing up to your opponent, cancelling your dash with stand ON/OFF, the grabbing right after. Quite useful especially against characters like Kakyoin as it will disable nets safely. Sets-up up a, once again, strangely decent throw game. Do note that grab is punishable in the corner, although some characters may not possess an adaquate punish.
Now how do you use this information? Your counter-pokes are the meat and potatoes of Jotaro. Use them effectively to confirm into massive damage and knockdown, capitalizing on the opponents mistakes. Watch for oppurtunities to sneak in pokes in order to secure knockdown or stand crash. Every action should be taken with the goal of a knockdown or death in mind. Utilizing proper movement and transitions into stand on normals such as s+5A is the key to strong neutral. Pokes such as d.5A start pressure, which (depending on matchup) can be incredibly scary for the opponent. Pressure creates oppurtunities for your opponent to make a mistake resulting in knockdown. Achieve this through use of frame traps, staggers, tick grabs, and IOHs. Make sure to not overextend your stay, or you could be on the recieving end of explosive damage.
"Okay" Jotaro players tend to use Jump C, 5A, 6B xx 214+B, Jump C as an attempt to do his BnB combo. This is a common bad habit for Jotaro players. Kain once told me about that, and it took me a bit of time to figure out why, and the answer is because it leaves Jotaro open when the opponent is blocking/pushblocking. If Star Platinum gets sent out, Jotaro cannot block for approximately 2 seconds and that's all the time someone needs to punish him. So, avoid doing that combo as a startup. Proper pressure will be discussed in a later section.
Pressure and Tech-chase
Although it may not be obvious, Jotaro has quite strong tech chase and some fairly safe pressure. While there are definitely things to keep in mind, these techniques are very fluid and shift largely based on personal playstyle, so keep on open mind to whatever feels right in the moment.
Basic Jotaro pressure stems from proper use of staggers, tick throws, and hitconfirmable strings. 66A is an amazing normal that encompasses all these traits which is why it finds heavy use in pressure. The basic string that jot pressure is based from is 66a 2a 2a 6b 214b 66a etc. This is not a string you should be doing often in real games. The purpose of this string is to serve as the base to add on to. At its core every hit can be confirmed from, and it’s a gapless string if you don’t delay 66a after 214b. The first layer to developing Jotaro pressure is preventing pushblock and GC from cutting it short. If the opponent is not pushblocking correctly, ie mashing abc, simply stopping or delaying your string makes it very simple to flow chart into grab. Against GC, you can do the same and whiff punish or simply tick grab before the opponent can GC. Additionally, you can simply use the opportunity of pushblock and GC to reset to neutral. Simply backdash/tech back, as over extending on pressure is very dangerous depending on the matchup. By having a strong first layer you can start to put some of the options that require the opponents respect of your strings. After you have gained respect you can begin to go for far riskier options on block such as 236x jc or even 623x. Just be careful to not overstay your welcome, or you can eat a large chunk of damage. Japanese play shows off a lot of unique options, so look around and incorporate what you like.
Tech Chasing is a little bit easier to understand. The main tools you are going to be using are s.5A, s.2C, d.s.5A, s.j.C, and occasionally s.214AA. What makes Jotaro tech chase quite potent (aside from his already strong tools) is the fact that he can relaunch the opponent rather easily with s.5A > 2C, allowing for more tech chase. This coupled with the wide array of tech options s.j.C covers after this makes his tech chase quite rewarding. This is definitely a skill that develops as you play more, but a basic way to practice is to set the opponent to auto tech a direction and trying to find ways to contest it.
Other
Jotaro rewards a player who knows their punishes, as well as proper pushblocking. He has an average guard cancel, and it does not benefit his gameplan very much. Instead, understanding common patterns and punishable strings from the opponent is a very important aspect in securing damage. Counter measure videos are being gathered, but if you are struggling with a certain offensive string, either try several options against it in training mode, or ask knowledgable players. Punishes are an important part of every Jotaro's tool kit.
Okizeme
Jotaro's okizeme game is one of his strongest aspects, as almost every hit (even against stand on opponents thanks to the ease of stand crash combos) will lead into knockdown. Once you get a knockdown, typically from A rekka ender, you have several options for okizeme. This video details very practical okizeme options that can be used on a majority of the cast. Correctly executing and converting from okizeme is very important and is a part of a strong Jotaro players.
Star Finger Okizeme
This is your go-to option on a majority of the cast. After a knockdown, turn off your stand and do 623[X]. You now have two options: go low with 6B, or IOH (Instant Overhead) with j.C. After this, release star finger and convert with d.o.5C 6B etc. (d.o.2C 5A 6B is needed on hitboxes smaller than Black Polnareff). More notes in the video. (Does not work on Petshop, Iggy, Devo, Alessi- you are able to hit a meaty 6B on Vanilla Ice, Rubber Soul, and Avdol, but j.C will not hit meaty. Avoid star finger oki on these 7 characters.)
Ora Okizeme
An alternate, meterless, option on those who are too short or too quick to get up for Star Finger okizeme. Similarly to Star Finger Okizeme, after A rekka ender, turn off your stand and do 236C as the opponent is beginning the wakeup animation- this will typically be instant on the characters where Star Finger does not work. Once again, you have a high/low option, IOH j.C or 2A. It is important to note that Ora Okizeme is ONLY CONFIRMABLE IN CORNER. Confirm with 66A 2A 2A 6B 214S. Note that the low option is incredibly prone to IPS (Infinite Prevention System).
Star Breaker Okizeme
With Star Breaker you are able to 50/50 the previously stated problem characters, while not dealing with pesky IPS. The downside is that you will not get the same two-touch capabilies that Star Finger has, as you will not be able to confirm after star breaker is released. It is preformed similarly to Star Finger. Turn your stand off, do 214AA and hold a button. Then 50/50 with either j.C or 6B/2A, followed by a released Star Breaker.
