All-Star Battle ★ Hol Horse
Hol Horse is a playable character in the PS3 game, confirmed along with Muhammad Avdol and DIO as one of the last Part 3 characters (excluding DLC characters Iggy and Vanilla Ice). He is voiced by Hochu Otsuka in this game, who previously voiced young Joseph Joestar in the Capcom game.
Hol Horse utilizes both Emperor and The Hanged Man of J. Geil for his moveset. Despite being one of the mass majority of playable characters in the game with the "Stand" Style, Hol Horse cannot switch between movesets nor does he have access to the Stand Rush ability, making his entire movelist always available to him. He shares this effect with Guido Mista and Diavolo. Instead, Hol Horse's Style button triggers the skill "Gun beats sword", wherein he trick-spins Emperor as it glows, enhancing the next skill marked with a star. Said abilities can be instantly performed following the skill. Hol Horse has 950 HP.
Costumes
Command List
During a fight, Hol Horse uses moves that are loosely based on those featured in Stardust Crusaders.
Hol Horse stylishly spins Emperor around, powering up the next skill marked with a star (☆).
Any bullet enhanced by this ability will possess the highest priority of any projectile in the game, meaning that it will defeat any other projectile it comes in contact with the exception of another Hol Horse's enhanced bullet, and Giorno Giovanna's "Can you escape destruction?" skill while Gold Experience is in Requiem Mode, in which case it will only cancel out.
This ability is special-cancelable, meaning that Hol Horse can freely chain it at any point during its execution into a special skill whilst retaining the enhancement. This allows him to utilize this Style Ability liberally in combos.
Hol Horse runs away from the opponent, making him one of the only four characters in the game capable of running in the opposite direction; the others being Joseph Joestar (both versions), Iggy, and Shigekiyo Yangu. In Hol Horse's case, this allows him to quickly create much needed space to unleash various bullet attacks.
This ability passively goes into effect whenever Hol Horse faces off against a female opponent (Lisa Lisa, Jolyne Cujoh, or Ermes Costello). He will have special intro dialogue with his opponent where he attempts to flirt with them, only to be met with repulsion. During battle, Hol Horse generates Heart Heat at a slightly reduced rate, but he passively deals more damage.
An icon will automatically display above his Heart Heat Gauge showing a yellow silhouette of his head as a pink heart appears in the smoke of his cigarette.
Hol Horse fires a high-speed bullet. The attack button inputted results in different effects on the bullet's flight. However, if he takes damage, the bullet will disappear. (Flash Cancel comboable) Ground versions:
- Light (): The bullet flies straight forward normally.
- Medium (): The bullet curves upward, acting as a form of anti-air starting from mid-range.
- Heavy (): The bullet suddenly flies back towards Hol Horse after traveling a set distance, disappearing just short of him. This variation can be used to hit opponents that jump over the initial shot, but Hol Horse cannot act for longer as he needs to manually bring the bullet back.
Aerial versions:
- Light (): The bullet is fired at a downwards angle towards the ground.
- Medium (): The bullet is fired at a downwards angle, then curves up to fly forward, parallel to the ground.
- Heavy (): The bullet is fired at a downwards angle, then curves back upwards, flying in a rough "V" shape.
This skill can be enhanced with "Gun beats sword" to make the bullet hit multiple times for higher overall damage and better combo utility.
Hol Horse fires a special, stronger, but slower bullet that deals more damage and hits multiple times. As long as the Style button is held, the bullet's trajectory can be manually changed up to 4 times (Flash Cancel comboable) as Hol Horse spins Emperor, though he cannot act while controlling it.
This skill can be enhanced with "Gun beats sword" to make the bullet hit even more times for higher overall damage and better combo utility. It also grants Hol Horse fully unlimited remote control over the bullet as long as the Style button is held. (Comboable)
Spending 1/8th of a bar of HHG, Hol Horse tosses a glass bottle full of water into the air before shooting it. Upon the bottle breaking, a puddle of water is left on the floor directly below. The attack button inputted determines how far the bottle is lobbed. If the opponent is airborne, they can collide with the bottle and break it directly, the bullet to allow the bottle to break on landing, or both for substantial damage, allowing the skill to function as an anti-air attack. (Flash Cancel comboable)
Hanged Man appears out of the water puddle and delivers a hefty stab while leaning towards the opponent, stunning them and leaving them vulnerable. A low attack that cannot be blocked standing. The stab tracks in 3D space, allowing Hanged Man to attack at any angle so long as the opponent is within range. Hol Horse's inputted normal attack will also be delivered simultaneously.
This move can even be used if Hol Horse is in the middle being attacked or is down, giving it the unique ability to break combos as long as the opponent happens to be in range. (Comboable)
Hol Horse hoists the opponent up by their collar before Hanged Man appears to stab them and send them flying.
Hol Horse spits his cigarette up into the air shortly before firing a volley of 4 to 10 bullets, dependent on whether or not an attack input was rapidly pressed. Each bullet comes back around to hit once more before disappearing for a total of 8 to 20 hits. The last hit will knock the opponent to the ground as Hol Horse catches his cigarette back in his mouth.
This HHA will deal more damage if "Gun beats sword" is in effect, making each bullet hit a third time.
Hol Horse throws a group of glass bottles into the air and shoots to shatter them. If the opponent is caught in the shard rain, Hanged Man will appear in the mirror world within the glass shards and stab them in the shoulder, immobilizing them while the Stand prompts Hol Horse to fire. Complying happily, he fires off a single high-speed bullet that excessively curves around and between the falling glass shards before finally flying straight at its target: the opponent's forehead, sending them flying backwards.
This GHA can strike a downed opponent, but cannot hit at point-blank or close range, necessitating some spacing.
Gameplay Overview
He is a "zoner" archetype of character, effectively battling at any range and capable of keeping his opponent from getting him within melee distance. Hol Horse exchanges an effective long-range zoning playstyle for high damage output and ways to better handle close-range confrontations. He possesses the smallest movelist of any character in the entire game. Despite this, each of his individual moves provide massively superior utility, which grants him a cohesive playstyle. He wields a wealth of bullet attacks that cover every angle, impressive combo ability with multi-hitting and combination attacks, a multi-purpose anti-air skill, and the unique ability to almost freely break himself out of combos under the right conditions. Completing this, his damage output is respectable and consistent for his ease of use.
However, his uncomplicatedness also makes his strategies somewhat basic, and patient opponents can undermine much of his effectiveness. In addition, Hol Horse's bullets tend to be very ineffective in 3D space due to linearity, as a simple sidestepping Dodge is enough for his foe to quash the threat of manually controlled bullets. His slower skills and bullets also make his long-ranged power pale in comparison to others of his archetype such as Kakyoin, although the priority his bullets possess helps alleviate this in matches against fellow zoners.
Hol Horse is a formidable yet simplistic fighter who utilizes both advanced control over his own Stand's bullets as well as Hanged Man's support to unleash a tricky, high-damage offense against aggressive foes, and works best at midrange distances. His straightforward yet rewarding approach to combat makes him favorable among novice and experienced players alike, and he is considered one of the best characters in the game.
Miscellaneous
Besides the cast from Part 3 (excluding Old Joseph, Iggy, and Vanilla Ice, all of whom are DLC), Hol Horse has special intro dialogue with Guido Mista. Hol Horse decides to see which one of the two is the faster gunman, a challenge that Mista accepts. If Hol Horse wins, he'll note that, unlike Mista, his bullets are also part of his Stand. If Mista wins, he'll note how funny of a guy Hol Horse is.