When I played this back in 94-95 I had already read that manual on the ride home from buying the game, as was standard for the time (along with wearing an onion on my belt). Had to read that thing, as it took a sack of dimes and an overnight download of I wanted an actual guide or something.
Others have already given most of the advice I would have given. (Go Decker for your first game. Is easier, more thematic, and I think more fun. You can then hire some muscle to help fight.)
Quick tips for a Decker: Get Sleeze and Mask up fast, then start stealing data. This gets you a ton of Karma and money faster than other grinds. Get the Excalibur asap.
Edit: Since I mentioned Decker. Here is a very dense but detailed explanation of how decking works in the game. It looks cartoony, but is quite complicated: …fandom.com/…/Game_mechanics_of_the_Matrix
Here’s the guide I used when I replayed it in 2003 (I still own my Sega, not on emulator, which is apparently harder due to latency in combat) gamefaqs.gamespot.com/genesis/…/12296