I am a super huge of fighting games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, but I tried to play Virtua Fighter long ago and I fell in love with it. Very different from Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. There are no superpowers or magic. Just pure martial arts. And when I tried to play Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution for the PS2 and I had to admit. It is a masterpiece.
The first thing that I would like to say about the game is that it is real hard to play. But there is an in-depth tutorial that allows you to learn the moves train yourself. There is no level-up system in Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution. Either that, or I missed it somehow. But from my experience playing, you need to train yourself to get good at the fighting, and you yourself as a player, level up and become better. It is just like joining a martial arts club and getting better as you get the darker-colored belts.
If you abandon Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution for quite some time and start again, there is a high chance you might lose your touch and start losing a lot. As I mentioned earlier, the game is a lot like real martial arts training and you do not train your fighter. You train yourself. You train your reflexes and train your fingers and how well it coordinates with your brain to play the game. You cannot just bash buttons like in Mortal Kombat or shoot fireballs like in Street Fighter. This is what makes the game unique and different from the rest.
Overall, Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution is a brilliant and awesome fighting game. If you are just looking for some fighting action, then this is not for you. You can just play Mortal Kombat Armageddon or Street Fighter, as those games can be mastered more easily. But if you are a fighting game enthusiast who wants something different, or a person who is constantly looking for a good challenge to improve your skills, or a fighter yourself, then Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution is probably your kind of thing.