Back in the Saturn days, it was a revolution on 3D fighting games, times in which 3D games were still growing.
The gameplay was great, but simple: a button to defend, another for punch and another one for kick, but a lot of moves were possible to do with each characters, and many simple to get, although some of them were a bit harder.
The characters weren't many, but each had his or her fighting style, so each one of the characters was a different experience, so the game had a lot of replay value.
In short, it was a revoution in 3D fighting games for its gameplay, revolutionary graphics & fluidity, and maybe the most revolutionary Virtua Fighter ever.