It's easier than it looks. I was intimidated by VF for years, but eventually I sat down and made myself learn it, and man I was glad that I did. Don't be put off by the hundreds of variations of moves, the differences are very subtle, and you'd have to play for years (as many have) to appreciate them. They're only there so the game is essentially strategically inexhaustible.
Every character more or less lives off a handful of signature moves and the evergreen PPK. Block beats attack. Attack beats throw. Throw beats block.
The thing which does take getting used to is the pace of the game. Hits trade in the blink of an eye and damage is unusually large, especially when countered. A round can be over in seconds if you're not paying attention. Otherwise it's a very accessible, very straightforward, and incredibly fun series. I find that VF's purported 'complexity' is played up by people who don't really understand how VF works.