The default gameplay system of Virtua Fighter involves two combatants needing to win two of three rounds, with each round being 30 seconds long or more. Combatants utilize various attacks in an attempt to deplete the other fighter's stamina gauge and deal a knockout (K.O.), winning a round. If a character is knocked out (or falls out) of the ring, their opponent wins the round in a Ring Out. An extra round is necessary if a double knockout (both players knocking each other out at the same time) occurs in a previous round and the match is tied one round each. In this round, players fight on a small stage wherein one hit is enough to knock the other out and achieve victory.

The basic control scheme is simple, using only an 8-way control stick and three buttons (Punch, Kick, Guard). Through various timings, positions, and button combinations, players input normal and special moves for each character. This allows extensive lists of moves to exist for a given character within the limited control scheme. Traditionally, in the single-player mode, the player runs a gauntlet of characters in the game (which may include one's doppelgänger) all the way to the final boss.

Virtua Fighter also owes its simplistic game design to a notable lack of secondary game mechanics, such as any special meters or other emergent elements present in the vast majority of modern fighting games. In addition, every playable character introduced throughout the Virtua Fighter series utilizes a fighting style heavily based in real-world martial arts. Although some creative liberties are taken for the effective execution of certain techniques and styles, there are no supernatural powers and scarce few superhuman feats, creating a grounded and semi-realistic system of combat.

https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Virtua_Fighter/Moves