The VF-1 is very good for its price range. It's the lowest priced piece of fx gear I would consider as being any good. It's basically the same fx as are found in the Roland VS Recorder series.

And as for obsolesence, well, you take your chances in this area. There are no guarantees. There's always something cheaper, faster and less expensive.

But really, it's a very flexible piece of outboard gear and if you don't like a specific effect you can always tweak and save it to a user preset. And for what you need you'll probably be very, very happy.