Virtua Striker[a] is a series of association football sports video games released by Sega for arcades.

As one of many series under Sega AM2's Virtua banner, the genesis of Virtua Striker can be traced back to Yu Suzuki, who presented the idea to Satoshi Mifune, with whom he had worked on previous Sega arcades such as Space Harrier and After Burner,[5] and whom Suzuki knew to be a football fan.

Mifune, however, originally did not have the same faith in the project, doubting a smooth transition, to the point of expressly declaring that, if the game was a failure, he would not try his hand at the genre again.

The simple, three-button control layout resulted of a combination of factors: the lack of popular titles to provide a standard, the need to focus on the game's program, and for an accessible experience to players.

Virtua Striker 4 added a card system and mobile phone syncing, allowing players to configure strategies and formations on the move.

The game consists of a single-elimination knock-out tournament with 16 teams (like in the knock-out stage of the FIFA World Cup), with each match lasting two minutes by default, plus injury time and, if the match ends in a draw, one extra minute of sudden death.

Virtua Striker 4 also adds a qualifying match, which grants access to the tournament proper if won.

The game operates with three buttons: one for passing (which is also used for sliding tackles when not in possession of the ball), one for long balls (which automatically crosses if the player is running parallel to the box) and one for shots, which can be charged or, if the player is on the receiving end of a cross, tapped for a header or volley finish.

The first three games of the series (counting also the Virtua Striker 2 revisions, but not the 2002 revision of Virtua Striker 3) feature a hidden team called FC Sega, made up of the game's developing staff, which always faces the player's team in special matches after the player wins the final match, and can be selected through a special cheat code.

The original team selection BGM from the first game also exists, and can be heard through a special code.

Recognizable players: Andoni Zubizarreta, Julen Guerrero and José Luis Caminero.

Recognizable players: Emil Kostadinov, Yordan Letchkov and Hristo Stoichkov.

Recognizable players: Fernando Redondo, Diego Maradona, Claudio Caniggia and Gabriel Batistuta.

[9] A critic for Next Generation applauded the original Virtua Striker as both "excellent to play and watch".

He cited the smooth and accurate control, realistic player moves, camera which consistently zooms in or out to the perfect frame at every moment of play, "gorgeous" texture-mapped players and backgrounds, and realistically strong defense.