Developers World Championship: Match Report - Japan v Spain (Quarter Finals)

JAPAN Street Fighter IV (Capcom)

VS SPAIN Bruce Lee: Dragon Warrior (Digital Legends)

And then there were eight.

The Last 16 had borne witness to more shocks than an electric eel with a defibrillator dependency. More on Blanka later...

Canada’s Zombie Attack!, Sweden’s Labyrinth 2, and France’s N.O.V.A. headed a list of big-name casualties to crash out at the first knockout stage. But, of course, the greatest story of them all centered on the hosts, England, and Pocket Gamer's app developers’ version of The Ashes.

Rockstar Leeds’ seminal Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars sprinted wheel-to-wheel, rubber-on-rubber with Australia's Real Racing over 120 dramatic minutes. Unfortunately for the hosts, England's lamentable record in penalty shootouts continued, and The Three Lions were left to lick their wounds once more.

So, the English went out with a whimper, but British involvement didn't end with that fateful missed spot kick. Scotland was now the sole UK representative at the tournament, and could rely on an experienced pro, Champ. Man. 2010, in their quarter final clash with Finland.

Before that, though, Japan, many pundits' tip for the title back in those heady early June days, was scheduled to fight Spain in a one-fall bout this afternoon in the iStadium ring.

Veteran grappler Street Fighter IV, from videogaming behemoth Capcom, had prepared well for this titanic contest, defeating Holland’s energetic Toki Tori 2-1 in Group E’s pivotal game.

On a month’s loan from Hong Kong (impressive foresight there on the part of the executive management), Bruce Lee: Dragon Warrior had also recorded a group stage triumph, finishing Honduras off with a single mighty blow.

This opening quarter final was sure to be brutal, bloody, and boisterous – the journalists in attendance were just glad to be in the relatively safe environs of the press centre!

Kick Off: 3pm, 2nd July

The critical view: Both sides had prepared immaculately for the bout in a physical sense, setting up training dojos in Bath city centre.

And sticking to the pre-match script, Japan and Spain weren’t backwards in coming forwards early doors, exchanging swift roundhouse kicks and reverse sweeping passes with wild abandon.

Street Fighter IV's rookie goalie, Ken, landed the first significant punch of the affair, his powerful fist into touch compensating for a gaping hole in the Japanese rear.

Spain’s heavily customised combat formation (a variation on the diamond) was placing the Asians’ back three under duress and Bruce Lee: Dragon Warrior's 10 outfielders attacked with abandon, leading with the front foot whenever possible and producing exquisite moments of flair.

Matching the offensive prowess of the Spaniards almost toe-for-toe, Street Fighter IV’s own roster, recently swollen to 10 by the additions of teenager Cammy and naturalised Russian-born Zangief, shifted play at the speed of a Sonic Boom.

The combos in midfield were an absolute to delight to see, only the odd cynical grab, some last ditch (leg) sweeping and the omission of online multiplayer preventing their fire-balls finding an open man.

On the half hour, rotund front man, Eddie Honda, was inches away from converting skipper Ryu’s fire through ball at the near post. Slapping his cheeks in frustration, the chubster muttered something in broken English about the team needing more Guile in the final third.

E. Honda’s wishes were duly answered: spying Spain’s imminent unveiling of its IMGA People’s Choice Award and Bronze trinket (albeit for the iPad version), Japan’s PR Manager opened its veritable treasure chest of trophies to reveal the prestigious PG Silver Award.

Spurred on by Street Fighter IV’s critical recognition, Dhalsim and M. Bison indulged in some Bluetooth head-to-header tennis on the perimeter of the box, setting up Chun-Li on the penalty spot.

For a second, it looked to be sailing just too high for the pig-tailed princess, but that reckoned without her predilection for audacious overhead acrobatics - she duly dispatched a spinning bird kick into the top corner.

First blood to Capcom then, and the Digital Legend's Dragon Warrior was temporarily rocked back on his heels. Drawing a thumb steadily across his mouth to taste the blood seemed to reinvigorate the Spanish captain at the restart, who flexed his muscles and calmly beckoned his opponent forward with an iconic hand gesture.

Clearly he had revenge in mind, but it wouldn't come this half, as barely a minute later the referee, performed his own iconic hand gesture, pointed to his watch and blew the whistle to signal the break.

Half time: Japan 1 – 0 Spain The Fans’ 45: Spain's matadors were bruised, but not beaten. Conceding on the stroke of half-time was sobering, to say the least, yet the Master of Martial Arts could still call upon his faithful to engineer a comeback.

Or could he? Expecting a furious onslaught from the Iberians, Street Fighter IV's animal in the tackle, Blanka, was surprised to discover nothing of the sort materialising.

Perhaps the afternoon kick-off proved disruptive to the Spanish contingent or maybe they were preoccupied with their nation's fortunes in FIFA's South African version of our tournament (yes, it does seem suspiciously similar: our lawyers are looking into it - Ed).

Whatever the reason, even the lure of the first officially licensed Bruce Lee iOS title, an engaging story mode, and some gorgeous presentation couldn't rouse them from their lethargy.

If the devotees of Digital Legends were tardy in their arrival, the same certainly couldn't be said for Capcom's fans. The beautiful 3D graphics, customisable button placement, and painstakingly honed balanced action of Japan's fearsome fighter clearly had the upper fist and Street Fighter's eternal appeal was certainly evident in the voting today.

Bruce Lee may have been renowned for being able to take punishment and it was just as well, for the Dragon Warrior's fitness and endurance were well and truly put to the test in the second half.

With the Spanish on the defensive, each of the Street Fighters unleashed their special moves and all manner of electrical shocks, flaming punches, flash kicks, and projectile attacks rained down upon the Iberian back line.

It was a minor miracle that the Digital Legends' goal was still standing under the weight of attacks, but ultimately it wasn't enough for the Spanish, who needed a score to have any chance of prolonging the punishment.

Hence, with the clock ticking down, they attempted to cause some pain of their own with a series of counter-attacks and even struck the woodwork several times through the ability to learn extra moves.

Ultimately, though, this forward momentum inevitably left gaps in their own armoury and when M. Bison slid a long ball forward, elastic substitute Dhalsim ghosted into the area and stretched out his foot (a good four feet in fact) to score a decisive second. Though the Spanish captain was still amazingly ready for more, it was all over.

The referee stopped the bout on 92 minutes and awarded victory to Japan.

As expected, Bruce Lee: Dragon Warrior politely bowed its approval at the final whistle, a mark of respect from one glorious combatant to another. Sadly this wasn't mirrored by the entire Street Fighter team. Whilst captain Ryu reciprocated, others took the opportunity to indulge in a pithy put-down before wandering off to celebrate with their fans.

Not the finest display of sportsmanship, perhaps, but considering the stakes and the passion of battle it could at least be understood. The dragon-punch had downed the dragon-warrior today and the Japanese were the first name in the iGDWC semi-finals.

Full time: Japan 2 – 0 Spain Final Group Tables - Fixtures & Voting - Squads

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