NET YAROZE - spiritual predecessor of XBLIG - Part 1: Super Bub Contest

Developing games for XBLIG is relatively easy, assuming you have some knowledge of C# and some basic artistic skills (on second thought, the latter is not really a requirement as you can use avatars or zombies), because you can utilize a regular retail Xbox 360 console instead of purchasing an expensive development kit. Back in the old days, in a time nowadays referred to as the 90s, it was much harder to see your own game come to life on a video game console. But there was a way and it was called Net Yaroze, a special slimmed-down PlayStation 1 dev kit for hobby programmers. Net Yaroze games could be found on cover discs of the Official PlayStation Magazine and featured some competent remakes of classics such as Pac-Man or Boulder Dash.

My absolute favorite Net Yaroze title was featured on a demo disc back in 1998 and is called Super Bub Contest, a mix between Puzzle Bobble and Dr. Mario, featuring Tetris-like gameplay on a screen divided into two playfields.