Family BASIC for the NES is this weird, fascinating little time capsule from 1984 Japan. It's basically a cartridge that turns your Famicom into a super basic programming tool—you can write simple code to make pixel art, chiptune music, or even rudimentary games. The keyboard add-on was clunky as hell, but there's something charming about typing in commands and watching your blocky creations come to life.

First time I booted it up, I just messed around making stick figures move across the screen. The manual (if you can find a translation) actually explains things decently for what it is, though good luck typing without fat-fingering half the keys. It's more of a novelty now than anything practical, but you gotta respect how ambitious this was for a console in the mid-80s.

Definitely one of those "more interesting to read about than actually use" relics, but still cool to tinker with for 20 minutes if you're into retro tech oddities.