Once in a while, we stumble throughout a retro gem so weird, so gloriously bootleg, and so mind-blowingly uncommon, it makes our collective jaws drop—and at the moment’s discovery is not any exception.
Whereas trawling the extraordinary corners of the retro gaming web, we unearthed a system that’s rarer than rocking horse poop: the Batong BT-686 Multimedia Laptop — aka the Famicom CRT Unit. And people, this factor is WILD.
At first look, it appears like somebody fused a miniature Eighties classroom pc with a Famicom, after which dunked it in a vat of 8-bit weirdness. It’s chunky, beige, and completely magnificent.
💾 What’s the Batong BT-686?
The Batong BT-686 hails from a mysterious nook of the East Asian clone wars period, manufactured by Batong Electronics (八通电子) — an organization that (based mostly on what little we might discover) specialised in unlicensed or “instructional” Famicom-based computer systems.
However right here’s the kicker: this isn’t just a few off-the-shelf Famiclone. It’s an all-in-one instructional pc/gaming mutant, combining:
-
🖥️ Constructed-in CRT show
-
🎮 Famicom cartridge slot
-
🧠 RAM and OS cartridge inputs
-
⌨️ Full-size mechanical-style keyboard
-
🔌 NES-to-Famicom 62-pin converter
-
🕹️ Bundled bootleg Famicom multi-cart with classics like Tremendous Mario Bros.
-
🧃 All in a single, self-contained beige bombshell.
Oh, and it boots right into a space-themed loading display screen that offers off robust “pc class in a Chilly Battle bunker” vibes. What’s to not love?
🔍 How Does It Work?
Because of an unimaginable video by Russian Video Recreation Comrade, we bought a better have a look at this beast in motion. The BT-686 seems besides off a proprietary OS cartridge (à la BASIC interpreters), with extra RAM cartridges offering reminiscence growth.
However the true drawcard is the Famicom compatibility—it runs bootleg multi-carts simply tremendous, and with the included NES-to-Famicom pin converter, you’ll be able to even fireplace up your NTSC NES video games, assuming you’ve bought the precise energy provide and quite a lot of endurance.
What’s even crazier? The keyboard is useful. Whereas many of those instructional clone machines had non-working or limited-use keyboards, the BT-686 seems to permit typing and BASIC-style enter instructions, making it technically a hybrid computer-console.
🦄 Why You’ve In all probability By no means Seen One
The BT-686 isn’t simply obscure—it’s principally undocumented. Other than a handful of collectors and YouTube showcases, there’s virtually no digital footprint for this oddity. No advertising brochures, no official specs, no worth historical past—nothing.
Our greatest guess? It was marketed in China or different Southeast Asian international locations through the early Nineties as an “instructional” instrument to sneak Famicom gaming into properties beneath the guise of studying computer systems.
Both approach, discovering an entire unit in working order—with keyboard, show, OS and RAM carts—is virtually unprecedented.
Closing Ideas
The Batong BT-686 is a retro dream machine from a parallel universe—half Famicom, half classroom pc, half fever dream. It’s these weird, boundary-blurring consoles that make retro amassing so rewarding. You’re not simply getting a recreation system; you’re uncovering a misplaced chapter of tech historical past.
Received one within the attic? Know extra about it? Drop us a line—we’re dying to know extra about this digital chimera!
Keep bizarre, keep retro. 🕹️
picture supply: Fb Market
