Sony is set to reveal the PS4 tonight, which triggered a Twitter-wide bout of nostalgia for gamers everywhere. Turns out, sniff, sniff, that I’m not immune either.

A few months before the PS1 came out, Sony set up a massive TV and a demo of Battle Arena Toshinden in the food court of Hawaii’s biggest mall. My brother and dad got in line but I didn’t even want to touch the controller because I was such a die-hard SEGA fan. But I did get in line and beat a couple of other people with the giant knight Kayin. I had no idea what I was doing, but the game was big, flashy and it made me feel powerful. I loved everything about it except the Chinese assassin Fo Fai with his big claws and cheap moves. Ugh, I hated that guy.

We ended up waiting outside the local department store to get a PS1 the day it was released, but only two other people showed up and we stood around joking about the lines we expected to see. We walked home with Ridge Racer, Battle Arena and maybe another game or two. I didn’t even like racing games much, but I played Ridge Racer all the time. The PS1 was light years ahead of everything else at the time and playing one of those early games felt like I was getting my hands on top-secret technology that had leaked to the outside world.

Nowadays I play my games on the PC and iPhone, and I can’t recall the last time I felt as amazed as those first glimpses of Battle Arena and Ridge Racer. I hope the PS4 brings that feeling back. But Sony better not bring Fo Fai back. That guy is the worst.

Do you have any PlayStation memories to share?