Theoretically, this game has aged about as well as a carton of milk that's also 20 years old. The voice acting - sans a stellar performance from Charles Martinet - is mostly typical of the time, being hilariously hokey. Overall, the graphics look bland, the controls and camera are quite clunky, and you could argue that the game either holds your hand or leaves you a fish out of water.

And yet, the story and writing are so batshit in the most brilliant way, and there's a massive "a-ha!" factor that plays into puzzles and plot elements you can figure out on your own. There's a satisfaction to exploring around and talking to people, and realizing "oh yeah, this plays into something happening elsewhere!" Not to mention, even if you screw up and run out of time, you have the power of knowing what to do more efficiently and the foresight of letting you skip cutscenes you've already seen. I did "have" to look at a walkthrough two times, but both times with a reaction of "of course, I should've thought of that earlier!" Puzzles in this game are insane, but not in the moon logic sense - within this game's rules, solutions always make complete sense.

Also, while I do think the graphics lack color, there are some really cool effects and animations for the time, such as weather, clothing textures, and particularly, certain time periods utilizing "filters". 1902 has a monochrome overlay, the 1580s look sepia, yet all the while, Eike is in full-color. It's really cool.

It's a game that could totally use a massive polishing-up, but none of its flaws really make me want to walk away. It has this strange energy that makes me adore it, make me want a movie, even a remake. As long as they can get Charles back, that is.

SIPS A BIG JUICE

AHH YEH THEY DONT MAKE EM LIKE THIS ANYMORE

GOOD GAME I ENJOYED IT!!!

Shadow of Memories is a stressful game, yet hilarious to play.

The game is about Eike, the protagonist, who gets killed for some reason (who screams with horribly English dubbing) which allows him to have the ability to time travel to find out who murdered him. By traveling back in time, he's able to cause a butterfly effect by doing whatever he's able to do around a town. But... there is a time limit and each action you choose to do is consumed heavily. Even if you don't figure out what to do, you have to restart the section again (basically trial and error).

Now that he has a way to go back in time and change the past, what else could go- (screams in a horribly English dubbed fashion)

What makes the game so stressful is how after you pass through the first section, you have to cross through multiple timelines to change the past to find out who killed you! Even worse, time is continuous on both timelines whichever timeline you're in. Stressful or not, the game as a whole is clunky and dated. The method to find out who murdered Eike is hilarious because it's as if he doesn't know what he's doing, such as going back in the past to NOT plant a tree to see who murdered him. Or a rock. Or a building. Or a village. And even more.

SoM is one of Konami's hidden gems, but it's not one of the best. It has a cool concept and works flawlessly but has aged poorly.

Ao mesmo tempo limitado e incrível.

O jogo tem uma história incrível, apesar de um gráfico não tão lindo, ele ainda funciona muito bem. Um jogo de escolhar, um jogo que leva em consideração quase tudo que você faz e uma BOA história de viagem no tempo (coisa rara)

Sem spoiler, apenas joguem.

When I was in 3rd grade my mom bought Shadow of Memories as a gift for my dad because the guy on the cover looked like "the guy from Resident Evil 2". My dad never did play it but my underdeveloped 3rd grade brain sure did.

As a kid this game blew my mind. I was obsessed with games where you just walked around and did shit (Shenmue, Morrowind, etc.). There was something about the mundane that was endearing to me. But then in this one you're stabbed in the back and murdered in broad daylight. That was different.

In Shadow of Memories you are tasked with stopping your murder before it happens thanks to a little brown Pokedex given to you by an MCR fan. After accomplishing this task you die again at a later date, finding out that you are forever destined to die until you dig out the rotten tree from its roots.

This sees Eike, Eike Kusch, traveling all over the damn timeline encountering friends, family, and a lot of men with male pattern baldness to try and stop himself from dying, changing his destiny.

The gameplay is a very simple walk and talk 3D adventure game, a la Shenmue, but its paced well enough to where you don't ever feel bored or lost. Another one of your deaths is right around the corner at all times so you never know what to expect. Poison fish? Very well could be.

The music has an unsettling joy to it. Creepy flutes, abrupt crashing drums, add to the ambience of this weird quiet small town where you can be comfortable enough to stab at 3pm.

The game has a billion endings, some of them outright goofy, but never disappointing. And the game is short enough too to where getting them all isn't a slog.

I recently replayed Shadow of Memories and enjoyed every second of it. It hasn't aged that gracefully, but not every game needs to. A ton of heart goes a long way. One of my favorite games from the PS2.

5 Eikes out of 5.