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.