Shadow of Memories (as known in Europe and Japan), or Shadow of Destiny (as known in the US) is an adventure video game released by Konami in 2001 on the PlayStation 2. Other platforms are the PC, Xbox, and PSP. Shadow of Memories is set in Lebensbaum, a small German town in 2001; but makes use of time travel as your protagonist fights against destiny. The producer, writer and character designer of this game, Junko Kawano, also released Time Hollow for the Nintendo DS in 2008, which shares some parallels to Shadow of Memories but no direct links and is not a sequel.
Plot[]
Shadow of Memories is set in the fictional German City of Lebensbaum. As Eike is leaving Cafe Sonne, he is stabbed by an assassin in the empty streets and dies. Eike regains conscious in Limbo where a mysterious voice explains the state of is demise. The mysterious voice then offers to help Eike and gives to him the Digipad - A device that allows Eike to travel back in time. With this new power of time travel. Eike enters this cat and mouse game with his assailant to where he can travel back in time to change events of the past to prevent his death in the present. Along his journey learning much of the city's past and heritage.
For plot summary of each chapter and further information on the games Multiple Endings we have a new section to where you can read more - Click Here to Visit the Chapter Selection.
Gameplay[]
The objective of Shadow of Memories is to guide player character Eike Kusch through the fictional German town of Lebensbaum as he travels through time to prevent and unmask his murderer. In each chapter, Eike dies, is resurrected by the Homunculus and travels back in time before his death with the intent of changing events to prevent it.
The Digipad, a time-traveling item given to Eike by Homunculus, requires Energy Units, which the player can find scattered around the town. The gameplay resembles a point and click adventure but offers a more traditional control scheme allowing the player to control Eike with the directional pad on a controller rather than using a mouse to click an area to navigate. The chapters consist of time-traveling through the different eras, finding items, and interacting through dialogue with the non-player characters. Actions taken in one time period affect future ones; for example, in Chapter 2 Eike is killed from the assassin hiding behind a tree. So Eike's objective in Chapter 2 is to seek a way to prevent the tree existing in the first place. This action making the Marktplatz where he was fated to die more open and gives the assassin less places hide and a lesser opportunity to proceed with his murder.
Additionally, the game keeps two digital clocks: one depicting the time in the present-day era and another for whichever era Eike time-travels to. The amount of time Eike spends in the different eras also passes in the present-day. The cutscenes and dialogue takes up varying amounts of in-game time. When the clock arrives at the time of Eike's death in the present, Eike will perish if he is still within the past as he is unable to return to the present. If Eike is in the present-day and exceeds the fated time of his demise the chapter restarts - With the exception of Chapter 8.
Players are encouraged to explore Lebensbaum, there are a few unique sidequests they can venture one being able to travel back to the past with a Kitten to bring joy to a lonely girl – These aren't implicitly displayed as an objectives on a list but situations a player can experience when experimenting the items they acquire and the people they interact with with in different time zones.
The game features an interactive narrative, one to which players actions can change the direction of the story, while there are really only a few key moments that change the outcome of the games multiple endings, there are many moments throughout the game where Eike can outwit the assassin in different ways. One example is if the player manages to obtain a Frying Pan earlier in the game by being advised by a Street Performer to get a Thick Iron Plate, they can by-pass Chapter 4 immediately by equipping the item before the assassin strikes – If the player hadn't received the Frying Pan earlier there objective for this Chapter would be to find a Thick Iron Plate to protect Eike from this attack. Then endings offer a unique conclusion to the story, but offer more insight into the story as a whole. Once the player has experienced all 5 of the games traditional endings an Extra route is offered for players to explore in the prologue.
Themes & Motifs[]
*SPOILER WARNING: Plot and Ending details follow!*
The repeating nature of time and fate[]
A common motif present throughout the game is the repeating nature of time. One instance of this how different generations of the same family produce individuals with the same tastes and phenotypes. For example, all members of the Franssen family that are seen or mentioned look the same with short wavy hair and glasses and are all involved in some form of the arts: Karl Franssen in the 1580s is a painter, Mr. Franssen in 1902 is a photographer, Oleg Franssen in the present day and 1970s & 1980s is a movie director while his father a clock maker. Another example is the Three Maidens who are present together in both the 1580s and present day. Each citizen of the town have ancestors who work in similar jobs tastes asides from looking similar. Also the squire who resides in the large mansion at the outskirts of town also is bald on the crown of his head like his descendants Alfred Brum and Eckart Brum. He, Alfred and Eckart have lost their wives and have daughters. In the EX endings after Eike either destroys Homunculus or cures Helena he ensures that Hugo and the real Dana stay in their time, have descendants thus culminating in the young boy that looks like Hugo kicking the football into the young man that looks like Eike - Who would be a further descendant of Wolfgang Wagner.
The inescapable nature of fate and paradoxes[]
The inescapable nature of fate is a common theme in the game.As Homunculus explains when Eike meets him in 1980 that although he switched Dana and Margarete at birth to prevent Hugo destroying Eike he admits that he will eventually in order to restore things to normal as "no matter how much you want to change things fate always want to put things back the way they were". This is due to a "homing instinct" it possesses as evident by "Dana" wanting to stay and start a new life for herself in 1584 (Endings A-D) and "Margarete" having a constant interest in Eikes time period. It also present in the fact that she is eventually adopted by Eckart Brum and Miriam Brum (Ending A) and "Dana" commenting on Eike being like a father figure - Even going as far as to call him Dad (Ending E). In a subversion of the grandfather paradox Eckart has a large litter of kittens and gives one to Eike who in turn gives it to Sibylla Brum - The daughter of Alfred Brum, Eckarts ancestor. Thus the cat becomes its own ancestor. This could also be a reference to Schrodinger's Cat - A thought experiment relating to quantum mechanics, paralell universes and time travel. One rule of time travel is that a person who travels to the past cannot make physical contact with another version of themself or they will be wiped out of the timeline. This is made clear on three occasions:when Eike tries to wake up his younger self in the Cafe Sonne during the prologue, when the younger Hugo tackles his older self (Ending C) and when Eike throws the Philosopher's Stone into Homunculus (EX 2).
Ports and re-releases[]
The game was originally made on PlayStation 2 on 2001 and was later ported on Xbox and PC the following year. These ports would remain pretty much the same. On 2009, the game was ported to PSP and featured various changes.
Trivia[]
- The game was originally planned for the original PlayStation.
- The original title planned was The Days of Walpurgis.
- Lebensbaum, the name of the town where the events of "Shadow of Destiny" take place, means "Tree of Life" in German.
- Junko Kawano the games lead developer claims Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust was a big inspiration for the game.
- Junko Kawano also notes Otogiriso as a video game inspiration.
- Junko Kawano was the voice actor for the various cats within the game.
- The Japanese version of the PlayStation 2 version features a trailer for Silent Hill 2 that can be accessed from the menu.
External links[]
- Shadow of Memories at the Konami Wiki