History VideoGame / ShadowOfDestiny

* DevelopersForesight: One strong case lets you skip the entirety of chapter 4. If you stumbled into receiving the strange juggling jester's advice [[spoiler:and grabbed a frying pan]] long before it was even necessary, using it at the beginning of the chapter [[spoiler:saves your life from being stabbed, and skips the entire need to travel back in time, dress up as the juggler and then use the message-in-an-egg trick to warn your past self to grab the pan.]]

** The person who killed Eike had a white shirt and yellow pants. [[spoiler:Just like the kid who asked Eike to save his grandfather from the burning building.]]

An AdventureGame released for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 by Creator/{{Konami}} in 2001, and titled '''''Shadow of Memories''''' originally and outside of the US. It was later ported to the PC, Xbox, and eventually the PSP.

* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The levels set in the distant (1900's) and far past (1500's) are shown as shades of gray and sepia, respectively.

* FiveSecondForeshadowing: In Ending D, the first hint as to what's going on after Wolfgang Wagner made his wish to be eternally young is that [[spoiler:his voice sounds exactly like Eike. Just as the camera pans up to reveal that Eike is a younger Wolfgang Wanger.]]

** Helen notes that Eike's voice reminds her of her husband, Dr. Wagner. [[spoiler:Because Eike ''is'' her husband in a way.]]

* WhamShot: The D Ending has [[spoiler:Homunculus de-age Dr. Wagner, making him look exactly like ''Eike''.]]

* BittersweetEnding: Almost all of them qualify, but the EX endings take the cake. In this route, Eike, having gained [[spoiler:RippleEffectProofMemory from previous time loops, uses his newfound knowledge to make better decisions that ultimately result in him undoing the chain of events that led to the creation of Homunculus and the various tragedies that followed. This is especially true if Eike choses to hand over the Philosopher's Stone to the Wagners and instructs Wolfgang to make an elixir out of it to save Helena's life, ensuring that the Wagners live a happier, content life in this new reality, with Wolfgang avoiding the twist of fate that gave birth to the ageless amnesiac (Eike). Sadly, this action also causes Eike to vanish from existence, but he's fine with it, knowing that he did the right thing while also freeing himself from the cruel fate that bound him to Homunculus, and he "dies" [[GoOutWithASmile with a smile]]. The last scene cuts to the present day, now featuring a young man who looks exactly like Eike save for wearing different clothes, and it ends with a solemn narration from Eike indicating that he's been reincarnated with his ripple-proof memory still intact, happy with his new life in the 21st century but also saddened by the fact that all the bonds and friendships he made from his previous time travels have been erased, with no way to know what became of the people whose lives he had touched but cannot help anymore, though he takes comfort in choosing to believe that they've all managed to lead good lives, with or without him]].

* RidiculouslyAverageGuy: Eike down to a tee. Despite being the main character, he shows no depth or any characteristics that make him stand out. Eckhart Brum in fact has much more depth and complexity and he appears only a few times on screen. Eike may also fall into the category of SociallyAwkwardHero as he bumbles around most conversations. This is eventually subverted, however, once the player figures out ''who'' Eike really is and all the things he's done that led to his present condition]].

* BittersweetEnding: Almost all of them qualify, but the EX endings take the cake. In this route, Eike, having gained [[spoiler:RippleEffectProofMemory from previous time loops, uses his newfound knowledge to make better decisions that ultimately result in him undoing the chain of events that led to the creation of Homunculus and the various tragedies that followed. This is especially true if Eike choses to hand over the Philosopher's Stone to the Wagners and instructs Wolfgang to make an elixir out of it to save Helena's life, ensuring that the Wagners live a happier, content life in this new reality, and Wolfgang avoiding the fate that led to him turning into the ageless amnesiac, Eike. Sadly, this action also causes Eike to vanish from existence, but he's fine with it, knowing that he did the right thing while also freeing himself from the cruel fate that bound him to Homunculus, and he "dies" [[GoOutWithASmile with a smile]]. The last scene cuts to the present day, now featuring a young man who looks exactly like Eike save for wearing different clothes, and it ends with a solemn narration from Eike indicating that he's been reincarnated with his ripple-proof memory still intact, happy with his new life in the 21st century but also saddened by the fact that all the bonds and friendships he made from his previous time travels have been erased, with no way to know what became of the people whose lives he had touched but cannot help anymore, though he takes comfort in choosing to believe that they've all managed to lead good lives, with or without him]].

** Towards the end of the game in a few endings, Hugo threatens to wipe Eike from existence by leaving Margarette in the current time since she's the ancestress of Eike and Eike can't exist without her being in her own time. [[spoiler: Hugo's plan failed due to Homunculus switching Margarette and Dana at birth. The Margarette from the 1500s is actually Dana from the modern era while the Dana that Eike thinks he knows is Margarette from the 1500s. Ergo, the real Margarette is Eike's ancestress. By keeping the real Dana in the past, Eike would continue to exist regardless of what happened to "Margarette". The switch also explains why waitress "Dana" feels lost with her life in the current time and why she wants to stay in the past in certain endings.]]
** Two endings causes a character to be wiped from existence if they come into contact with their past selves. [[spoiler: In one ending, Hugo dies after touching his future self and in an extra ending, Eike knows that the Homunculus came from the Philosopher's Stone, thus he chucks said stone at him to erase him.]]
* RidiculouslyAverageGuy: Eike down to a tee. Despite being the main character Eike has no depth or any characteristics that make him stand out. Eckhart Brum in fact has much more depth and complexity and he appears only a few times on screen. Eike may also fall into the category of SociallyAwkwardHero as he bumbles around most conversations.
* RippleEffectProofMemory: [[spoiler:This is how Eike can get the EX endings. The dialog options on the NewGamePlus change to reflect that he knows he's had this happen before. Armed with [[OutOfCharacter Out of Character]] knowledge, he can change his actions and end the game in the opening chapter! And erase himself from existence in the process.]]

* ArtificialHuman: Homunculus. [[spoiler:Or so we are led to believe.]]