Set in a fictional German town named Lebensbaum (Life's Tree), Shadow of Memories revolves around a 22-year-old man named Eike Kusch, who dies in the beginning of the game from being stabbed after leaving a small diner. However, he is resurrected by Homunculus who offers to send him back in time to prevent his death and gives him the time-traveling digipad. Eike explores four eras-2001, 1980, 1902 and 1580 "as he attempts to unmask his killer and figure out a way of stopping his own murder at various points in the present."
Actions taken in one time period affect future ones; for example, if Eike removes a seal from the squire's manor in 1580, the seal will not appear in the present era. 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 one. The cut-scenes and dialogue takes up varying amounts of in-game time. When the clock arrives at the time of Eike's death, the chapter restarts; however, if Eike is not in his time period at the time of his death, the game ends.
The color tone varies depending on which era Eike time-travels to. For example, the early twentieth century is depicted in grey tones while 1580 appears in earth-colored ones.
Source: Wikipedia, "Shadow_of_Memories," available under the CC-BY-SA License.