Richard Osmond came home one night to find a small key sitting on his coffee table and the telephone ringing off the hook. He answered the phone and was greeted with some bad news -- his father's home had caught on fire and the old man was missing. Accompanied by a policeman, Richard returned to the house to investigate and find any clues he could of his father's disappearance or the fire.

As he was sifting through the ashes and debris, he came across an old key for the grandfather clock. He inserted the key into the clock and opened up a secret passage. Startled, he entered the passage only to find a large red book telling of the Rockwell dynasty. The family, as well as 45 other people, had vanished one year ago aboard the luxury boat Orpheus.

The story then tells of two talisman stones -- one blue and one red. It is fabled that a certain figure lusted for their power and with the stones, he could fulfil his wildest dreams and fantasies. Anyone with the stones has supreme power and is granted immortality and the ability to do whatever they'd like. Those with a heart will destroy them.

As Richard, you are then thrown into the past and aboard the still missing ship. You soon find out that everyone you encounter is a lost soul -- a ghostly figure who never got the opportunity to make amends with loved ones or failed in the course of duty. In addition to finding your father, you vow to help the people who lost their lives aboard the ship by fulfilling their last wishes or regrets. If you do, they can finally rest in peace.

Echo Night is a first-person adventure game from the makers of King's Field. As you journey around the ship, you come across items that are needed to unlock a specific part of the ship or solve puzzles. These puzzles usually include giving a certain item to a ghost, which then opens up a flashback scenario.

In flashback scenarios, you will meet with that ghost when he or she was still alive. They help you to better understand that individual's predicament and situation. When you help them or give them the item in which they need, you find yourself back on Orpheus and their soul is laid to rest. Each ghost leaves behind an astral piece -- a glowing purple sphere. The spheres are then given to a strange, ominous man -- a collector of the pieces.

The more crewmembers or passengers you save, the more the story begins to unfurl. You are given clues as to what you are supposed to do next and what really happened between the Rockwell family and the disappearance of the ship.

There are over ten different locations aboard the ship as well as numerous past/flashback settings. You will have to help all 45 people aboard the ship, giving you roughly that amount of objectives and scenarios to complete. You will have to manage your inventory and keep track of what items you have, solve devilish riddles and puzzles and escape Orpheus alive...or wind up like the other ghosts.

Echo Night (Sony PlayStation 1, 1999)