Best Video Games of 1997

Capcom's 1997 PS1 Mega Man entry — Mega Man 8 features anime-quality cutscenes, eight Robot Masters including the fan-favorites Tengu Man and Frost Man, the Rush Super Adapter's return, and one of the franchise's most distinct visual presentations. Polarizing due to cutscene quality but admired for stage design and Mega Man legacy.

Rare's brilliantly odd N64 debut — pilot demolition vehicles to clear a path for a runaway nuclear missile carrier, destroying everything in its route across 57 stages using bulldozers, mechs, a dump truck, and a rocket cycle.

Human Entertainment's 1995 survival horror point-and-click sequel — Jennifer and two other protagonists navigate the manor of the Barrows family as Bobby, the Scissorman, hunts them. Clock Tower on PS1 features multiple protagonists, ten endings based on survival decisions, and a unique horror mechanic where running is often less useful than hiding.

Midway's gloriously over-the-top arcade football title strips the NFL down to its most entertaining essentials — seven-on-seven, no penalties, late hits encouraged, and turbo boosts that send receivers flying down the sideline with superhuman speed. NFL Blitz made football accessible and outrageously fun for non-sports fans while still offering enough depth for enthusiasts, cementing its status as one of the N64's essential four-player party games.

UEP Systems' 1997 PS1 snowboarding sequel and the game that established Cool Boarders as PlayStation's flagship winter sports franchise — Cool Boarders 2 expands trick variety, adds half-pipe competitions, more courses, and the trick selection system that made it the definitive early PlayStation snowboard experience.

Hudson Soft's bold translation of Bomberman into 3D on the Nintendo 64. Bomberman 64 reinvented the series with a 3D platformer adventure mode featuring five worlds and memorable boss fights, alongside the traditional multiplayer battle mode. The pump mechanic — inflating bombs to increase blast radius — added a new strategic layer that made both modes feel distinct from every other Bomberman entry.

The SNES follow-up with a hand-drawn crayon art style and five animal friends. Kirby's Dream Land 3's co-op mode and hidden objectives for each level — complete all to unlock the true final boss — made it a satisfying close to the Super Nintendo Kirby era.

The bizarre feudal Japan-meets-robots platformer starring Goemon, Ebisumaru, Sasuke, and Yae blends non-linear overworld exploration, town-based puzzle solving, and giant mech battles against boss fortresses into a package of cheerful, confident absurdism that N64 owners largely overlooked. Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon is one of the N64's most overlooked gems — a game that trusts the player's tolerance for the ridiculous and rewards that trust with genuine mechanical variety and charm.

Sega AM1's 1996 light gun shooter that launched one of gaming's most iconic horror franchises — The House of the Dead puts agents Rogan and G against zombies, mutants, and the rogue scientist Roy Curien through a Gothic mansion. The Saturn version is the first home port, supporting the Saturn Light Gun with branching stage paths based on optional civilian rescues.

Konami's inventive hybrid blends roguelike dungeon-crawling with a town-building simulation, tasking the son of a legendary monster tamer to explore a procedurally generated tower while cultivating relationships and developing the village that surrounds it. Azure Dreams rewards patience and repeated runs with genuine progression in both the combat and social systems, creating a compelling loop that anticipates the structure of many beloved games that followed years later.

Treasure's side-scrolling N64 platformer built an entire game around a single core mechanic — protagonist Marina Liteyears grabs, shakes, and throws enemies and environmental objects to solve puzzles and navigate levels — then introduced a new application of that mechanic in nearly every stage. Mischief Makers embodies the mechanic-per-level design philosophy that defines vintage Treasure craftsmanship, and its willingness to be a 2D game on a 3D console made it a genuine outlier in the N64 library.

The N64's first major first-person shooter — Turok's fog-shrouded jungle combat against dinosaurs and alien technology established what the N64 FPS would look like before GoldenEye.

A visually charming N64 platformer that polarized audiences upon release but has earned renewed appreciation. Yoshi's Story's storybook aesthetic, pastel environments, and happiness-meter mechanic create a uniquely soothing experience. Finding all 30 melons across six worlds is a surprisingly deep secondary objective.

Traveller's Tales' on-foot racing experiment pits Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and unlockable characters against each other across five colorful courses in the only mainline 3D Sonic game released for the Saturn. Sonic R's tight, interconnected track layouts reward shortcut mastery, and its infectiously catchy soundtrack by Richard Jacques has achieved genuine cult status — though limited content and floaty controls prevent it from reaching the heights of Sega's platforming flagship.