Best PlayStation 1 games of 1997
The 21 best PlayStation 1 games released in 1997, ranked from 6,953 critic and player ratings.
The best PlayStation 1 game of 1997 is Gran Turismo, with a critic score of 96/100 — updated agosto 2026.
Gran Turismo
96
/100
02
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
93
/100
03
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Having been awoken from his eternal slumber by the reappearance of Castlevania, Alucard must once again face the evil minions of darkness. Use your vampiric powers, along with weapons, potions, and other magical relics to change the tide of battle. A mixture of platform and role-playing action with many hidden areas and secrets. Can you discover them all?
92
/100
Theme Hospital
Theme Hospital is a business simulation game developed by Bullfrog Productions and published by Electronic Arts in 1997, in which the player designs and operates a hospital. Like most of Bullfrog's games, Theme Hospital is permeated by an eccentric sense of humour. The game is the thematic successor to Theme Park, a game also produced by Bullfrog. The game was a massive commercial success, selling over 4 million copies worldwide.
90
/100
05
Grandia
89
/100
06
S
Final Fantasy VII
The Western release of Final Fantasy VII (released as Final Fantasy VII International in Japan) included additional elements and alterations, such as streamlining of the menu and Materia system, reducing the health of enemies, new visual cues to help with navigation across the world map, and additional cutscenes relating to Cloud's past.
85
/100
07
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
85
/100
08
Tekken 3
Tekken 3 is the third installment in the Tekken series. It maintains the same core fighting system as its predecessors but brings many improvements, such as significantly more detailed graphics and animations, fifteen new characters added to the game's roster, more modern music and faster gameplay.
84
/100
09
Riven: The Sequel to Myst
Riven: The Sequel to Myst is a graphic adventure puzzle game developed by Cyan and released in 1997. It continues the story of Myst, following the player’s journey to rescue Atrus’s wife, Catherine, from a decaying world. The game features pre-rendered environments with complex, interconnected puzzles and minimal direct guidance. Its visuals, sound design, and world-building were praised for their depth and realism. Riven expanded on Myst’s narrative and gameplay scale, becoming one of the most acclaimed adventure games of its time.
83
/100
10
Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror
Broken Sword: The Smoking Mirror is a 2D adventure game played from a third-person perspective. Via a point-and-click interface, the player guides protagonist George Stobbart through the game's world and interacts with the environment by selecting from multiple commands, while Nicole Collard is also a playable character in selected portions of the game. The player controls George's movements and can engage in dialogue with other characters through conversation trees to gain hints of what needs to be done to solve the puzzles or to progress the plot. He also have to collect objects that can be used with either other collectible objects, parts of the scenery or with other people in order to solve puzzles and progress in the game. By right-clicking on an object, the player gets a description and clues. The player character's death is possible if he makes a wrong decision.
83
/100
11
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
83
/100
12
Final Fantasy Tactics
83
/100
13
Quake II
83
/100
14
Rival Schools: United by Fate
82
/100
15
Tomb Raider II
80
/100
16
Grand Theft Auto
80
/100
17
MDK
77
/100
18
Need for Speed 2
71
/100
19
THE KING OF FIGHTERS '97
71
/100
20
Broken Sword 2 - The Smoking Mirror
69
/100
21
Mega Man Legends (1997)
59
/100
What is the best PlayStation 1 game of 1997?
Gran Turismo currently tops the ranking with a score of 96/100 across 109 ratings. Ranking updated agosto 2026.
How is this ranking built?
Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.