Board 8 > Best Game of 1997 Tournament **NOMINATION ROUND**

(+) Yeah! (+)

It's been awhile since we've done a GotY tournament, and with 6 months left to go in 2017, I've decided it's time to reverse the clocks another year and now do 1997! This will set the last 20 years in stone on this board, as the following 19 games are among the wall of champions

1998 - Pokemon RBY
1999 - Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage
2000 - Pokemon GSC
2001 - Super Smash Bros. Melee
2002 - Metroid Prime
2003 - Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
2004 - Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
2005 - Resident Evil 4
2006 - Okami
2007 - Super Mario Galaxy
2008 - Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
2009 - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
2010 - Super Mario Galaxy 2
2011 - Portal 2
2012 - Xenoblade Chronicles
2013 - The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
2014 - Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
2015 - Rocket League
2016 - Dark Souls III

1997 was a big year for both Nintendo and Sony. The Nintendo 64 gave us classics that year such as Star Fox 64, Goldeneye 007, and Mario Kart 64. The PS1 gave us Final Fantasy VII and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. PC gamers got Fallout, Quake II, and Riven. Arcade fans got Marvel vs. Street Fighter and Tekken 3. Even the Super Nintendo in its final year had Kirby's Dream Land 3 and Harvest Moon.

So to get things started, we'll keep it simple. Nomination rules are as follows...

Nominate ten games released in North America in 1997. Your #1 is worth 10 points, #2 is worth 9, and so on. If you nominate less than ten games, then said nominations will be worth less than their original amount.

A broad list of eligible games will be in the next post
---

Ace Combat 2
Age of Empires
Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean
Alundra
Arkanoid: Doh It Again
Automobili Lamborghini
Blast Corps
Blood
Bloody Roar
Bomberman 64
Broken Helix
Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror
Bushido Blade
Carmageddon
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Chameleon Twist
Clayfighter 63 1/3
Colony Wars
Cool Boarders 2
Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
Critical Depth
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos
Dark Rift
Darkstalkers 3
Diddy Kong Racing
Donkey Kong Land III
Doom 64
Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout
Dungeon Keeper
Dynasty Warriors
Extreme-G
F1 Pole Position 64
Fallout
FIFA Road to World Cup 98
Fighting Force
Final Fantasy VII
Frogger (1997)
G-Darius
Ghost in the Shell
Goldeneye 007
Harvest Moon
Herc's Adventures
Hexen II
International Superstar Soccer 64
Jet Moto 2
Kirby's Dream Land 3
Kirby's Star Stacker
Mace: The Dark Age
Madden NFL 98
Mario Kart 64
Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter
Mass Destruction
Maximum Force
MDK
Mega Man 8
Mega Man X4
Mischief Makers
Monster Rancher
Moonlight Syndrome
Mortal Kombat 4
Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub Zero
Myth: The Fallen Lords
NASCAR '98
NBA Live '98
Need for Speed II
NFL Blitz
NFL Quarterback Club '98
Nightmare Creatures
Nuclear Strike
Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee
Off Road Challenge
One
Outlaws
Pandemonium 2
Porsche Challenge
Postal
Quake II
Rampage World Tour
Rival Schools: United by Fate
Riven
Scud: The Disposable Assassin
Shadow Warrior
Sonic R
Star Fox 64
Street Fighter III: New Generation
Tekken 3
Test Drive 4
Tetrisphere
The Curse of Monkey Island
The House of the Dead
The King of Fighters '97
The Lost Vikings II
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The Note
Three Dirty Dwarves
Time Crisis II
Tomb Raider II
Top Gear Rally
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter
Vandal Hearts
Vs.
WCW vs. nWo: World Tour
Worms 2
---

1. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
2. Diddy Kong Racing
3. Final Fantasy VII
4. Mario Kart 64
5. The Curse of Monkey Island

+10 Nightmare Creatures
+9 Blood
+8 Bushido Blade
+7 Moonlight Syndrome
+6 Doom 64
+5 Oddworld: Abe's Odyssey
+4 The Note
+3 Fallout
+2 Tomb Raider II
+1 Carmageddon
---

Shit, left out an obvious top ten pick for me

1. Final Fantasy VII
2. Star Fox 64
3. Goldeneye 007
4. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
5. Diddy Kong Racing
6. Mega Man X4
7. Mario Kart 64
8. Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean
9. Crash Bandicoot 2
10. Blast Corps
---

1. Blast Corps
2. Diddy Kong Racing
3. Final Fantasy VII
4. Star Fox 64
5. Mario Kart 64
---

1. Age of Empires
2. Goldeneye
3. Final Fantast VII
4. Mario Kart 64
5. Star Fox 64
6. Curse of Monkey Island
7. Diddy Kong Racing
8. Tomb Raider II
9. Blast Corps
10. Crash Bandicoot 2
---

1. Worms 2
2. Tekken 3
3. Kirby's Dream Land 3
4. Sonic R
5. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
6. Diddy Kong Racing
7. Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter
8. Kirby Star Stacker
9. Herc's Adventures
10. Mortal Kombat 4
---

1. Croc: Legend of the Gobbos
2. Star Fox 64
3. Mario Kart 64
4. Goldeneye 007
5. NFL Blitz
6. Final Fantasy VII
7. Curse of Monkey Island
8. Kirby's Dream Land 3
9. Diddy Kong Racing
10. Crash Bandicoot 2
---

^
---

+5 Final Fantasy VII
Mario Kart 64
Age of Empires
Mortal Kombat 4
The Curse of Monkey Island
---

1, Final Fantasy VII
2. Star Fox 64
3. Diddy Kong Racing
4. Mario Kart 64
5. Crash Bandicoot 2
6. Blast Corps
7. Fallout
8. Herc's Adventures
9. Symphony of the Night
10. Bomberman 64
---

Up
---

1. Star Fox 64
2. Tekken 3
3. Kirby's Star Stacker
4. Diddy Kong Racing
5. Goldeneye
6. Final Fantasy 7
7. Mario Kart 64
8. Crash Bandicoot 2
9. Kirby's Dream Land 3
10. Blast Corps
---

1. Star Fox 64.
2. Final Fantasy VII
3. Mega Man X4
4. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
5. Alundra
6. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
7. Mega Man 8
8. Wild Arms (this one seems reasonably prominent and you missed it!)
9. Bomberman 64
10. Kirby's Dream Land 3
---

AxemRedRanger posted...

Wild Arms (this one seems reasonably prominent and you missed it!)

Trying to find enough 1997 releases was challenging as is, and Wikipedia's "1997 games" section only accounts for games first released in 97, regardless of where they came out.

This one's on me, I admit. But thankfully Wild Arms should still have no problem making the contest.
---

Update on nominations so far...

Potential #1 seeds if the tournament began tomorrow: Final Fantasy VII, Star Fox 64, Diddy Kong Racing, Mario Kart 64
Number of games nominated so far: 36 across 11 users
---

1. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
2. Mario Kart 64
3. Kirby's Star Stacker
4. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
5. Mega Man 8
6. Final Fantasy VII
7. Mega Man X4
8. Tekken 3
9. Fallout
10. Croc: Legend of the Gobbos
---

^^
---

May have to enter the second phase of nominations, but bumping this one more time before resorting to such
---

Upp
---

Phase Two (ONLY FOR THE TWELVE USERS WHO PREVIOUSLY NOMINATED)

You're allowed to nominate 5 extra games. Your top choice is worth 3 points, your #2 choice is worth 2 points, and your bottom three are worth 1 point each.

This does not mean any newcomers get to nominate 15 games; they missed the opportunity to have this bonus phase, so therefore they don't get to take part in it. They're still allowed to nominate their initial ten games.

@tazzyboyishere @AxemRedRanger @StifledSilence @pjbasis @Cody11533 @Johnbobb @Jesse_Custer @Snake5555555555 @BetrayedTangy @KujikawaRising

Games from the first post that have yet to be nominated, in case you need inspiration
Ace Combat 2
Arkanoid: Doh It Again
Automobili Lamborghini
Bloody Roar
Broken Helix
Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror
Chameleon Twist
Clayfighter 63 1/3
Colony Wars
Cool Boarders 2
Critical Depth
Dark Rift
Darkstalkers 3
Donkey Kong Land III
Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout
Dungeon Keeper
Dynasty Warriors
Extreme-G
F1 Pole Position 64
FIFA Road to World Cup 98
Fighting Force
Frogger (1997)
G-Darius
Ghost in the Shell
Harvest Moon
Hexen II
International Superstar Soccer 64
Jet Moto 2
Mace: The Dark Age
Madden NFL 98
Mass Destruction
Maximum Force
MDK
Mischief Makers
Monster Rancher
Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub Zero
Myth: The Fallen Lords
NASCAR '98
NBA Live '98
Need for Speed II
NFL Quarterback Club '98
Nuclear Strike
Off Road Challenge
One
Outlaws
Pandemonium 2
Porsche Challenge
Postal
Quake II
Rampage World Tour
Rival Schools: United by Fate
Riven
Scud: The Disposable Assassin
Shadow Warrior
Street Fighter III: New Generation
Test Drive 4
Tetrisphere
The House of the Dead
The King of Fighters '97
The Lost Vikings II
The Lost World: Jurassic Park
Three Dirty Dwarves
Time Crisis II
Top Gear Rally
Turok: Dinosaur Hunter
Vandal Hearts
Vs.
WCW vs. nWo: World Tour
---

Also @Menji (lousy 10 user max rule)
---

+3 Mischief Makers (Can't believe I passed up nominating this)
+2 Harvest Moon
+1 Wild Arms
+1 The House of the Dead
+1 Tetrisphere
---

+3 The House of the Dead
+2 Street Fighter III: New Generation
+1 Darkstalkers 3
+1 Shadow Warrior
+1 Test Drive 4
---

Eh, don't even like Croc or Fallout that much, so it'd feel wrong to nominate more.
---

Yeah, I struggled with my five
---

I don't get it how many points were the previous ten worth
---

1. Jet Moto 2
2. Crash Bandicoot 2
3. Monster Rancher
4. Nightmare Creatures
5. NASCAR '98
6. Tekken 3
7. Tomb Raider II
8. The Lost World: Jurassic Park
9. Cool Boarders 2
10. MDK
---

pjbasis posted...

I don't get it how many points were the previous ten worth

10 for #1, 1 for #10, and so on. I was doing the 5 extra noms with 3-2-1-1-1 values for the 12 users who contributed nominations this past week more or less as a way of me appreciating their efforts to contribute; they can either use them on new games yet to be nominated, or use them on games already nominated (besides ones they themselves nominated in their original post)

As of gear's post, we're at 46 games nominated at least once.
---

+3 Turok
+2 Croc
+1 Darkstalkers 3
+1 Symphony of the Night
+1 Rampage World Tour
---

48 games nominated

Worst case scenario if no one else contributes, I'll pick the final spots myself using some of the more recognizable unnominated titles
---

+3 Mischief Makers
+2 Chameleon Twist
+1 Time Crisis II
+1 Harvest Moon
+1 Vandal Hearts
---

Zork: Grand Inquisitor
The Curse of Monkey Island
Mischief Makers
---

52 games as of Pumpkin's post.
---

Does Resident Evil: Director's Cut count? I know it's a re-release, but it became the definitive version of the game that most people today remember playing.
---

gearofages posted...

Does Resident Evil: Director's Cut count? I know it's a re-release, but it became the definitive version of the game that most people today remember playing.

While you're right that it's definitive, it would also cause problems with anyone trying to nominate it for the inevitable Best Game of 1996 tournament
---

I don't really agree that it was the one everyone remembers playing, the original game was a smash success and while Director's Cut sold very well, it still sold less than the original. In terms of features, it's of course the definitive edition in that regard (although Deadly Silence is in the running too).
---

Director's Cut was released on my eighth birthday, and it erased all signs of the original in stores where I live, so I guess someone a little older would remember the time differently.
---

tag
---

I don't have more to nominate.... haven't played anything else from this year :/

Thanks, though.
---

Slight correction, there are 56 games nominated so far.

Which is good because me picking 8 games at random is easier than picking 12 >_> (if necessary)
---

+10 Mario Kart 64
+9 Goldeneye 007
+8 Final Fantasy VII
+7 Star Fox 64
+6 Myth: The Fallen Lords
+5 Bushido Blade
+4 Rampage World Tour
+3 Harvest Moon
+2 Diddy Kong Racing
+1 Quake II
---

azuarc's noms add 2 new games to the total list, now making 58!
---

My Favorite games from 1997 in no particular order

1997 was a weird inbetween year for me.

1. Time Crisis II
2. One
3. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
4. Rival Schools
5. Magic: The Gathering
6. NFL Quarterback Club 98
7. Quake II
8. CART World Series
9. Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
10. Mega Man X4
---

+3 Harvest Moon
+2 Test Drive 4
+1 NASCAR '98
+1 NBA Live '98
+1 The Lost World: Jurassic Park
---

Cody's nomination of NBA Live '98 puts us officially at enough nominations to fill a bracket!

Topic will stay open for 2-3 more days in case anyone new still wants to nominate
---

Final bump

Bracket will be made this weekend
---