Presenting... The PPM Player Awards!
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| SONY PLAYSTATION GAME OF THE YEAR: Final Fantasy VII 
For PlayStation Developed by Square |
The PlayStation, at long last, met its calling in the RPG landscape thanks to the efforts of one stellar game: Final Fantasy VII. Its story, graphics, and music kept our crew captivated for days. Narrowly edging out a handful of greats, this disc is undeniably the RPG event of the past year and a must-play for all PS owners.
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| SEGA SATURN GAME OF THE YEAR: Shining the Holy Ark 
For Sega Saturn Developed by Sonic! Software Planning |
Our top pick for the Saturn is an engaging and addictive dungeon crawler that blends 2-D sprites with fully 3-D backgrounds. Boasting finely-tuned visuals and a mix of innovative gameplay elements that have not been widely used in traditional, turn-based RPGs, Shining truly shines.
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| N64 GAME OF THE YEAR: Goldeneye 007 
For Nintendo 64 Developed by Rare |
In a tsunami of copycat shooters on the market, Goldeneye 007 rises like a beacon to light the way toward ingenuity and originality. Awesome graphics, life-like animations, tons of weapons, involving missions - Bond's got it all. Also our pick for Best First-Person Shooter and Best Multi-Player game in '97.
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| SNES GAME OF THE YEAR: Harvest Moon 
For Super NES Developed by Natsume |
The Super NES may have reached the end of its life, but one of its greatest games was evidently saved for last. Harvest Moon, an enormous surprise, brought forth the untested genre of farm cultivation and relationship-building to form a gem of an RPG. Hope to see a sequel from Natsume on N64 soon.
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| GAME BOY GAME OF THE YEAR: Donkey Kong Land III 
For Game Boy Developed by Rare |
Dixie and Kiddy Kong somersaulted onto the third Donkey Kong Land entry this past year, and it may have been the best yet. This Kong-against-Kremling adventure helped greatly in Nintendo's quest to breathe new life into their aging portable device, alongside the launch of colored Game Boy Pockets.
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| BEST GAMING MASCOT: Lara Croft (Tomb Raider II) 
For PlayStation Developed by Core Design |
Lara Croft starred in a solid adventure game this past year with Tomb Raider II, but it ought to be clear this derring-do heroine is now a total icon. She is massively overexposed, showing up at trade shows, on various mag covers, and even appeared on-screen during a recent U2 concert. Croft-mania, I tells ya!
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| MOST HYPED GAME: Final Fantasy VII (PS-X) 
For PlayStation Developed by Square |
Easily the most anticipated 32-Bit game of all time, FF7 commanded the attention of the gaming world ahead of its release. Then, when it did land, it lived up to almost everyone's high expectations. Sony and Square scored big with this one, no doubt about it. And to think, SCEA once has an anti-RPG attitude.
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| MOST CD-WORTHY SOUNDTRACK: Final Fantasy VII (PS-X) 
For PlayStation Developed by Square |
Square dominates the music category once again, proving that no other company puts quite as much time and care into their soundtracks. Neck-and-neck with our crew's second-pick Castlevania, FF7 shows how Square pulls no punches to be the best. Now, release this beautiful music on CD, already!
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| HOTTEST GAME HUNK/BABE: Fox McCloud (Star Fox 64) 
For Nintendo 64 Developed by Nintendo |
Ranking just above FF7's Tifa, expert Arwing pilot Fox McCloud takes the crown in this most coveted category. The Cornerian-born leader of Team Star Fox can always be counted to guide his crew to safety, and does so with dreamy, foxy confidence. Too bad he chose one of the worst teammates in...
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| MORE ANNOYING THAN SPICE GIRLS: Slippy Toad (Star Fox 64) 
For Nintendo 64 Developed by Nintendo |
Do you know what Slippy wants? What he really, really wants? He wants you to get that guy off him - that's what! When faced with saving the anointed annoying one from yet another bogey who's hot on his tail, we would prefer to let Slippy get shot down just to put an end to his incessant whining.
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| MOST EXCELLENT ARCADE CONVERSION: Time Crisis (PS-X) 
For PlayStation Developed by Namco |
Time Crisis just plain rules. That's true no matter where you play it. The PS-X version may not be the most faithful due to the lack of pedals, but this port sports amazing graphics, accurate sound effects and music, and best of all, extra play modes to boost its replayability. Thanks, Namco!
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| BEST CURE FOR INSOMNIA: Fantastic Four (PS-X) 
For PlayStation Developed by Probe Entertainment |
Tarnishing their once-solid reputation beyond repair (Alien Trilogy was so good!), Probe Entertainment dragged the Fantastic Four through the mud with this comic book catastrophe. This boring rehash with its terrible graphics and gameplay also deserves Worst Use of a License. Total snooze-fest.
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| MOST INNOVATIVE GAME: PaRappa The Rapper (PS-X) 
For PlayStation Developed by NanaOn-Sha |
Few titles have us singing along so jubilantly as PaRappa. Featuring colorful 2-D characters, whimsical locales, and catchy-as-heck tunes that stay stuck in your head for weeks, this experimental game was wonderfully entertaining unlike any other this past year. "Kick! Punch! It's all in the mind!"
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| CONSOLE OF THE YEAR: Sony PlayStation 
Developed by Sony |
A close contest with the N64 resulted in a narrow victory for the Sony PlayStation. Gems ranging across all genres from action-adventure hits like Castlevania: SOTN, to fighters with Soul Blade, to simulators a la Colony Wars, and RPGs of all variety, there is truly something for everyone on the PS-X.
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| OVERALL GAME OF THE YEAR: Final Fantasy VII 
For PlayStation Developed by Square |
The Award for PPM Best Game of 1997 goes to Final Fantasy VII. A close call but toppling over fellow nominees Goldeneye 007 and Quake II, this masterpiece from Square is our choice for best overall game. Meeting, and perhaps exceeding the hype leading up to its launch, this title effectively redefined role-playing games and brought interest and life to a genre too often overlooked in the U.S.
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