I didn't get my first console (N64) until 1999 so 1997 was made up PC gaming and the Game Boy.
My parents weren't keen on buying me games so I played whatever my brother had on PC which included the fantastic Red Alert. Even after I, eventually, completed both campaigns, I'd spend hours replaying them but before that I'd play skirmish missions on a custom map that I made with the level editor. The design was simply two big islands and I'd amass a huge army before invading the opposing computer player's island. It was simple and cheesy but enjoyable for me.
Descent is one of the only other full games that we had but I loved playing through the long campaign with cheats like invincibility. I wasn't the best gamer as an eight year old but I had fun
My cheat method was also applied to Doom but I did manage to beat that as an adult
We also had Street Fighter II but could never figure out how to do a hdouken and the only way that we could compete the arcade mode was by cheesing with Dhalsim
Other PC gaming highlights include an on rails shooter called Novastorm, that I played a lot but never completed, and demos of Men in Black, Worms 2 and Destruction Derby.
Most of my gaming was done on the PC as the Game Boy belonged to my sister. I did play a lot of Super Mario Land 2, which I could only compete on easy mode, and Tetris. I wasn't very good at the latter but I gave it my best shot. My sister would complete the type B game for me on the very hardest difficulty so that I could see the spaceship launch
Ah, to be eight again