Play NHL '97 (Beta) Online
Skating feels slicker than NHL '96—you can actually see the players wind up for slap shots or crumple against the boards after a brutal check. The AI’s clueless sometimes and the crowd looks like stiff paper dolls, but that’s part of the charm.
Ever wonder what NHL '97 could've been like on the SNES? This beta version is a weird little time capsule—it never officially came out, but someone dug it up, and honestly? It’s kind of a trip. The skating feels smoother than NHL '96, and the pixelated players actually have some decent animations when you lay into a slap shot or send someone flying with a check.
It’s definitely rough around the edges—some of the AI plays like it’s still figuring out how hockey works—but there’s something fun about how unpolished it is. The crowd sprites are basically cardboard cutouts, and the music’s got that classic SNES synth vibe. If you’re into retro sports games, it’s cool just to see how close (or far) this got before they scrapped it. Grab an emulator and see how many glitchy breakaways you can score.
Download NHL '97 (Beta) ROM
You can download this ROM to play NHL '97 (Beta) offline using an Super Nintendo (SNES) emulator (Top Emulators).
*This ROM is provided for backup and educational purposes only.
