I think they’re absolutely important. They allowed ILM the opportunity to practice inserting then-relatively-new CGI into live action shots and (and create entire shots out of CGI) so they could perfect their skills for the prequels, which as we all know would end up using a lot…A LOT…of CGI. I think the backlash towards the prequels overshadowed the fact that they were important leaps forward for CGI technology in cinema, and paved the way for the recent CGI-heavy blockbusters like the MCU films (whether or not that’s a good thing is subjective). The point is, the 1997 Special Editions were perhaps almost as influential on modern (as of late 2019-early 2020) Hollywood as the original versions were.

Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe they were also the last time Ben Burtt personally worked on the audio mixes before handing the torch over to Matthew Wood for the 2004 DVDs, which is why the 2004-present mixes of ANH sound, to put it lightly, nothing like the original and not in a good way.