The most popular top down games
Top down games were very popular in the 80s and the 90s, when graphic cards were not capable of supporting 3D, and even when 3D started to become popular, 2D games continued to be easier to develop, at least in the infancy of 3D gaming. 2D game offered the player a viewpoint that helped keeping things easily under control (think about top down party-based RPGs or hex-based strategy games).
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MicroProse Soccer
DOS1988protected4.2/5 Sensible Software
MicroProse Soccer is an abandoned action-oriented soccer game, developed by Sensible Software and released by MicroProse Software in 1988. The appeal of MicroProse Soccer was its simplicity and the smooth controls. In the United States it was known as Keith Van Eron's Pro Soccer.
L'Empereur
DOS19914.2/5 KOEI
AlphaMan
DOS19953.6/5
High Command: Europe 1939-45
DOS19924.1/5 Colorado Computer Creations
Bobby Fisher teaches chess
DOS19944/5 Mission Studios
Star Command
DOS1988protected4/5 SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Ascii Sector
WindowsLinuxDOS2007freeware4/5
Nobunaga's Ambition
DOS19883.7/5 KOEI
Dungeon Crawl
Windows XP/98/95DOSLinux1997freeware4/5
Dungeon Crawl (also known as Linley's Dungeon Crawl from the name of the original programmer: Linley Henzell) is a classic roguelike: an RPG with permadeath, procedural generation and high replayability. Dungeon Crawl was released on 1997 but it's not maintained anymore. The spiritual successr of Crawl is DCCS (Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup).
5th Fleet
DOS19943.9/5
Commander Keen 3: Keen Must Die!
DOS1990protected4.2/5 id software
18th Airborne
DOS19933.9/5
Computer Diplomacy
DOS19843.6/5 Avalon Hill
Axis and Allies: Iron Blitz
Windows XP/98/9519994.2/5 Wargaming West
Wizard's Crown
DOS1987protected4/5 SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Time Bandit
DOS19894.4/5 MichTron
Time Bandit is a classic top-down arcade-style video game that was released in 1982 for various home computer systems, such as the Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, and others. It was developed by MichTron. In Time Bandit, players control a character who must navigate through a series of maze-like levels, battling various enemies and collecting treasure a...
V for victory: Market-Garden
DOS1993protected4.2/5 Atomic Games
Dungeon of Shalan
DOS19883.5/5
Mageslayer
Windows XP/98/9519974.1/5 Raven Software
The Magic Candle 2: The Four and Forty
DOS19913.8/5 Mindcraft Software
Vlad Tepes Dracula
Windows XP/98/9519973.6/5 ComputerHouse
Crusade in Europe
DOS19853.9/5 MicroProse Software
Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine
DOS1991protected4/5 id software
Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine is a science fiction action oriented platform game designed by Tom Hall, developed by id Software and released by Apogee Software in 1991 for DOS only. Commander Keen 5: The Armageddon Machine is part of the Commander Keen game series, specifically it's the second episode of Commander Keen in Goodbye, Galaxy.
Ragnarok
DOS1993freeware4/5 Gray Design Associates
Power Dolls
DOS19944/5 Kogado Software Products
Entomorph: Plague Of The Darkfall
Windows XP/98/95Windows 3.xMac OS1995protected3.9/5 SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Ys: The Vanished Omens
DOS19894.1/5 Nihon Falcom
Ys: The Vanished Omens (also known as The Ancient Land of Ys) is an abandoned top-down open-world action RPG designed by Masaya Hashimoto, developed by Nihon Falcom and released by Kyodai Software Marketing for DOS in 1989. Ys: The Vanished Omens was published (earlier) for quite a few other home computers and console.
Challenge of the Five Realms
DOS1992protected3.8/5 MicroProse Software
Star General
Windows XP/98/95DOS1996protected4.2/5 Catware, Inc.
Star General is a turn-based strategy game developed by Catware and published by SSI (Strategic Simulations, Inc.). It was released in 1996 for MS-DOS and later for Windows. The game is set in a science fiction universe where players take command of one of five different factions, each vying for control of the galaxy.In Star General, players comman...
Locomotion
DOS19924.2/5 Prestige Softwareentwicklung