Top-down perspective sorted by release date
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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Rings of Medusa
DOS1990 Starbyte Software
Rings of Medusa is a strategy / RPG developed by the German studio Starbyte Software. It was released in 1989 for various platforms including the Commodore 64, Amiga, and MS-DOS. In Rings of Medusa, players assume the role of a hero tasked with defeating the evil sorceress Medusa who has taken control of the city of Olympus. The game world is ...
Romance of the Three Kingdoms 2
DOS1990 KOEI
Romance of the Three Kingdoms II is a turn-based strategy game developed and published by Koei. It was released in 1989 for various platforms, including the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), MS-DOS.In Romance of the Three Kingdoms II, players take on the role of a ruler during this period, and their objective is to unify China under their rule. ...
Shanghai II: Dragon's Eye
Windows 3.xMac OS1990 Activision
SimEarth
DOSWindows 3.x1990 Maxis
SimEarth is a simulation in which you can shape and mold a planet in almost every way you can imagine. In SimEarth our planet is simulated as a whole: life, climate, atmosphere are all aspects of a single Gaia-like Earth. SimEarth can be played in two modes: game and experimental. In game mode, you have to to develop (and preserve) Earth with limit...
Sito Pons 500cc Grand Prix
DOS1990 Zigurat Software
Ski or Die
DOS1990 Electronic Arts
Ski or Die is a winter sports-themed video game that was originally released in 1990 for various platforms, including the Commodore 64, Amiga, and MS-DOS. The game was developed by Electronic Arts and was a follow-up to their earlier title, "California Games". Ski or Die features a collection of winter sports events: downhill blitz, acro aerials, s...
Soviet
DOS1990 Opera Soft
Space 1889
DOS1990 Paragon Software
Space 1889 is an abandoned top down RPG developed by Paragon Software and released in 1990 for DOS, Atari ST and Amiga. Space 1889 setting is classic science fiction, but is set in the Victorian. It's worth noting that Space 1889 is loosely based on the tabletop game of the same name.
Spirit of Excalibur
DOS1990 Synergistic Software
Star Control
DOS1990protected Toys for Bob
Stratego
DOS1990 Accolade
Subbuteo
DOS1990 Goliath Games
Temple of Kroz
DOS1990freeware Apogee Software
The Final Crusade of Kroz
DOS1990freeware Apogee Software
The Global Dilemma: Guns or Butter
DOS1990 Mindscape
The Punisher
DOS1990 Paragon Software
Tracon 2
DOS1990 Wesson International
Trog
DOS1990 Midway Manufacturing Company
Tunnels & Trolls: Crusaders of Khazan
DOS1990 New World Computing
Tunnels & Trolls: Crusaders of Khazan is a computer RPG released in 1990 for MS-DOS and PC-98 platforms. It is based on the tabletop role-playing game Tunnels & Trolls created by Ken St. Andre, which was a lighter and more accessible alternative to Dungeons & Dragons. The main storyline, "Crusaders of Khazan," sends the party on an...
TV Sports: Basketball
DOS1990freeware Cinemaware
Ultima 6: The False Prophet
DOS1990protected Origin Systems
Ultima VI: The False Prophet is a classic RPG released in 1990 by Origin Systems. It’s the sixth main entry in the Ultima series and marks the conclusion of the Age of Enlightenment trilogy. The game was originally developed for MS-DOS and later ported to other platforms like Amiga, Atari ST, and SNES. The game takes place in Britannia, ...
Uncharted Waters
DOS1990 KOEI
Visual Star Trek
DOS1990
War of the Lance
DOS1990protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Warlords
DOS1990 SSG Strategic Studies Group
Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire
DOS1990freeware Origin Systems
After the success of Ultima 6: The False Prophet, Origin decided to "create worlds" not part of the popular Ultima series (strictly speaking) using the same engine of Ultima 6. They came up with two games: The Savage Empire and Martian Dreams. The Savage Empire is set in a stone age-like world and features prehistoric tribes, dinosaurs, insectoid a...
Xenon 2: Megablast
DOS1990 Bitmap Brothers
Xenon 2: Megablast is a classic shoot'em up developed by Bitmap Brothers and released by Image Works in 1990 for DOS and for a plethora of other systems. Xenon was good, Xenon 2 was far better. Compared to today standards Xenon 2 is perhaps a mediocre shoot 'em up, but at the time every shooter fan loved it. Plus, it was developed by Bitmap Brother...
7 colors
DOS1991 Gamos
7 Colors is one of those puzzle games that sounds simple on paper but ends up consuming your entire afternoon before you even realize it. Released in 1991 for DOS, it throws you into a digital turf war where the weapon of choice is… color. You pick a hue, spread it across the board like a rapidly multiplying fungus, and try to outmaneuver yo...
Atomino
DOS1991 Play Byte
Battle Isle
DOS1991protected Blue Byte Software