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).

Most popular top down games

Civilization

strategyDOS, Windows 3.x

Civilization 2

strategyWindows XP/98/95

Railroad Tycoon

simulationDOS, Mac

Top down games

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Batalia

DOS19862.8/5 The Right Brothers
Defender of the Crown

DOS1991protected3.9/5 Cinemaware

Defender of the crown is a strategy game set in the middle ages, in England. You control a Saxon and must fight Normans to control the country. The player can conquest territories, lay siege to castles, join tournaments, rescue damsels.
Castle Wolfenstein

DOS19844.2/5 Muse Software
Dungeons of Kroz

DOS1989freeware3.6/5 Apogee Software
Dungeons of Kairn

DOS19893.7/5
Decisive Battles of the American Civil War: Vol. 3

DOS19923.5/5 SSG Strategic Studies Group
Global Conquest

DOS19923.8/5 Ozark Softscape
Alien Breed: Tower Assault

DOS1994protected4.2/5 Team 17
Angband

Windows XP/98/95DOSLinux1992freeware4/5
Frogger

DOS19834.1/5 Konami
Hexxagon 2

DOS19934.1/5 Argo Games
Moraff's World

DOS19913.5/5 Moraffware
B-24 Combat Simulator

DOS1987protected3.5/5 SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Action in the North Atlantic

DOS19893.8/5 General Quarters Software
V for Victory: D-day Utah Beach

DOS1991protected3.9/5 Atomic Games
Sleuth: A Murder Mystery

DOS1983freeware4.2/5 Norland Software
Tristan Pinball

DOS19914.1/5 Littlewing
La Grande Armee

DOS19913.9/5 SDJ Enterprises
J.R.R. Tolkien's Riders of Rohan

DOS19974.1/5 Papyrus Design Group
Z

DOS1996protected4.2/5 Bitmap Brothers
Megatraveller 2: Quest for the ancients

DOS19913.6/5 Paragon Software
Khalaan

DOS19903.6/5 Chip
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.
The Lost Patrol

DOS19913.7/5 Astros Productions

The Lost Patrol is an abandoned multi-type action game set in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam war. The Lost Patrol was developed by Astros Productions (DOS version) and released by Ocean Software in 1991 for DOS, Amiga and Atari ST.
Avalon

DOS1998freeware3.9/5 MiG Outpost
Atomino

DOS19913.9/5 Play Byte
NFL Pro League Football

DOS19894.4/5 Micro Sports
Tunnels & Trolls: Crusaders of Khazan

DOS19904.2/5 New World Computing
Toobin

DOS19894.2/5 Domark Software

Toobin is an abandoned action game developed by Domark Software and released in 1989. Toobin runs on DOS but was also published for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Game Boy Color, MSX, NES, ZX Spectrum. It's a conversion from a popular arcade game (at the time).
D-Day: The Beginning of the End

DOS19943.6/5 Impressions Games