Top-down perspective

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

Dune 2000

strategyWindows XP/98/95

Civilization 2

strategyWindows XP/98/95

Grand Theft Auto 2

action-adventureWindows XP/98/95

Top down games

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Super Speed

DOS19953.9/5
Super Stardust

DOS19964.2/5 Housemarque
Super ZZT

DOS19923.3/5 Epic MegaGames
Superhero League of Hoboken

DOS1994protected4/5 Legend Entertainment
Swap

DOS19923.5/5 Microids
Sword of Aragon

DOS1989protected4.1/5 SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Sword of the Samurai

DOS1989protected4/5 MicroProse Software
Sword Quest 1: The Search

DOS19923/5
Sword Quest 2: Tale of the Talisman

DOS19933.6/5
Tangled Tales

DOS19893.5/5 Origin Systems
Teenage mutant ninja turtles

DOS19893.6/5 Konami
Telengard

DOS1985freeware3.4/5 Avalon Hill
Tempest 2000

DOS1996remake4/5 Atari
Temple of Apshai Trilogy

DOS19853.3/5 Epyx

Temple of Apshai Trilogy is a compilation of three remade abandoned (very) old school RPGs. Temple of Apshai Trilogy was developed by Epyx and released in 1985 for DOS, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari ST, Atari 8-bit, C64. All the games included in Temple of Apshai Trilogy are part of the Dunjonquest game series.
Temple of Kroz

DOS1990freeware3.8/5 Apogee Software
The Aethra Chronicles

DOS19944/5

The Aethra Chronicles is not a well know fantasy RPG, but it deserves some praise. It was developed by only one person (Micheal Lawrence) and, as the title implies, was intended to be the first volume of a saga. Unfortunately, volume two and three were never made. For a shareware game, Aethra was pretty solid and is still loved by the ones who play...
The Ancient Art of War

DOS19843.9/5 Evryware
The Ancient Art of War at Sea

DOS19874/5 Evryware
The Ancient Art of War in the Skies

DOS19923.7/5 Evryware
The Basket Manager

DOS19913.4/5 Simulmondo
The Battle of the Bulge: Tigers in the Snow

DOS1982protected3.8/5 Tactical Design Group
The Chaos Engine

DOS1994protected3.9/5 Bitmap Brothers
The Chessmaster 2000

DOS19864.1/5 Software Toolworks
The Civil War

DOS19873.3/5 Avalon Hill
The Civil War

DOS19953/5 Dagger Interactive Technologies
The computer edition of Scrabble

DOS19893.2/5 Leisure Genius
The Final Crusade of Kroz

DOS1990freeware3.7/5 Apogee Software
The Global Dilemma: Guns or Butter

DOS19903.8/5 Mindscape
The Grandest Fleet

DOS19944.2/5 Quantum quality productions
The Great War: 1914 - 1918

DOS1993protected4/5 Blue Byte Software