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).

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Super Pac-Man

DOS19823.5/5 Namco

Super Pinball by Russco

DOS19874.5/5 Russco

Super Speed

DOS19953.9/5

Super Stardust

DOS19964.3/5 Housemarque

Super ZZT

DOS19923.3/5 Epic MegaGames

Superhero League of Hoboken

DOS1994protected3.9/5 Legend Entertainment

Swap

DOS19923.5/5 Microids

Sword of Aragon

DOS1989protected4.2/5 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

Telengard

DOS1985freeware3.4/5 Avalon Hill

Tempest 2000

DOS1996remake4.2/5 Atari

Tempest 2000 is a video game developed by Llamasoft and published by Atari Corporation. It was released in 1994 for DOS, Mac, the Atari Jaguar console, etc. Tempest 2000 is an enhanced remake of the original Tempest, which was released in arcades in 1981.In Tempest 2000, players control a claw-shaped ship that moves around the edges of geometric sh...

Temple of Apshai Trilogy

DOS19853.5/5 Epyx

The Temple of Apshai Trilogy is a series of classic role-playing games developed by Automated Simulations (later known as Epyx) in the late 1970s and early 1980s. These games were among the earliest examples of computer-based RPGs and were influential in shaping the genre.The "Temple of Apshai Trilogy" was notable for its depth of gameplay and intr...

Temple of Kroz

DOS1990freeware3.8/5 Apogee Software

The Aethra Chronicles

DOS19943.9/5

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 is a classic video game that was released in the late 1980s. Developed by Evryware and published by Broderbund, it was available on various platforms, including Apple II, Atari ST, Amiga, and MS-DOS. The Ancient Art of War is a strategy game that takes place in various historical settings, such as ancient China, Greece, and t...