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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The Aethra Chronicles
DOS1994
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 Chaos Engine
DOS1994protected Bitmap Brothers
The Grandest Fleet
DOS1994 Quantum quality productions
Total Carnage
DOS1994 Midway Manufacturing Company
Traffic department 2192
DOS1994freeware P Squared
Tubular Worlds
DOS1994
Uncover It
DOS1994NSFW
Warcraft: Orcs and Humans
DOS1994protecteddemo Blizzard Entertainment
Warcraft: Orcs & Humans is the first real-time fantasy strategy game from Blizzard Entertainment. Two separate story lines (Orcs and Humans) evolve with 12 scenarios per side telling the tale of the battle for the Kingdom of Azeroth. Players must mine gold and chop wood in order to construct buildings and create units. Each side tries to destro...
XQuest
DOS1994remake
4Play
Windows XP/98/95Windows 3.x1995NSFW
4Play was a risqué trivia and multi-player board-style game released in the mid-1990s. Designed as a party game, it combined trivia questions, mini-games, and challenges that often leaned toward suggestive or adult themes. It was intended to be played in social settings, often among friends or couples, with the goal of breaking the...
Advanced Civilization
DOS1995 Avalon Hill
Albion
DOSWindows XP/98/951995 Blue Byte Software
Albion is a science fiction role-playing game (RPG) developed and published by German studio Blue Byte Software. It was released in 1995 for MS-DOS and later for Amiga. Albion is notable for its blend of traditional RPG elements with a unique setting and storyline.The game takes place on the planet Albion, a world with a rich history and diver...
AlphaMan
DOS1995
Command & Conquer
DOS1995freeware Westwood Studios
Command Adventures: Starship
DOS1995 Future Vision
Empire II: The Art of War
DOSWindows XP/98/951995 White Wolf Productions
Entomorph: Plague Of The Darkfall
Windows XP/98/95Windows 3.xMac OS1995protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.
Exile: Escape from the Pit
Windows XP/98/95Mac OSWindows 3.x1995freeware Spiderweb Software
Exile: Escape from the Pit is a turn-based role-playing game (RPG) developed by Spiderweb Software. It is part of the Exile series, originally released in the mid-1990s. This game was later remade and re-released as Avernum: Escape from the Pit. The game is set in a massive underground world called Exile, where the Empire banishes criminals, p...
Extreme Pinball
DOS1995 Epic MegaGames
Football Glory
DOS1995freeware Croteam
Heroes of Might and Magic
DOSWindows XP/98/951995protected New World Computing
Highway Fighter
DOS1995 Safari Software
Hole in One
DOS1995 Really Interesting Software Company
Indenture
DOS1995remake
Lords of Midnight: The Citadel
DOS1995 Maelstrom Games
Machiavelli the Prince
DOS1995protected Holistic Design
Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament
DOS1995 Supersonic Software
Mirror Magic
Windows XP/98/95Linux1995freeware
Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol
Windows 3.x1995protected
Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol is fantasy RPG game released in 1995 for Windows 3.x, but it runs flawlessy even Windows XP (see this faq if you want to play Mordor in a virtual machine). Mordor: The Depths of Dejenol is a mix of first-person and top-down perspective dungeon crawler; the game shows the dungeon in by both perspectives at onc...
Mortal Pong
DOS1995freeware