Top-down view
One of the types of camera in video games is top-down view. It is very similar to isometric view but differs slightly. In top-down view, developers do not strive to make the world three-dimensional and deep. Everything is depicted either in two-dimensional space or they create a pseudo "volume" from several rows of two-dimensional spaces. For example, a character can go behind a "flat" house. Sometimes the camera is completely vertical, and the player looks at the flat world from above, as in the first game of the GTA series. Scaling in such games is used very rarely. This method can be used in quests, role-playing games, hack and slash, beat 'em up, strategy games, and many others.
Years
Platforms
PlayStation 3PlayStation 2Xbox 360PSPWiiNintendo DSGame Boy AdvanceNintendo DSiiPhoneCommodore 64BREWAtari 8-bitGenesisJ2MESymbianColecoVisionDOSPalm OSWindows MobileiPod ClassicCommodore PET/CBMAtari 2600
Statuses
Best Games in the Top-down view genre of 2008
Role-playing game, Simulation, Action, Strategy, In real time, Business / Management, Third-person view, Top-down view, Futurism (Future), Sandbox, God Simulator, Open world
September 4, 2008
Players:
8.8/10
Steam:
92/100
Metacritic:
84/100
This evolution and civilization simulation follows a species from a single cell to spacefaring exploration. Progression spans five stages—Cell...
Role-playing game, Top-down view, Futurism (Future), Anime / Manga, Fantasy / Medieval, Turn-based, Japanese role-playing game
March 11, 1995
Players:
9.7/10
Steam:
87/100
Metacritic:
92/100
This role-playing game follows Crono, a young hero who sets out to save the planet’s future after his companion Marle vanishes through a rift in...
Role-playing game, Top-down view, Anime / Manga, Fantasy / Medieval, Turn-based, Japanese role-playing game, Exploration
July 12, 1990
Players:
9.5/10
Steam:
95/100
Metacritic:
71/100
Final Fantasy is a Japanese-style top-down fantasy RPG with turn-based combat. The game's story focuses on four heroes whose parents were killed...
Role-playing game, Strategy, Top-down view, Puzzle, Fantasy / Medieval, Turn-based, Match-3 (Three in a row), Casual game
March 16, 2007
Players:
7/10
Steam:
86/100
Metacritic:
81/100
This fantasy role-playing game combines turn-based battles with match-three puzzles in the Warlords universe, where a hero sets out to save Etheria...
Role-playing game, Top-down view, Anime / Manga, Fantasy / Medieval, Turn-based, Japanese role-playing game
December 17, 1988
Players:
8/10
Metacritic:
68/100
A turn-based role-playing game set in a fantasy world where an emperor summons monsters from a demonic realm to seize control. After the attacks...
Role-playing game, In real time, Top-down view, Anime / Manga, Fantasy / Medieval, Turn-based, Tactics, Strategy, Japanese role-playing game
July 19, 1991
Players:
7.1/10
Steam:
83/100
Metacritic:
85/100
Final Fantasy IV is a tactical turn-based strategy role-playing game with anime and fantasy RPG elements. Expect fully voiced dramatic cutscenes...
Simulation, Action, Strategy, In real time, Third-person view, Top-down view, Futurism (Future), Space, Science fiction
November 3, 2004
Players:
8.6/10
Steam:
85/100
Metacritic:
77/100
This real-time tactical space simulator follows a conflict between megacorporations at the dawn of the 22nd century. A discovery on the edge of the...
Strategy, In real time, Top-down view, Futurism (Future), Tower Defense (Tower Defense), Science fiction
December 8, 2008
Players:
8.4/10
Steam:
96/100
Metacritic:
82/100
Defense Grid: The Awakening is a fun tactical tower defense strategy game with an isometric camera view in a sci-fi setting. In the game, you have to...
Role-playing game, Action, Strategy, First-person view, Third-person view, Top-down view, Fantasy / Medieval, Open world
September 16, 2008
Players:
9/10
Steam:
90/100
Metacritic:
72/100
Mount & Blade is an action-adventure RPG with a third-person view in a medieval setting. War is in full swing in Calradia, adventurers and...
Arcade, Action, Shooter, Fighting, Platformer, Third-person view, Top-down view, Anime / Manga, Cyberpunk
June 21, 1991
Players:
6.5/10
Ninja Gaiden 3: The Ancient Ship of Doom is a third-person arcade game with a mixture of action, shooter, fighting, platformer and anime/manga game...
Role-playing game, Third-person view, Top-down view, Fantasy / Medieval, Turn-based, Japanese role-playing game
November 22, 2007
Metacritic:
80/100
Dragon Quest 4: Chapters of the Chosen is a fantasy role-playing game about a group of heroes destined to fulfill a prophecy as the legend of Erdrick...
Role-playing game, Action, Strategy, In real time, Third-person view, Top-down view, Anime / Manga, Turn-based
April 24, 2008
Players:
7.4/10
Steam:
89/100
Metacritic:
85/100
Valkyria Chronicles is a turn-based tactical strategy with role-playing elements. The game takes place in Europe in 1935, presenting an alternative...
Role-playing game, Action, Isometric, Top-down view, Futurism (Future), Anime / Manga, Fantasy / Medieval
October 21, 2008
Metacritic:
74/100
This science-fiction role-playing game with action elements follows the arrival of a Terran Federation ship on the planet Roak in Space Date 346. The...