While games with isometric view go back to at least 1982, they have rarely been RPGs, but usually arcade, sometimes strategy games. RPGs were usually in first person (Bard's Tale) or sometimes top-down (Wasteland). Around 1990 the isometric view had become popular for action-adventures, and about the same time the first action-RPGs emerged. These were often isometric, too.
| Cadaver | |
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90 | |
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| The Immortal | |
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NES | |
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| Shadowrun | SNES | 93 | |
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| Darkmere | |
94 | |
Mark Jones | ||||
| Ultima VIII | |
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The situation changed radically when Diablo arrived on the scene. In what I like to call the silver age of video gaming, the isometric view became standard for RPGs. The top-down view was considered dated, even for strategy games.
Neverwinter Nights is not, strictly speaking, an isometric game. It is 3D-rendered, but the camera is locked in a way that the view is similar to the isometric one. This was not a very satisfying solution, and indeed there soon was a mod that unlocks the camera.
