Building comparison
head to head
Battletoads / Double DragonvsSuper Castlevania IV
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Battletoads / Double Dragon
Execution · Pure Mechanics
Tests NES-hard execution and rote memorisation of brutal fixed stages.
Super Castlevania IV
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Simon Belmont's SNES remake-quest with a multidirectional whip and a moody trek to Dracula.
Battletoads / Double Dragon leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Super Castlevania IV leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Battletoads / Double DragonSuper Castlevania IV
Axis by axis
Execution8 vs 7
Battletoads / Double Dragon leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Battletoads / Double Dragon
Unforgiving brawls and vehicle stages punish any input slip
Super Castlevania IV
Eight-way whip control and stair commitment test precision
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Battletoads / Double Dragon
Enemies run fixed NES-era scripts
Super Castlevania IV
Classic scripted monster patterns
Variance1 vs 1
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Battletoads / Double Dragon
Everything is deterministic once stages are memorised
Super Castlevania IV
Hidden wall meat, fixed locations
Optimization5 vs 5
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Battletoads / Double Dragon
Memorising stage layouts and enemy spawns is mandatory progress
Super Castlevania IV
Subweapon choice and boss pattern study
A matching score does not mean a matching test. Two games can both sit at 10 on execution and demand completely different things of you - which is why the reasoning above matters more than the number beside it.