Building comparison
head to head
Castlevania: BloodlinesvsSuper Castlevania IV
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.
Castlevania: Bloodlines
Execution · Practiced Mastery
The Genesis Castlevania tours war-torn Europe with whip-wielding John Morris and spear-vaulting Eric Lecarde.
Super Castlevania IV
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Simon Belmont's SNES remake-quest with a multidirectional whip and a moody trek to Dracula.
Castlevania: Bloodlines leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Super Castlevania IV leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Castlevania: BloodlinesSuper Castlevania IV
Axis by axis
Execution7 vs 7
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Castlevania: Bloodlines
Stiff classic movement against demanding Genesis bosses
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.
Castlevania: Bloodlines
Scripted monsters throughout
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.
Castlevania: Bloodlines
Minor hidden items only
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.
Castlevania: Bloodlines
Character choice changes paths; patterns are learnable
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.