head to head
vs
Castlevania III: Dracula's CursevsCeleste
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Celeste leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Castlevania III: Dracula's CurseCeleste
Axis by axis
Execution9 vs 10
Celeste leans harder on execution: Pixel-perfect dashes and wavedashes are the entire skill.
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 0
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse leans harder on variance: Minor enemy spawn wobble
Optimization6 vs 4
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse leans harder on optimization: Partner choice, route branching, pattern memory
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.