head to head
vs
Castlevania III: Dracula's CursevsContra 4
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Contra 4 leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Castlevania III: Dracula's CurseContra 4
Axis by axis
Execution9 vs 9
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 1
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization6 vs 5
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.