Building comparison
head to head
Castlevania III: Dracula's CursevsContra: Hard Corps
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Execution · Pure Mechanics
The hardest NES Castlevania, with branching routes and switchable partner characters.
Contra: Hard Corps
Execution · Pure Mechanics
Memorising brutal scripted patterns and executing them without a single slip.
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Contra: Hard Corps leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Castlevania III: Dracula's CurseContra: Hard Corps
Axis by axis
Execution9 vs 9
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Brutal platforming and tight whip timing throughout
Contra: Hard Corps
One-hit deaths under relentless bullet pressure demand perfect inputs
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 III: Dracula's Curse
Scripted enemies and bosses only
Contra: Hard Corps
Bosses are fully scripted setpieces
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 III: Dracula's Curse
Minor enemy spawn wobble
Contra: Hard Corps
Everything fixed once routes and patterns are known
Optimization6 vs 6
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Partner choice, route branching, pattern memory
Contra: Hard Corps
Memorising boss patterns, weapons and branching routes is mandatory
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.