head to head
vs
Castlevania III: Dracula's CursevsI Wanna Be the Boshy
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); I Wanna Be the Boshy leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Castlevania III: Dracula's CurseI Wanna Be the Boshy
Axis by axis
Execution9 vs 10
I Wanna Be the Boshy leans harder on execution: Frame-perfect jumps and dodges are the entire challenge
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 2
I Wanna Be the Boshy leans harder on variance: A few randomised events and first-time trap surprises
Optimization6 vs 6
Even - both lean on optimization about the same.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.