head to head
vs
Castlevania III: Dracula's CursevsMr. Shifty
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Mr. Shifty leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Castlevania III: Dracula's CurseMr. Shifty
Axis by axis
Execution9 vs 8
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse leans harder on execution: Brutal platforming and tight whip timing throughout
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.