head to head
vs
Castlevania III: Dracula's CursevsNinja Gaiden Black
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Ninja Gaiden Black leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Castlevania III: Dracula's CurseNinja Gaiden Black
Axis by axis
Execution9 vs 9
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 1
Ninja Gaiden Black leans harder on reads: Enemies are relentless but scripted
Variance1 vs 1
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization6 vs 7
Ninja Gaiden Black leans harder on optimization: Mission-mode mastery rewards deep system knowledge
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.