Building comparison
head to head
Castlevania III: Dracula's CursevsSuper Mario Odyssey
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Execution · Pure Mechanics
The hardest NES Castlevania, with branching routes and switchable partner characters.
Super Mario Odyssey
Execution · Pure Mechanics
A 3D platformer whose joy lives in tight movement and capture-driven traversal.
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Super Mario Odyssey leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Castlevania III: Dracula's CurseSuper Mario Odyssey
Axis by axis
Execution9 vs 8
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Brutal platforming and tight whip timing throughout
Super Mario Odyssey
Precise platforming and capture-move tech ceiling.
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
Super Mario Odyssey
No adaptive opponents whatsoever.
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
Super Mario Odyssey
Almost no randomness in level design.
Optimization6 vs 5
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse
Partner choice, route branching, pattern memory
Super Mario Odyssey
Moon routes and movement tech learnable.
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.