head to head

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night cover artvsShin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army cover art

Castlevania: Symphony of the NightvsShin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).

EXECUTION4 /10READS1 /10VARIANCE2 /10OPTIMIZATION7 /10
Castlevania: Symphony of the NightShin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army

Axis by axis

Execution4 vs 4

Even - both lean on execution about the same.

Reads1 vs 0

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night leans harder on reads: Scripted bosses

Variance2 vs 3

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army leans harder on variance: Demon loyalty and encounter RNG are modest.

Optimization7 vs 7

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.

full breakdown

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

full breakdown

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army