head to head
vs
Contra 4vsMetal Slug
Contra 4 leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Metal Slug leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Contra 4Metal Slug
Axis by axis
Execution9 vs 8
Contra 4 leans harder on execution: One-hit deaths under dense bullet patterns demand near-perfect inputs
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 1
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization5 vs 6
Metal Slug leans harder on optimization: One-credit clears come from memorising routes and spawn patterns
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.