Building comparison
head to head
Contra III: The Alien WarsvsDevil May Cry 5
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is optimization, and it is a single point.
Contra III: The Alien Wars
Execution · Pure Mechanics
Peak 16-bit run-and-gun of set-piece bosses and razor-thin dodges.
Devil May Cry 5
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Modern stylish-action peak with three playstyles and a combo ceiling players are still climbing.
Contra III: The Alien Wars leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Devil May Cry 5 leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Contra III: The Alien WarsDevil May Cry 5
Axis by axis
Execution9 vs 9
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Contra III: The Alien Wars
Relentless bosses and bullet dodging
Devil May Cry 5
Three movesets and Royal Guard frames set a towering 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.
Contra III: The Alien Wars
Set-piece bosses are pure scripts
Devil May Cry 5
Even Vergil's mirror fight is a learnable script
Variance1 vs 1
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Contra III: The Alien Wars
Everything is fixed and learnable
Devil May Cry 5
V's summons add flavor, not randomness that matters
Optimization6 vs 7
Devil May Cry 5 leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Contra III: The Alien Wars
Weapon management and pattern memorization
Devil May Cry 5
Loadouts, breakers, and enemy-specific tech reward deep study
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.