head to head
vs
Contra III: The Alien WarsvsSin & Punishment: Star Successor
Contra III: The Alien Wars leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Sin & Punishment: Star Successor leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Contra III: The Alien WarsSin & Punishment: Star Successor
Axis by axis
Execution9 vs 9
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 1
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization6 vs 5
Contra III: The Alien Wars leans harder on optimization: Weapon management and pattern memorization
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.