Building comparison
head to head
Danmaku Unlimited 3vsGhosts 'n Goblins
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is variance, and it is a single point.
Danmaku Unlimited 3
Execution · Pure Mechanics
A bullet-hell shooter testing precision dodging and scoring through scripted patterns.
Ghosts 'n Goblins
Execution · Pure Mechanics
Capcom's infamously punishing arcade platformer that makes you beat it twice for the real ending.
Danmaku Unlimited 3 leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Ghosts 'n Goblins leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Danmaku Unlimited 3Ghosts 'n Goblins
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.
Danmaku Unlimited 3
Precise dodging through dense bullet patterns is everything
Ghosts 'n Goblins
Committed jumps and pixel-precise throws, no mercy
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Danmaku Unlimited 3
Bosses fire scripted patterns, not adaptive
Ghosts 'n Goblins
Enemy spawns are scripted
Variance2 vs 1
Danmaku Unlimited 3 leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Danmaku Unlimited 3
Minor item randomness, patterns deterministic
Ghosts 'n Goblins
Red Arremer movement adds slight noise
Optimization5 vs 6
Ghosts 'n Goblins leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Danmaku Unlimited 3
Scoring systems and ship choice optimize underneath
Ghosts 'n Goblins
Weapon choice and route memorisation are mandatory
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.