head to head
vs
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong QuestvsThe Pirates of Dark Water
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); The Pirates of Dark Water leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong QuestThe Pirates of Dark Water
Axis by axis
Execution7 vs 6
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest leans harder on execution: Demanding jump chains and animal-buddy control
Reads0 vs 1
The Pirates of Dark Water leans harder on reads: Enemies mob in fixed patterns, never adapt
Variance1 vs 1
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization5 vs 5
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.