Building comparison
head to head
Donkey KongvsSuper Contra
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.
Donkey Kong
Execution · Practiced Mastery
The 1981 arcade classic of climbing girders and dodging barrels.
Super Contra
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Memorising spawn patterns then executing them flawlessly under one-hit-death rules.
Donkey Kong leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Super Contra leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Donkey KongSuper Contra
Axis by axis
Execution8 vs 8
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Donkey Kong
Frame-tight jumps over barrels under arcade pressure
Super Contra
One-hit deaths demand precise dodging and constant accurate fire
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Donkey Kong
Fixed arcade patterns, nothing adapts
Super Contra
Alien waves follow fixed spawn scripts
Variance1 vs 1
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Donkey Kong
Barrel bounces add slight unpredictability
Super Contra
Nothing random once spawn patterns are memorised
Optimization6 vs 6
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Donkey Kong
Stage patterns and score routes fully learnable
Super Contra
Memorising spawns and weapon routes is half the run
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.