Building comparison
head to head
Donkey KongvsSuper Metroid
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Donkey Kong
Execution · Practiced Mastery
The 1981 arcade classic of climbing girders and dodging barrels.
Super Metroid
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Movement execution and route optimisation through a fixed, mappable planet.
Donkey Kong leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Super Metroid leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Donkey KongSuper Metroid
Axis by axis
Execution8 vs 7
Donkey Kong leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Donkey Kong
Frame-tight jumps over barrels under arcade pressure
Super Metroid
Wall-jumps, shinesparks and boss dodges demand precise inputs
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 Metroid
Bosses cycle fixed patterns, never adapting
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 Metroid
Item and route knowledge is fixed once discovered
Optimization6 vs 7
Super Metroid leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Donkey Kong
Stage patterns and score routes fully learnable
Super Metroid
Sequence-breaking route optimisation is the enduring meta-game
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.