head to head
vs
Dragon's LairvsSuper Metroid
Dragon's Lair leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Super Metroid leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Dragon's LairSuper Metroid
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 7
Super Metroid leans harder on execution: Wall-jumps, shinesparks and boss dodges demand precise inputs
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 1
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization8 vs 7
Dragon's Lair leans harder on optimization: The entire game is one memorisable input sequence
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.