Building comparison
head to head
Fire Emblem: Radiant DawnvsShin Megami Tensei V
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Hardest modern-era Fire Emblem, a sprawling multi-army tactics campaign where planning around hit RNG is everything.
Shin Megami Tensei V
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Open-area SMT where essence customization and Press Turn mastery turn demons into solvable math.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Shin Megami Tensei V leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Fire Emblem: Radiant DawnShin Megami Tensei V
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 1
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Grid menus; no physical skill.
Shin Megami Tensei V
Open-field exploration, but combat is pure menus.
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Enemy AI follows exploitable fixed priorities.
Shin Megami Tensei V
Magatsuhi and bosses are scripted patterns.
Variance4 vs 4
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Hit, crit, and level-up rolls threaten permadeath plans.
Shin Megami Tensei V
Crit and negotiation RNG add manageable noise.
Optimization9 vs 9
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
Unit deployment, BEXP routing, and map solutions dominate.
Shin Megami Tensei V
Essence fusion and Press Turn builds reward perfect planning.
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.