head to head
vs
Fire Emblem: The Sacred StonesvsThrough the Darkest of Times
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Through the Darkest of Times leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Fire Emblem: The Sacred StonesThrough the Darkest of Times
Axis by axis
Execution1 vs 0
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones leans harder on execution: Grid menu tactics; nothing physical.
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance4 vs 4
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization8 vs 7
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones leans harder on optimization: Branching promotions and grindable maps reward build planning.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.