head to head
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.

Execution · Pure Mechanics
Capcom's infamously punishing arcade platformer that makes you beat it twice for the real ending.

Execution · Pure Mechanics
A time-trial racer where flawless inputs over fixed tracks are everything.
Ghosts 'n Goblins leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Trackmania leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Trackmania leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Ghosts 'n Goblins
Committed jumps and pixel-precise throws, no mercy
Trackmania
Pure input precision over deterministic tracks defines everything.
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Ghosts 'n Goblins
Enemy spawns are scripted
Trackmania
No opponent; ghost runs only.
Ghosts 'n Goblins leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Ghosts 'n Goblins
Red Arremer movement adds slight noise
Trackmania
Tracks are deterministic with zero randomness.
Trackmania leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Ghosts 'n Goblins
Weapon choice and route memorisation are mandatory
Trackmania
Line optimization and shortcut discovery matter heavily.
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.