head to head
Neither is simply harder - they are hard in different places. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas demands more optimization; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan demands more execution.

Optimization · Practiced Mastery
A sprawling open-world crime epic with RPG-style character stats across a whole state.

Execution · Practiced Mastery
Brawler combo execution against scripted bosses with light build tuning.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan leans clearly harder on execution.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Flying school and drive-bys need decent hands
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan
Combo timing, dodges and turtle-swaps carry the combat
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Gang AI is scripted, never adaptive
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan
Bosses telegraph scripted patterns, nothing adapts
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Territory wars and traffic add light randomness
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan
Mission modifiers shuffle encounters mildly
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas leans clearly harder on optimization.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Stats, gym, weapon skill, and routes reward systematic play
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan
Charm builds and combo knowledge raise rank ceilings
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.
full breakdown
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas →
full breakdown
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan →