Building comparison
head to head
Katana ZEROvsSuper Mario Bros.
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is variance, and it is a single point.
Katana ZERO
Execution · Practiced Mastery
A neo-noir one-hit-kill action platformer about planning and replaying perfect assassinations.
Super Mario Bros.
Execution · Pure Mechanics
Pure jump timing over fully fixed, memorisable levels.
Katana ZERO leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Super Mario Bros. leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Katana ZEROSuper Mario Bros.
Axis by axis
Execution8 vs 8
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Katana ZERO
One-hit-death slashing and deflects demand precision
Super Mario Bros.
Perfect inputs trivialise momentum jumps over fixed hazards
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Katana ZERO
Enemies follow fixed placements and behaviours
Super Mario Bros.
Goombas walk left forever - nothing to predict
Variance1 vs 0
Katana ZERO leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Katana ZERO
Rooms are identical on every attempt
Super Mario Bros.
Every level is identical on every run
Optimization6 vs 5
Katana ZERO leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Katana ZERO
Planning the perfect room-clear sequence
Super Mario Bros.
Level memorisation and warp routing are fully solvable
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.