head to head
vs
Mega Man 5vsSuper Mario 64
Mega Man 5 leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Super Mario 64 leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Mega Man 5Super Mario 64
Axis by axis
Execution7 vs 7
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance0 vs 1
Super Mario 64 leans harder on variance: Star locations and level layouts are fixed once seen
Optimization6 vs 5
Mega Man 5 leans harder on optimization: Weapon-order routing and pattern memorisation solve the game
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.