head to head
vs
Mega Man 8vsSuper Mario 64
Mega Man 8 leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Super Mario 64 leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Mega Man 8Super 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.
Variance1 vs 1
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization6 vs 5
Mega Man 8 leans harder on optimization: Weapon-weakness order and upgrade routing reward 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.