Building comparison
head to head
Metal Slug 3vsSuper Mario Galaxy 2
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Metal Slug 3
Execution · Pure Mechanics
Arcade run-and-gun whose one-credit clears demand total spawn memorization and twitch.
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Execution · Practiced Mastery
A 3D platformer about precise gravity-bending jumps through fixed galaxies.
Metal Slug 3 leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Super Mario Galaxy 2 leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Metal Slug 3Super Mario Galaxy 2
Axis by axis
Execution9 vs 8
Metal Slug 3 leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Metal Slug 3
one-hit deaths demand frame-level dodging and aim
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Precise jumps and gravity navigation define every galaxy
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Metal Slug 3
every enemy wave is scripted
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Bosses are scripted patterns, not adapting to you
Variance2 vs 1
Metal Slug 3 leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Metal Slug 3
branching paths vary runs slightly
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Levels are deterministic, nothing random
Optimization6 vs 6
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Metal Slug 3
memorizing spawns is the path to a one-credit clear
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Learning fixed layouts and routes for stars
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.