Building comparison
head to head
Metal SlugvsSuper Metroid
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Metal Slug
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Twitch dodging and shooting layered over memorised arcade stage routes.
Super Metroid
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Movement execution and route optimisation through a fixed, mappable planet.
Metal Slug leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Super Metroid leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Metal SlugSuper Metroid
Axis by axis
Execution8 vs 7
Metal Slug leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Metal Slug
Dodging dense bullet patterns and precise shots carry every credit
Super Metroid
Wall-jumps, shinesparks and boss dodges demand precise inputs
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
Enemies follow fixed arcade scripts, never adapt
Super Metroid
Bosses cycle fixed patterns, never adapting
Variance1 vs 1
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Metal Slug
Spawns are nearly deterministic once a stage is learned
Super Metroid
Item and route knowledge is fixed once discovered
Optimization6 vs 7
Super Metroid leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Metal Slug
One-credit clears come from memorising routes and spawn patterns
Super Metroid
Sequence-breaking route optimisation is the enduring meta-game
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.