Building comparison
head to head
Metroid II: Return of SamusvsThe Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
Neither is harder. They score identically on all four axes, so the difference between them is in kind, not degree.
Metroid II: Return of Samus
Optimization · Pure Optimization
The Game Boy expedition that turns Metroid into a methodical extermination checklist deep inside SR388.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Scheduling and routing a repeating three-day world where every event is learnable and fixed.
Metroid II: Return of Samus leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Metroid II: Return of SamusThe Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 4
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Metroid II: Return of Samus
Cramped Game Boy combat against Metroid forms.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
Combat and platforming are deliberate, rarely twitch-demanding
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Metroid II: Return of Samus
Creatures follow fixed behaviours.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
NPCs run fixed three-day schedules, nothing adapts
Variance2 vs 2
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Metroid II: Return of Samus
Disorienting unknown caverns until mapped.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
Schedules and secrets are unknown until discovered, then fixed
Optimization7 vs 7
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Metroid II: Return of Samus
Hunting all 39 Metroids is methodical route work.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D
Planning the time loop around NPC schedules is the 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.