head to head
vs
Metroid: Zero MissionvsTomb Raider II
Metroid: Zero Mission leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Tomb Raider II leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
Metroid: Zero MissionTomb Raider II
Axis by axis
Execution6 vs 5
Metroid: Zero Mission leans harder on execution: polished 2D movement plus a stealth finale
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance2 vs 2
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization6 vs 7
Tomb Raider II leans harder on optimization: Route, key-item, and secret solving dominate
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.