head to head
vs
New Super Mario Bros. U DeluxevsNinja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
New Super Mario Bros. U DeluxeNinja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos
Axis by axis
Execution8 vs 9
Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos leans harder on execution: brutally precise platforming and combat timing
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 1
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
Optimization3 vs 3
Even - both lean on optimization about the same.
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.