head to head
vs
New Super Mario Bros. U DeluxevsTempest 2000
New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Tempest 2000 leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
New Super Mario Bros. U DeluxeTempest 2000
Axis by axis
Execution8 vs 9
Tempest 2000 leans harder on execution: Perfect inputs would clear every web at any speed
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance1 vs 2
Tempest 2000 leans harder on variance: Spawn mixes vary slightly between attempts
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.