Building comparison
head to head
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's EdgevsSuper Castlevania IV
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
Execution · Pure Mechanics
Course-corrected revision restoring difficulty to the trilogy's weakest entry.
Super Castlevania IV
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Simon Belmont's SNES remake-quest with a multidirectional whip and a moody trek to Dracula.
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Super Castlevania IV leans Execution (Practiced Mastery).
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's EdgeSuper Castlevania IV
Axis by axis
Execution8 vs 7
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
Steel-on-bone counters still demand sharp hands
Super Castlevania IV
Eight-way whip control and stair commitment test precision
Reads1 vs 0
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge leans a little harder on reads, though the gap is small.
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
Scripted enemy waves
Super Castlevania IV
Classic scripted monster patterns
Variance1 vs 1
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
Deterministic encounters
Super Castlevania IV
Hidden wall meat, fixed locations
Optimization5 vs 5
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge
Simplified systems leave less to solve
Super Castlevania IV
Subweapon choice and boss pattern study
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.