head to head

Of Orcs and Men cover artvsSuper Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars cover art

Of Orcs and MenvsSuper Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Of Orcs and Men leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).

EXECUTION3 /10READS0 /10VARIANCE1 /10OPTIMIZATION6 /10
Of Orcs and MenSuper Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Axis by axis

Execution3 vs 3

Even - both lean on execution about the same.

Reads0 vs 0

Even - both lean on reads about the same.

Variance1 vs 2

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars leans harder on variance: Hidden chests and first-run boss surprises.

Optimization6 vs 7

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars leans harder on optimization: Gear, timing knowledge, and stat routing solve fights.

Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.

full breakdown

Of Orcs and Men

full breakdown

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars