head to head
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.

Optimization · Pure Optimization
A courtroom drama where finding the single correct piece of evidence to shatter each witness's testimony is the loop.

Optimization · Pure Optimization
A fixed-solution puzzle adventure where finding the right inventory combination unlocks every obstacle.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Secret of Monkey Island leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
The Secret of Monkey Island leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Menu-based courtroom; zero physical skill
The Secret of Monkey Island
Clicking inventory items demands no twitch skill whatsoever
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Witnesses follow scripted testimony; no adaptive opponent
The Secret of Monkey Island
No adaptive opponent; all puzzles are fixed and authored
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Hidden contradictions in testimony are unknown until pressed
The Secret of Monkey Island
Some hidden items require exploration but solutions are invariant
The Secret of Monkey Island leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Identifying the precise contradiction and presenting the correct evidence is fully solvable
The Secret of Monkey Island
Correct item combinations and dialogue chains fully determine progress
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.