head to head
vs
Shikhondo: Soul EatervsYs VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA
Shikhondo: Soul Eater leans Execution (Pure Mechanics); Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Shikhondo: Soul EaterYs VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA
Axis by axis
Execution9 vs 8
Shikhondo: Soul Eater leans harder on execution: Weaving through dense bullet patterns is the entire game
Reads1 vs 1
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance3 vs 2
Shikhondo: Soul Eater leans harder on variance: Some spawn and item-timing randomness
Optimization5 vs 5
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.