head to head
vs
Star Ocean: The Second Story RvsUndertale
Star Ocean: The Second Story R leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Undertale leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Star Ocean: The Second Story RUndertale
Axis by axis
Execution4 vs 4
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 1
Undertale leans harder on reads: NPCs follow fixed dialogue trees, not adaptive
Variance2 vs 1
Star Ocean: The Second Story R leans harder on variance: Item creation rolls and recruitment branches add mild randomness
Optimization7 vs 7
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.