head to head
vs
StarfieldvsTales of Phantasia
Starfield leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery); Tales of Phantasia leans Optimization (Practiced Mastery).
StarfieldTales of Phantasia
Axis by axis
Execution5 vs 6
Tales of Phantasia leans harder on execution: Real-time side-scrolling combat demands active movement and timing
Reads1 vs 0
Starfield leans harder on reads: Scripted NPC AI patterns
Variance3 vs 3
Even - both lean on variance about the same.
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.