Building comparison
head to head
Super ContravsWild Guns
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is variance, and it is a single point.
Super Contra
Execution · Practiced Mastery
Memorising spawn patterns then executing them flawlessly under one-hit-death rules.
Wild Guns
Execution · Pure Mechanics
A frantic SNES space-western gallery shooter about dodging while you shoot.
Super Contra leans Execution (Practiced Mastery); Wild Guns leans Execution (Pure Mechanics).
Super ContraWild Guns
Axis by axis
Execution8 vs 8
Same score on execution - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Super Contra
One-hit deaths demand precise dodging and constant accurate fire
Wild Guns
Simultaneous aiming and dodging defines the whole game
Reads0 vs 0
Same score on reads - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Super Contra
Alien waves follow fixed spawn scripts
Wild Guns
Enemy waves are fully scripted
Variance1 vs 2
Wild Guns leans a little harder on variance, though the gap is small.
Super Contra
Nothing random once spawn patterns are memorised
Wild Guns
Bullet spawns vary slightly until patterns are absorbed
Optimization6 vs 5
Super Contra leans a little harder on optimization, though the gap is small.
Super Contra
Memorising spawns and weapon routes is half the run
Wild Guns
Stage routing and pattern memorization converge for high scores
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.