My take on backtracking is that it was a good idea/system handled somewhat poorly. I didn't used to think it was handled poorly but nowadays I really have to admit a lot of the backtracking sucked and was dumb.
I will defend the CONCEPT of backtracking to death and I do think people are waaay too complainy about it, but I also REALLY think they could've handled it better a lot of the time......
I was about to make a list of backtracking Jiggies that bother me but it's easier to summarize: I dislike the Jiggies that are literally just padding. The Glide Jiggy on the pillar in Jolly Roger's Lagoon for example isn't a challenge, it isn't creative, it isn't interesting in ANY way, it's just
- fumble around in vain trying to get it
- eventually give up
- return waaaay later once you have learned glide
- glide to it
This is stupid, this is JUST padding that exists solely to waste the player's time for no good reason. I didn't learn anything, I didn't achieve anything, I didn't have fun, I didn't apply my knowledge cleverly, I didn't execute a task that was difficult, nothing about this sequence of events was worth my time and energy. It's ARBITRARY that this Jiggy was unobtainable until later, and there are a LOT of Jiggies like this. They drag down Tooie a lot, making it feel like a list of chores. The backtracking I do actually love is when there is justification for it as it's trying to do something actually interesting, clever, or worthwhile.
A couple ways to improve this particular Jiggy and not make it dumb and stupid and lame and also dumb
- have a possible, but difficult way to obtain it on the first visit, and glide is just a late game way to get it more easily
- have a minor platforming challenge involved here that requires kazooie to glide from crevice to crevice correctly, and requires a slight amount of thought/effort to make it across. having gusts of wind you have to navigate around is another idea, just have it be SOMETHING
- move this jiggy to hailfire peaks, where it isn't necessary for it to be difficult, as it would now serve as a reward for getting through the Icicle Grotto and as a very basic showcase on how to glide
- keep the Jiggy in JRL unchanged, but add a shortcut from the Icicle Grotto to Smuggler's Cavern so that you don't waste the player's time
- keep this sequence of events unchanged, but swop the Jiggy for something else like a Cheato Page
If you're gonna make me backtrack you better justify it SOMEhow. Figuring out how to smuggle food out of Witchyworld to feed the cavemen was a somewhat fun way of doing backtracking. Crossing the Stomping Plains with Banjo solo is neat to figure out, even if it's easy once you know how. Just......something, please. Don't force players to come back arbitrarily.