Decoyman
Bob-omb
I don't think backtracking is an issue with Paper Mario 64. That game's overall pacing and design follows up on the strong points of Super Mario RPG before it. It stood out when replaying both recently, but Paper Mario's map is immaculately well structured where linear stretches of the map almost always serve to funnel you forward and keeps exploration/retreading old ground within a clearly conveyed space expressly meant for puzzle solving. The Gusty Gulch chapter is a good example; the linear path forward is broken up by a forest riddle puzzle where you analyze your route forward, one "mini dungeon" that you explore, and then the dungeon proper after doing another linear path. When you do backtrack it's in the context of an urgent chase scene where you have to race back to a building you never entered near the start. The chapter ends shortly after and now conveniently has you placed right near the world exit that'll lead you back to the main hub. Worlds like the Flower Fields and Shy Guy's Toybox have a more experimental approach to design, and the former is usually considered a weak spot chapter by many because that one does involve backtracking, though that one at least sets up the structure early and clearly by having a hub with branching paths.
Contrast TTYD, let's look at Keelhaul Key; the first linear stretch will eventually stop you with a quest to help a character, who asks to get them an item that someone near the start of the world has. You go back only to be rebuffed and asked to bring them a replacement item. If you didn't have the foresight to pick up that replacement item (which is highly likely because the item is out of sight, takes up your likely stacked inventory slot at that point in the game, and is overall a shitty item), you'll have to go back that linear stretch again to almost-near the end to get it. You go back to the start and exchange the item, then go back to the end of the stretch again to deliver the new item you needed from the start. You now have to go back to the start of the world again to recover another item that will allow you to enter the dungeon, and only after doing that and going back to the end of the linear path again do you gain access to the dungeon proper. That's potentially as many as three round trips + one-way trip through the same tight pathways just to make significant progress. You have a partner that allows you to move faster, but it still feels tedious because you're left having to weave passed some tough-to-avoid enemies (that are also really persistent in battle) and some awkward platforming to get through. And that's not even the parts of the game that tend to get scrutinized the most whenever the criticism gets brought up against the game. It feels inorganic to say the least.
As a Metroid fan I quite love backtracking when it's executed well, but TTYD has a lot of moments where it feels highly artificial. Ideally in an RPG, backtracking should either be done if you can feel like you're building a sense of short anticipation toward what's coming next, or if the player goes out of their way to do some side quests on their own volition. I can't say why TTYD ended up the way it did but it feels particularly emblematic of a time when games felt like they'd artificially bloat their runtime. To date, HLTB still estimates that TTYD is the longest game in the series to actually beat, and I think that's no surprise. It's an incredibly charming game that's immersive in its world, though on replays it's easy to notice how the mentality behind its design can be felt in small and not-so-small ways. I think there's definitely some bandaid solutions that can be applied in some areas, and my personal hope is that the Switch remaster throws in some shortcut warps at places.
I will agree with the post above that Sticker Star was arguably way worse than TTYD with its backtracking, but I don't like that game and it has enough problems as is, so I have no reason to focus on it.
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