For instance, Masahiro Sakurai, from Smash Bros, initially explained how Rex, from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, was cut from the roster in Smash Bros Ultimate due to time constraints. At first, this was taken a bit… awkwardly, because later he added Byleth from Fire Emblem Three Houses, when that game was in development.
However, when Pyra and Mythra were added, also from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Sakurai explained how it wasn’t possible to have Rex playable with a swappable Blade, due to the Switch’s hardware limitations.
Here’s what I understood later on: if Sakurai stated that “Rex wasn’t added due to hardware limitations”, when Smash Bros Ultimate was released in late 2018, less than 2 years in the Switch’s lifespan, that… wouldn’t have been good publicity ^^;
So yeah, was there a developer’s excuse/justification that you only understood later?
I’m not sure if it’s ever been justified per se, but being booted out of levels in Super Mario 64 (and Sunshine) has always been a point of contempt for modern standards, but when you look at it through the lens of the time, the levels are actually tiny, and I’m sure that both from a development and marketing standpoint, everyone knew, and as such made the conscientious decision of milking every bit of resources, and it’s probably why the mission structure was implemented in the first place.
Most people really overlook that prior to this game, everyone and their mothers were just beginning to figure out how 3D works both from a development and game design standpoint.
Yes I recently finished the PC port of Mario 64 and it has an option to not exit the level after collecting a Star. With this turned on, you can complete the game in half the time. The levels are incredibly short.