Why? Its like removing coins or power-ups. That defines Super Mario 3D.

The level progression in Super Mario Galaxy is already very linear in comparison to Sunshine and especially to Mario 64; separating it from 2-D Mario progression by such degrees does not really make sense.

Are you asking if 3-D Mario will eventually set you down at one end of an obstacle course and challenge you to get at the end? They already do that. Are you asking if it will b as obvious as the pure platforming sections of Sunshine? I don' know. I suppose maybe.

I gotta agree with the OP, who is also coincidentally stating a lot of Malstrom's points.

Now I like the 3D Mario games, but they do not play like the 2D Mario games.

Also, exploration is not an advantage of 3D, since overhead 2D games can do that. Or even the sidescrolling adventure games.

^But not quite in the same way.

I think both formulas are valid and good. And since both formulas are profitable and one doesn't kill the other, there's no reason not to keep both. Since making 3D Mario too much like 2D Mario and keeping both is essentially over-milking and would do no good either, I think it's important that the two formulas keep their own singularities.

The OP, Maelstrom, and you miss th salient point that exploration is not the problem of 3D Mario games, either. "Star Finder" as a label does not fit this discussion, because it attempts to differentiate based on te idea of collecting stars, which isn't the primary separating factor for many stars in 3D Marios and very few at all for Galaxy 2. You can beat Galaxy 2 without getting a single puzzle-oriented star, at least insofar as "puzzle" means something more than figuring out how to move across a series of platforms, in which case s ome levels of NSMBWii are much more puzzle-oriented than anything I've found in Galaxy 2 so far.

Maelstrom misses the forest for the trees:

The problem with 3D Mario is the relative inaccessibility of 3D movement in a platforming game.

Trying to apply identical design paradigms to different genres is not to the benefit of 3D Mario, it's just going to end up highlighting the core of the problem more clearly.

I like the reuse the level design... especially when there are forking paths.

I also hold that this isn't possible unlss they completely rethink how they approach three-dimensional space. Unless they change that, any change they make to level progression is going to be irrelevant.

Mario Kart feels more like how a 2D Mario should be in 3D than Galaxy does.
The 2D parts of Galaxy also feel more like 3dMario/SSBB than 2d Mario too.
3D Mario is awesome but I would love a game that retained the feel of SMB in 3D.

Exploration is at least one of the problems. Can't speak for the OP, but Malstrom and I do not claim it's the only problem. Also, I don't know what you mean by "star finder", but Malstrom means that the stars have to be collected at all, regardless of whether they are puzzle based, or however you get them.

2D Mario: dozens of areas where you get to the end dodging all the dangers.

3D Mario: around a dozen areas where you have to collect multiple stars from most of them to beat the game.

Inaccessability of 3D movement is something Malstrom discussed, especially in some recent posts. He knows the levels can't be identical, just that they aren't trying to adapt them at all to 3D.

I don't get it, why is 3D Mario so "full of problems" when so many people love them and they still sell pretty well? Because we "found out" Mario can sell even better in other forms? So what?

The way some people talk sometimes it seems like 3D Marios are broken games that won't sell ten copies.

They are different games but as far as I'm concerned, that's a good thing. I don't think simply emulating a 2D game on a 3D perspective is a good idea, and I think people would agree. I mean, that's the reason why Mario 64 was seen as such a great game and important step. Kind of the same reason why so many other tittles failed to jump to 3D.

Besides inaccessibility of 3D movement is a real issue to some, maybe many people. But many other people can get over it and actually control it really smoothly and enjoy it. I don't think every game should be for everyone. I don't think that's even possible.

I do realize I may be completely missing the point here. If so, what's the point?