Haha I was hoping more people would share your view, but in the end I gotta make sure everyone can enjoy it!
Well! Maybe find a way to have two different play modes or versions of the game?
V1 - For casual players who just wanna farm real good and plant real fast.
V2 - The Goat Toaster Dark Souls run of "CAN YOU GET ALL THE STARS AH"
Perhaps it could be the difference between "normal" and "hard" mode :) more like "normal" and "bullshit hard" haha.
People love challenges and it would be a happy balance between those who want checkpoints and those who want to beat the harder modes! :o