This is slightly surprising to me, since Braid is kinda infamous for being in development for a pretty long time for a puzzle platformer
* Braid was 3 years
* Cave Story was 5 years
* World of Goo was 2 years
* Limbo was about 3 years (but with 8-16 people)
So Braid seems pretty average.
Also, I don't like the idea of using gameplay time as a value statement. Maybe I say that because I don't have money problems, but I find that the tendency certain gamers have of judging games in terms of dollars per hour of gameplay is pretty damaging, as it incentivizes developers to focus on gameplay time more than polish. 3-10 hours is already plenty for that style of game. Note that there are many AAA games in the 10 hour range.