This game needs to remove the barriers. If someone starts a new game they should get the content as soon as the character gets introduced. All should be open from the beginning and then we work on our selected targets at our pace. If we ignore a target early to gain others, their switches should still be waiting for us anytime we choose to start their path. That eliminates a lot of dead time. Though, having a lot of events heavily in one time period kills momentum. Balance, or less time dependance, makes the game more enjoyable to the player, since it's supposed to be our choices leading the story.
Though, I haven't restarted in a while, not sure if all the "Next Update" messages are locks or true.