The Last Remnant & Missables

The Last Remnant obtained extremely mixed reviews, mostly for its graphical problems. Those complaints aside, I have been playing it for a while now and I think it's actually a lot of fun!

BUT...

There's one big gaping hole of a problem with it (and many other games) that not a lot of people have addressed: missables.

A missable is something that is no longer obtainable past a certain point in a game. In The Last Remnant's case there are several pre-requisites on Disc 1 to unlocking side quests on Disc 2. Many of these snowball to where you have to go through an entire chain of missables to get something.

I think missables are a terrible concept. I am playing through this game with a full strategy guide sprawled out on the floor and several tabs in my browser pointed to specific forum posts, gamefaqs etc. just to make sure I can enjoy the full content that I paid for. In no other medium or consumer good would the manufacturer be able to get away with this. Why do game makers get away with it?

Nintendo is working on a system that aims at the exact opposite end of the spectrum. A system to ensure that you can access all of the content you have purchased - http://kotaku.com/5276446/shigeru-miyamoto-spills-beans-on-kind-code-almost

While I applaud Nintendo's approach, it seems like it would take some of the fun and excitement out of the game. On the other hand, having missables in a game can force the player to spend more time reading strategy guides than actually enjoying the game.

Here's the questions:

-Do missables add to the game experience or detract?

-What are some alternatives that could produce the same type of excitement provided by a missable?