Although it is quite irritating if you realized that you forgot to do something before the time warp, it really is your own fault. I suggest you save the game on two files, one right before you go into time compression and one after. That way, if you did forget something, just go back on the another file and play through it rather than start the game all over. It really isn't a big deal, you just need to know what your doing and be fully prepared for Ultimecia's Castle.

i never really had a problem with it, But i had another file, Im the kind of player who saves on every single file, just to be sure i can reload old save files. So everything being locked off really never bothered me

Just make two save slots, one on disk three when you can free roam and one on disk 4 when you cant.

I think it would have been better if they still let you go into shops though..

I hated the fact that all your commands are taken away, but that was fine cause I always make sure my lvl's are high before going and that I had everyone's ultimate weapons.

I always thought that the towns had already been taken by Ultimecia, so most of the inhabitants were killed or something and thats was the reason for the barriers. Meh i'm probaly wrong though.

i agree its really annoying

Meh, I can see it being annoying, but it did follow the games storyline with the Time Compression issue and all. Also, It didn't really matter to me at that point in the game since my GF's had the Call Shop & Junk Shop learned. After that, I really had no reason to go into any of the towns anyway.

However, I can see it being annoying when your like me and you want to take a break from the storyline by exploring, especially in the towns.