Final Fantasy XIII-2: The DLC Problem

Playing Final Fantasy XIII-2--and mind you, I'm still only at the beginning--I've noticed two spots in the game that are suspiciously empty:

In the menu, there is an submenu labeled "Outfits".

In the Historia Crux--the game's map system, using time travel as its main element--there is a location called the Coliseum.

The only available options in the Outfits screen are the default costumes for Serah and Noel, and I assumed I would find more as the game progressed.

When I saw that the Coliseum was available, I was interested; normally in games, areas like that--in which one can fight varieties of monsters, generally for prizes--are unlocked toward the middle of the game. Strangely enough, the only option I had in the Coliseum when I talked to the shadowy, freaky being called the "Arbiter of Time" was downloadable content (DLC) I won in a contest, a recurring boss in the series called Omega.                                                                                  

                          Omega. Picture from Just Push Start.

After about twenty seconds of shouting "NO, STOP THAT NO NO NO SERAH HEAL NOEL NOW" at my screen--along with multiple profanities--I saw my first "Game Over" screen while playing Final Fantasy XIII-2. I went online to go find out what level was recommended to take on Omega, and what other opponents may show up in the Coliseum.

What I found, though, was quite disappointing: players who didn't get

the Omega DLC weren't even allowed into the area. Others were told that they would never be allowed into the Coliseum unless they purchased DLC, so I did some more snooping, this time on the Outfits menu... and again, the only available costume changes would be in DLC.

Serah's first DLC outfit, the "Summoners Garb". Image from the Final Fantasy Wiki.

Now, I don't have a problem with DLC. When done right, it can extend a game's lifespan in great ways; free content--such as the first extra campaign for Left 4 Dead--is a great way to create support for software, even if Microsoft seems reluctant to allow it, and game expansions can breathe new life into older titles.

However, cutting out content that in older times would have been unlockable by completing in-game challenges is, to me, unacceptable. Had Square put in unlockable Coliseum fights and extra costumes then supplemented them with newer downloadable options, I would be completely content.But to put a menu into the game's interface, to include an entire location to just tell players "NOPE GO BUY THIS LOL"... that's just not cool, Square.

Final Fantasy XIII-2, thus far, has a few flaws but is pretty solid as a whole.

But I'm calling foul.