This game is fantastic. I saw the Tim Rogers reviewed where he said this game contains it's own sequels, which I didn't understand at the time, but I get it now, each act almost works on it's own as a game. I found the new content at the start of act 2 to be the slowest, least interesting, part of the game. As much as I like Sylvando, Eric, Rab, and Jade, all of this content felt like padding and was holding me back from getting my party together. I really did enjoy Serena in the second half of act 2, she was a bad ass and I wish she could have stayed like that. Previous to that I had been using Rab but I think Serena, even without Veronica's powers, is a more useful healer. Also, thanks for the people that recommended getting two falcon blades, perfecting them, and getting dual wielding. I was using falcon blades on my hero through end of act 1, all of 2, and most of 3.
The only time I ever really got frustrated was with the final boss. I took down all three bosses of the Trials in the first try, yet according to the internet, I was about 7 levels too low to take on the final boss. So my last few hours of the game were spent farming metal slimes, which isn't the best way to end your experience with the game, IMHO.
The end of the game is the beginning of DQ3 right? I was thinking this game took place after DQ3 since apparently the original Luminary, Serenica, etc, were all modelled after DQ3 sprites.