Oh wow you are the fourth person to talk about this game recently and it's really starting to get super tempting!
I loved the first one. Didn't have a whole lot of time to play the second (which was a shame, because it was a lot bigger and certainly easier than having to swap CDs all the time like the first one had you doing), but it was fun too.
Kind of mad about what they did to
Spoiler
your childhood friend, though. I spent so much effort in the first game keeping that girl alive and levelling her up well, and then she just gets kidnapped right off the bat in the second game? No fair!
but I guess storyline calls for plot points...
For the third one, can you import your old character and play the same one? Or does it have you starting over with someone new?