Best deal Sega ever made.

Seriously Atlus is a goldmine... if not profit wise then artistically.

Even if profits wherent huge, any of big 3 (nintendo, sony, ms) would love to have them.

You think SMT's story and gameplay is ahead of Persona?

I know there are a lot of hot takes on VGC, but even this one surprises me.

I've only played P4 and 5, but it doesn't seem so unreasonable to me that he'd prefer one over the other. Persona has a much stronger cast of characters, but the story itself really doesn't have the same level of focus, and forces suspension of disbelief much more. Personally I prefer the more character-focused stories of Persona, but I can understand if someone prefers a more plot-focused story.

OT: You're welcome Zura!

You think SMT's story and gameplay is ahead of Persona?

I know there are a lot of hot takes on VGC, but even this one surprises me.

So, who's the worst video game girl that is named Futaba Sakura?

From the mainline SMT series, I've only completely played through SMT 3 and 4, but "plot" is not one of the things that comes to mind when describing those games.
On the contrary, I'd say they're unusually light when it comes to the script for being jrpgs. Instead they are more heavy on atmosphere and symbolism with a lot of mythology and religious undertones.
SMT 3 for example has one playable character, who is a silent protagonist, but without a supporting cast around him to develop characters or advance the story. The "focus" of the plot is, the world was destroyed, and you survived. Now what? You go from area to area only because it's the only place you can go to. Not because the story dictates that direction.
Nothing resembling a purpose appears until the very end, right before the final dungeon becomes available. Along the way there, the majority of the few conversations that do happen, are only there to gauge what kind of ideals you have, and determine what ending you get. Do you believe in the survival of the fittest, or equality? Total destruction? Etc. Don't expect much of a plot from SMT 3. It's not that kind of game. Although I did really like it.

SMT 4 is a step up both in terms of story and characters, but the transition from story outline to script still appears significantly lighter than what you'd expect from most jrpgs.
For example, the best/childhood friend of the protagonist, you only see him one more time after the beginning part of the game, but you never find out why they were friends. You only know that they came from the same village (you don't actually get to see that either aside from one flashback of them chilling by a lake) and that they sought the same job.
And although a very important part of the plot focuses on a character called The Goddess of Tokyo, who was referenced several times throughout the course of the game, she is not explained at all.

For reference, imagine if you never saw the protagonist of P3 before the very end where he shows up and does that "thing", and how he does it is not shown or explained either.

By overall plot in P4, do you mean the murder mystery? You follow a trail of murders that leads you to an answer. And then another. And another. The last one connecting them. As for foreshadowing of the third one, how the main protagonist got his power remained a mystery. So him getting a headache right after shaking hands with the gas station attendant at the start of the game was suspicious. But if you look closely, a certain green truck leaves the gas station right as your family car arrives. The fact that the gas station attendant only appears on rainy days was also strange. The significance of the rain probably had to do with the fact that certain rare stronger shadows only appear when it's raining. Moreover, during your visit to the P3 area, you get a lecture about Izanami, Izanagi and Kagatsuchi. This, along with something else I know from a different STM game lead me to suspect that Izanami could be the final boss. I did however not suspect the gas station attendant. I only noticed the foreshadowing there after finishing the game and thinking back. But it was nice to see that the signs were there.

By overall plot in SMT IV, what are you refering to, to be clear?