While hatien, could of come off a bit more subtle in his critisms he is not wrong. I myself haven't finished p4 due to busted playstation, but if it follows the same vein of style as p3 then yes the writing is vapid. I've spoiled myself somewhat for p4 and from the way it was unfolding, you can most definitely see the influences from part 4 of JJBA.
Now having a good story is not the main factor for a game, but it is most definitely a bonus. My personal problem with p3 and most likely p4, if I ever get to finish it and it follow a similar style, is that it heavily suffers storywise while building up characters. The problem is most of the characters they build up have no investment in the actual over arcing plot which is vague and poorly executed.
While p1 is so far the weakest game to me out of the smt/megumi ibuki/devil summoner series gameplay wise and to an extent storywise. The sheer audacity and quirks that play up through it make everything worthwhile iff tedious at points.
It's fair to argue the strong points of the latter persona such as gameplay and character development, but honestly don't do it for story, because that is where p3 and, once again I'm presuming, p4 fail spectacularly.