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Ignore them, they're the resident mobile game shiller.
Story wise the games are even less connected then the Persona series is and boy, are there a lot of mainline spin-offs as you could probably tell.
Really depends how you want to get into these games. In general I would say uh, don't expect an expierence like Persona. You probably already knew that but Persona really became it's own thing 3 and onward.
Now, if you want to prep for 3 and 5 I'd actually say the best way to ease into the expierence of those games is with Digital Devil Saga. It's basically the same combat as 3 has but with a lot less difficulty.
There's no fusion in these games as the focus is primarily on only the combat. It's one of the more straightforward smt games while still being very good in it's own right.
Otherwise, honestly 4 isn't horrible to start with either. Kind of the opposite as combat isn't usually that hard and there's a lot of focus on the fusion mechanic. However, it isn't the most straightforward smt game and uh, many consider a black sheep within the series. A lot of the demon designs for big figures is really surreal and diffrent from other games in the franchise. The story also is very experimental in nature so may not be the best story starter for smt.
Of course, I'll mention older games like 1. Probably the best story starter but...the game has not aged particularly well especially in terms of figuring everything out. I'd only recommend starting with an earlier game if you really like old school vague type games. Otherwise not the best starting point.
Keep in mind, I say this all as a more casual smt fan.
The mainline games are only loosely connected in plot and are mostly just consistent in theme. SMT2 is a direct sequel to 1, none of the others are (4A is an 'alternative' version of 4). SMT 1&2 and the very early megaten spinoff like Majin Tensei are old and full if jank and lack modern ports and western releases.
3 (Nocturne) and 4 are indeed much better places to start for most people. Nocturne is if course now getting a remaster if you'd rather wait for that. Nothing wrong with starting with the later megaten spinoffs like Devil Survivor, Digital Devil Saga, Raidou, Strange Journey or the Soul Hackers remake (kinda in order of accessibility? Lol) either, they are all great games in their own right.
On second thoughts Raidou is pretty weird to start with but hey, those games aare cool as fuck
(edited by pixie)