After replaying smt1 I see how much overlap there is with V. The relationship between the protag and heroine is very similar to Aogami and V's MC.
>their souls are connected (so much so the heroine is referred as the protag's "other self")
>innate desire to protect each other
>Adam and Eve symbolism
>memory loss but remembering the protag despite that

I would say reincarnation plays a part as well between the two because it's a bond down to their very souls even though that was something that only happened in 1. It's implied that in V's world lore they would still be connected in death. It almost feels like this overlap was intentional.
And when you take a look at Tao and Yoko in combination with this you can feel an even heavier smt1 influence. I remember in the Kai to Yuu magazine interview Doi and Komori did after VV came out, they mentioned that older players since would find something reminiscent about Tao and Yoko:
>Originally Tao was designed as a character meant to counter Yoko. For those who are long time fans of the series, the meaning behind this design should be one of the more obvious elements.
Tao and Yoko go back to the traditional blue messian vs red gaian colors of smt1. And you as the protag are the one that keeps them together despite their polarizing views.

tl;dr:
VV might as well be ripping off smt1 as much as IV did imo. And they did it on purpose.