Final Fantasy Vertigo

by Joe Straatmann

The PlayStation game Final Fantasy VII can be said to have kicked off a cinematic era in video games. From its ads that mimed movie trailers to the introduction of FMV to the series, it brought a more cinematic approach into the RPG mainstream. Many games that followed would perpetuate the trend, with increased use of cinematic presentation from the following Final Fantasy sequels to the more recent Suikoden III, which simulates filmed camera angles in its storytelling sequences. This seems fitting, as Final Fantasy VII borrows a few elements from the Alfred Hitchcock classic Vertigo such as symbolism, character dynamics and even some similarity in plot development. While the game does provide certain twists to these elements as not to be considered a rip-off, the similarities are certainly worth noting.

At first glance, these two pieces of work have nothing to do with each other. It seems comparing a movie about a San Francisco private investigator who becomes obsessed with the woman he's hired to follow and the story of a spiky-haired teenager and friends trying to save the world would be a ludicrous endeavor. However, if you look closer, starting with the main characters onward, you'll find more than a few curious similarities.

The main character of Vertigo is Scottie, a former police detective who was forced into retirement after a rooftop chase reveals his vertigo that comes back to haunt him later. He is called back into duty as a favor to Gavin, a friend from college. Final Fantasy VII's main character is Cloud, a former member of the Shinra military who is no longer in the military at the beginning of the story due to the traumatic events that occurred at Nibelheim that come back to haunt him later. He is a mercenary that goes into the service of AVALANCHE as a favor to his childhood friend, Tifa. Both characters eventually meet their love interests they promise to protect (Madeline and Aeris). Both characters break those promises due to their weaknesses that are known and manipulated by the villains who are former friends of the main character (Gavin and Sephiroth). Scottie is manipulated by Gavin in order to make his wife's murder look like a suicide using the ruse of his wife being possessed by a spirit and Scottie's vertigo that renders him unable to stop her from seemingly committing suicide. Cloud's Jenova cells and the illusion he created from the incident at Nibelheim leave him unable to protect Aeris when Sephiroth kills her. Both characters also fall into catatonic states shortly afterwards.

Aeris and Madeline also share curious similarities. Madeline is Gavin's seemingly eccentric wife who claims to hear voices from the deceased. Aeris is an eccentric young girl who hears the voices of the planet. When Scottie first follows Madeline, she goes to a flower shop and buys a bouquet and continues on to a church. When Cloud first meets Aeris, depending on how you respond, he buys a flower from her and meets her again after falling through the roof of a church. When Madeline seemingly killed, it's at the Spanish Mission church bell tower. Aeris is praying when she is killed. After the deaths of their loved ones, Scottie and Cloud both find echoes of them, Scottie in Judy, a woman who looks remarkably like Madeline, and Cloud in Aeris' wish that exists in the Holy materia.

Perhaps the closest comparison that can be made between the two pieces is the main characters' best friends, Midge and Tifa. Midge is Scottie's high school sweetheart who was "promised" to him for a whole week. Tifa is Cloud's childhood friend who made Cloud promise her that he'd come back to protect her. Midge and Tifa both love their respective friends that they keep hidden. When Cait Sith test the compatibility of Cloud and Aeris, he remarks, "Tifa's not going to like this" when they turn out to be a perfect match. After a joke Midge pulls in an attempt to attract Scottie upsets him, Midge completely berates herself. When both of the main characters fall into catatonic states, it is Midge and Tifa that stay by their side until their secret loves snap out of it.

There are definite differences between the two pieces and how their similarities are utilized. The focus of Vertigo is a tale of obsession while Final Fantasy VII veers to more towards an epic story with psychological undertones. The mistakes of Scottie simply destroys his life and allows a murderer to get away with his crime while the mistakes of Cloud put the entire world in danger. However, there are so many odd similarities that it would seem very strange if this was all coincidence, especially if you throw in the reoccurrence of spirals in key places. Madeline and Aeries both sport spiral hairstyles (Madeline's is up in a bun while Aeris' in one large braid) and at the sites where they both die, a spiral staircase is present. In Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo cameo, he walks across the screen holding what looks like a foghorn. I'd be lying if I didn't admit to sometimes imagining a yappy cat wearing a crown on his shoulder.