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I was looking up the symptoms for gulf war syndrome, and he seems to have many of them:

1:memory loss
2:dizziness
3:headaches
4:balance issues
5:fatigue.

Coincidence? or he has gulf war syndrome?

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We are stardust.Our bodies are made from the guts of exploding stars.

Neil Degrasse Tyson.

...head. desk. head. desk. head. desk. head. desk.

No MS, he doesn't have Gulf War syndrome, because there was no Gulf War in FFVII.

1. memory loss was because he was exposed to Mako and experimented on.

2. See above.

3. ditto

4. Does he have balance issues? If he does they're probably caused by the Buster Sword.

5. No, he doesn't have fatigue. He runs all the time (depending on how you play) and still has the energy to SWING THE BUSTER SWORD at the end of it all. QED: he doesn't have fatigue.

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Since I advertise CoN there I think it's only fair that I advertise The Wiki here.

Well, Gulf War Sydnrome WAS caused by exposure to chemicals, so the writers probably paralleled the Mako energy's side effects to something like that.

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You're telling me that there's no hope.

I'm telling you you're wrong.

Quote (R8.50 Mango @ 22nd November 2010 10:55)

No MS, he doesn't have Gulf War syndrome, because there was no Gulf War in FFVII.

Wow, what a revelation...

Hmm, I'm not sure about that syndrome, though it would make sense. Because Mako experiments are chemical experiments, and also the timing of the game, it coming out 6 years after the end of the Gulf War. By the time of the game those cases were well documented, so it's possible. Maybe they weren't intending for it to be allegorical to Gulf War syndrome, but there does seem that they are using his situation as a metaphor for the effects of war and corruption.

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Praise Be To Helix!

We shall, for the moment, disregard the idiocy of thinking it is Gulf War Syndrome when there is no Gulf War in FF7 since it is covered. Considering he doesn't even have many of the symptoms of Gulf War Syndrome except for 3 of your 5 (And there's way more than that) I am very inclined to say no.

I also reckon it has nothing to do with it being allegorical for the Gulf War as intended by the writers, but instead, a more likely candidate is Radiation Poisoning as an allegory given that this is a Japanese-made game and the whole Mako thing is arguably meant to drawn parallels with nuclear energy. Of course, radiation poisoning doesn't explicitly match Cloud's behaviour either.

Another good candidate is your plain old common or garden Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, possibly in tandem with some elements of radiation sickness or indeed possibly even Gulf War Syndrome to create mako poisoning.

The bottom line is, it's not a single explicit earthly ailment, because in game it is explicitly identified as being related to Mako. It is not GWS, it is not PTSD, it is not radiation poisoning . It is Mako poisoning, and Mako poisoning is at best a mismash of mental trauma and the symptoms of many other types of poison exposure. It can be allegorical for many ailments, but it's certainly unlikely GWS was the first thing that they decided to have an allegory for nuclear energy cause.

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"Only the dead have seen the end of their quotes being misattributed to Plato."
-George Santayana

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here..."
-Abraham Lincoln, prior to the discovery of Irony.

Quote (Del S @ 22nd November 2010 16:09)

I also reckon it has nothing to do with it being allegorical for the Gulf War as intended by the writers, but instead, a more likely candidate is Radiation Poisoning as an allegory given that this is a Japanese-made game and the whole Mako thing is arguably meant to drawn parallels with nuclear energy. Of course, radiation poisoning doesn't explicitly match Cloud's behaviour either.

Dang, I knew I was missing something. You're right, because they are indeed Japanese, not American. I don't mean this in a bad way, Magitek Slayer, but it's sort of self-centered on American POV. Which, like I say, isn't a bad thing, because we look at things from our perspective: Vietnam and the Gulf War.

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Praise Be To Helix!

Cloud just has Jenova mind screwing syndrome, that's all. Or Sephiroth mind screwing syndrome, depending on how you see who was controlling who.

The FF VII version of the Gulf War could be the Wutai War, but Cloud wasn't involved in the Wutai War at all.

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Currently playing Chrono Trigger !!
Currently looking forward to Don't Know.

Quote (Magitek_slayer @ 22nd November 2010 13:05)

I was looking up the symptoms for gulf war syndrome, and he seems to have many of them:

1:memory loss
2:dizziness
3:headaches
4:balance issues
5:fatigue.

Are you sure you weren't looking up the symptoms of a hangover? Seriously, Cloud might as well be an alcoholic. He could be in a state of delirium tremens. Or he could have an inner ear infection, that would satisfy the conditions. Coincidence? Or ear infection?

This post has been edited by sweetdude on 23rd November 2010 21:21

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Scepticism, that dry rot of the intellect, had not left one entire idea in his mind.

Me on the Starcraft.

I personally don't think Cloud has Gulf War Syndrome for all the above reasons, thought I WOULD like to point out that in addition to the Jenova experiments, his memory was fuzzy and his personality was outta whack because of his own emotional insecurities.

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"When we think there's no hope left, we keep looking until we find some!" - Claire Farron

Quote (sweetdude @ 23rd November 2010 21:20)

Quote (Magitek_slayer @ 22nd November 2010 13:05)

I was looking up the symptoms for gulf war syndrome, and he seems to have many of them:

1:memory loss
2:dizziness
3:headaches
4:balance issues
5:fatigue.

Are you sure you weren't looking up the symptoms of a hangover? Seriously, Cloud might as well be an alcoholic. He could be in a state of delirium tremens. Or he could have an inner ear infection, that would satisfy the conditions. Coincidence? Or ear infection?

He was traumatized and that is different from an ear infection.

Who knows what kind of mental damage trauma can do to a mind,look at barret who lost marlene and his brother the guy he lost his arm trying to save.

That is pretty traumatic and could have all sorts of effects on the mind.



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We are stardust.Our bodies are made from the guts of exploding stars.

Neil Degrasse Tyson.

Quote (sweetdude @ 23rd November 2010 21:20)

Quote (Magitek_slayer @ 22nd November 2010 13:05)

I was looking up the symptoms for gulf war syndrome, and he seems to have many of them:

1:memory loss
2:dizziness
3:headaches
4:balance issues
5:fatigue.

Are you sure you weren't looking up the symptoms of a hangover? Seriously, Cloud might as well be an alcoholic. He could be in a state of delirium tremens. Or he could have an inner ear infection, that would satisfy the conditions. Coincidence? Or ear infection?

I agree here. Mean memory loss, dizziness, headaches, fatigue etc are all common symptoms. They could mean really anything. And lol, it really does sound like symptoms of somebody having a hangover.

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Currently playing Chrono Trigger !!
Currently looking forward to Don't Know.

Quote (ZidaneTribal @ 25th November 2010 07:35)

Quote (sweetdude @ 23rd November 2010 21:20)

Quote (Magitek_slayer @ 22nd November 2010 13:05)

I was looking up the symptoms for gulf war syndrome, and he seems to have many of them:

1:memory loss
2:dizziness
3:headaches
4:balance issues
5:fatigue.

Are you sure you weren't looking up the symptoms of a hangover? Seriously, Cloud might as well be an alcoholic. He could be in a state of delirium tremens. Or he could have an inner ear infection, that would satisfy the conditions. Coincidence? Or ear infection?

I agree here. Mean memory loss, dizziness, headaches, fatigue etc are all common symptoms. They could mean really anything. And lol, it really does sound like symptoms of somebody having a hangover.

He was traumatized and that is different from an ear infection.

Who knows what kind of mental damage trauma can do to a mind,look at barret who lost marlene and his brother the guy he lost his arm trying to save.

That is pretty traumatic and could have all sorts of effects on the mind.


I know i repeated what was above,but its for a reason.

Psychological damage is a weird thing,it can have untold effects on people.

Example:stress:

Stress can effect your workplace and make you unproductive

Repressed memories and even his dreams are a sign that something is wrong with him,that he is messed up inside.


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We are stardust.Our bodies are made from the guts of exploding stars.

Neil Degrasse Tyson.

The point, Magitek, is that there are dozens of alternative explanations for his issues. Ear infection is actually more viable than GWS given that ear infections presumably exist or have more reason to exist in the FF7 world.

Plus, GWS is not actually related to stress or trauma, but exposure to dangerous substances. Trauma is a side effect or unrelated concurrent issue. Trauma is indeed different to an ear infection, but it's also different to GWS.

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"Only the dead have seen the end of their quotes being misattributed to Plato."
-George Santayana

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here..."
-Abraham Lincoln, prior to the discovery of Irony.

lol, i cant see how something like this gets people so annoyed. Although to be fair, i dont think you have to have been in the Gulf War to get it.

Gulf war syndome, im pretty sure, is named so as they discovered this during or slightly after the gulf war...

Medical professionals have only recently realised the importance of maintaining good physical/mental health during wartime. (mental health even more recently.) Think only a few hundred years ago when they started making sailors eat limes to prevent scurvy.

So Cloud or any other one of the characters from FFVII are subject to the same mental and physical health problems we are, except they'd call it Wutai-War Syndrome.

Besides, exposure to toxic chemicals/substances? sounds a lot like being infused with Mako and J-cells to me.

I agree, Cloud most certainly has GWS (WWS)

Quote (AlphaMart @ 8th December 2010 19:51)

I agree, Cloud most certainly has GWS (WWS)

No, he has some of the symptoms of an illness similar to GWS, but, as shown, is also similar to a variety of other conditions that are more likely the deliberate analogy made with the Mako Poisoning.

I doubt it would be called Wutai War Syndrome as it would A) only occur in SOLDIER and be covered up. Finally, C) Cloud is not a Wutai War veteran.

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"Only the dead have seen the end of their quotes being misattributed to Plato."
-George Santayana

"The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here..."
-Abraham Lincoln, prior to the discovery of Irony.

...just tryin to add some humour into what was an otherwise heated discussion.


I hate that squeak noise Cloud makes when he's in mideel with Tifa. What's that a symptom of?