Since you mention it, I do see some similarities with VII. Although I think IX does a lot of it better than VII. Kuja actually has a connection with Zidane and rooted in jealousy. Where Cloud's obsession is the opposite and rooted in revenge (the clone part in particular ending up being a false flag for Cloud).

I think a lot of the similarities are superficial. The actual story is quite different. But it's interesting to see common tropes in Final Fantasy games. Lost memories, for example, is extremely common.