Rufus Shinra
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Rufus Shinra (ルーファウス神羅 Rūfausu Shinra?) is a non-player character in Square's RPG Final Fantasy VII. His appearance is marked by neatly-groomed blonde hair, blue eyes and a white three-piece suit with a distinctive double-breasted jacket. At the beginning of the game he is the Vice President of the Shin-Ra Electric Power Company, a monopoly corporation and "de facto" world government. After his father's death, he becomes the president of the company. In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, a CGI film set two years after the end of the original game, he is voiced by Toru Ohkawa in the original Japanese film and Wally Wingert in the English dub. His weapon of choice in Final Fantasy VII is a double-barreled shotgun. In Advent Children, he wields a handgun.
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[edit] Personality
In Final Fantasy VII, Rufus is depicted as callous, cold-hearted and ruthless.[1] His views on how Shin-Ra should conduct its rule over the world — through fear and intimidation rather than money — were considered dangerous by his father, and great care was taken to prevent them from influencing the company's inner workings.[2][3] He appears to enjoy subterfuge as much as he finds it useful, with his concealment of Jenova's head and use of deception in an attempt to overthrow his father.[4]
[edit] Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII
Appearing infrequently in Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, Rufus is secretively supplying funding and information to AVALANCHE as an "anonymous benefactor," intending to encourage them to kill his father so that he could become President of the Shin-Ra Company. This plan failed, though Rufus continued scheming.
[edit] Final Fantasy VII
Rufus' role in Final Fantasy VII is mainly that of serving as a frequent antagonist for the heroes (the new AVALANCHE group), while simultaneously attempting to undermine the plans of the game's main villain, Sephiroth. When news of his father's death reached him, Rufus arrived at Shin-Ra headquarters via helicopter, and greets Cloud Strife and his companions. While there, he quickly delivers his opening address as the new president, making it known that — with his father dead — he intended for the company to adopt his own philosophy. After a brief battle with Cloud, Rufus escapes, taking up pursuit of Sephiroth in the hopes of discovering the Cetra's fabled "Promised Land" first.[5]
Throughout the game, Rufus dispatches the Turks to carry out various missions, including intercepting AVALANCHE's movements and guarding various operations. In the latter half of the game, Rufus ironically takes up the role of defending the Planet's people from fear and chaos by attempting to destroy Sephiroth's Meteor spell and the Planet's own self-defense mechanism, the WEAPONs, which had gone on a rampage. One of these guardians (Diamond WEAPON) later appears from beneath the sea and approaches Midgar in an attempt to stop the Sister Ray (a mako-powered cannon) from firing at the Northern Crater. Though the WEAPON is unable to prevent this due to the interference of AVALANCHE — and is itself cut down by the Sister Ray's beam — it fires many energy blasts toward Midgar in the seconds before its demise, several of which hit the Shin-Ra building. Among those areas struck were Rufus' office on the 70th floor, from where he was watching the proceedings. As far as the public knew at the time, Rufus was dead.
[edit] Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Rufus soon made his presence known in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children when he had Reno bring him Cloud, who was shocked that Rufus was still alive. Rufus became one of many to have contracted the fatal illness known as "Geostigma." He attempts to recruit Cloud to act as a bodyguard to protect him from Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz. Rufus claims that he has reformed and is seeking the restoration of the world since it was his company that so greatly contributed to its decay. However, as revealed by Reno of the Turks, this plan also involved the reconstruction of the Shin-Ra Company. Cloud, already hesitant to help Rufus, rejects him outright after Reno's revelation. Later, Kadaj approaches him personally after easily defeating Reno and Rude, telling Shinra that he doesn't like it when people lie to him. He is separated from Reno and Rude when he accompanies Kadaj when he goes to Edge, and later reveals that he had the remains of Jenova with him all along.
Rufus spends most of the film seemingly confined to a wheelchair due to the energy draining effects of Geostigma. He is also cloaked with a white sheet, ostensibly to hide the effects of his condition from others. In truth, however, the sheet was being used to conceal a box containing Jenova's remains, which Kadaj and his companions were seeking. Despite appearances, Rufus later proves to be far more resilient than he was letting on. It's important to note that Rufus is able to walk, and that the wheelchair was only part of his performance. Its main purpose was to keep Jenova hidden close by so Rufus could use it to his advantage, and to ensure Kadaj could not get it. Despite the wheelchair’s role as a ruse, it still has a purpose, as Rufus is still not in the best shape due to Geostigma.[6]. In a defiant speech addressed to Kadaj, it is revealed that Rufus is sincere in his reformation, having learned of the Lifestream and acknowledged its authority over the Planet. After a brief showdown with Kadaj a worn-out Rufus is seen resting in his wheelchair once more, until he is cured of Geostigma by Great Gospel, a cleansing rain sent by the spirit of Aerith Gainsborough.
[edit] Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII
In the opening flashback of Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, we learned that after evading death, an unconscious Rufus was carried into an ambulance by rescue workers during Meteor's descent above Midgar.
As well, Vincent inquires to Reeve Tuesti as to the World Regenesis Organization's wealthy benefactor. Reeve honestly states that he doesn't care whatever the person's motives are, as long as he or she continues to cut the checks. When probed further, Reeve conjectures that whoever is funding the WRO is someone who feels "a debt to the planet," a near word-for-word quote of one of Rufus' lines from Advent Children, leading players to believe that not only was Rufus truly reformed in Advent Children, he is actively working to undo the damage done to the planet.
[edit] References
- ^ Barret: Execution!? What're ya gonna get by executin' us? / Rufus: You are to be executed for causing this situation. People are ignorant. They'll feel better as long as someone is punished. / Barret: I take back what little praise I had for this damn jackass! / Rufus: Well, enjoy your last moments together. (Final Fantasy VII)
- ^ (2005) Studio BentStuff: Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω (in Japanese). Square-Enix, 56, 58. ISBN 4-7575-1520-0.
- ^ Rufus: ...Old man tried to control the world with money. It seems to have been working. The population thought that Shinra would protect them. Work at Shinra, get your pay. If a terrorist attacks, the Shinra army will help you. It looks perfect on the outside. But, I do things differently. I'll control the world with fear. It takes too much to do it like my old man. (Final Fantasy VII)
- ^ Kadaj: Please, sir, is that your excuse for going after mother yourself? You don't seem all that sorry. / Rufus: Sorry? Why, I've never had this much fun. (Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children)
- ^ (2005) Studio BentStuff: Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω (in Japanese). Square-Enix, 58. ISBN 4-7575-1520-0.
- ^ (2006) Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children -Reunion Files- (in Japanese). Square-Enix.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- EMPIRE - The Rufus ShinRa fansite.
- Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω Translations FAQ - Translations from the Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω
