Rufus Shinra
Rufus Shinra (ルーファウス神羅, Rūfausu Shinra) is a non-player character in Square Co., Ltd.'s RPG "Final Fantasy VII." His appearance is noted with neatly-groomed blond 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. However after his father's death he becomes the president of the company. His weapon of choice is a double-barreled shotgun. 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.
Personality
Template:Spoiler Rufus is typically regarded as cold-hearted and ruthless. Within society, he is spoken of quite critically. His opinions of how Shin-Ra should conduct its rule over the world — through fear and intimidation rather than money — were considered dangerous by his father, and, as such, great care was taken in preventing them from influencing the company's inner workings.[1][2] He appears to enjoy subterfuge as much as he finds it useful, amusing himself by hiding Jenova's head and having used deception in an attempt to overthrow his old man.[3]
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.
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.[4]
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.
Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII
In the opening flashback of Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII, we learned that after evading death, a comatose Rufus was carried into an ambulance by rescue workers during Meteor's descent above Midgar. It would be revealed later that Rufus didn't suffer any crippling injuries, or grevious scars.
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 in protecting 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 involves the reconstruction of the Shin-Ra Company, which was left leaderless after Final Fantasy VII. Cloud, already hesitant to help Rufus, rejects him outright after Reno's revelation.
Rufus spends most of the film confined to a wheelchair due to the energy draining effects of Geostigma. It should be noted that Rufus has recovered from Diamond Weapon's attack. 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. It's main purposes was to keep Jenova hidden close by so Rufus can use it to his advantage, yet to insure Kadaj could not get it. Despite the wheelchair’s role as a ruse, it was still quite convenient since it also supported Rufus when geostigma rendered him fatigue. This is known because Kazushige Nojima (Scenario Writer for Advent Children) in a interview states that "Rufus can move as much as Denzel can." In a defiant speech addressed to Kadaj — reveals 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 fatigue Rufus is seen resting in his wheelchair once more, until of course he's cured of geostigma by Great Gospel, a cleansing rain sent by the spirit of Aerith Gainsborough.
References
- ^ Studio BentStuff, ed. (2005). Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω (in Japanese). Square-Enix. pp. 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)
- ^ Studio BentStuff, ed. (2005). Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω (in Japanese). Square-Enix. p. 58. ISBN 4-7575-1520-0.
See also
External links
- EMPIRE - The Rufus ShinRa fansite.
- Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω Translations FAQ - Translations from the Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Ω