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Rufus Shinra
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| Rufus Shinra | |
|---|---|
| ルーファウス神羅 Rūfausu Shinra | |
| Gender | Male |
| Species | Human |
| Affiliation | Shinra Electric Power Company |
| Family | President Shinra (father) |
| English voice actor | Wally Wingert |
| Japanese voice actor | Toru Ohkawa |
Rufus Shinra (ルーファウス神羅 Rūfausu Shinra) is a character who appears in Final Fantasy VII and the greater Compilation of Final Fantasy VII series. 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 start of Final Fantasy VII, Rufus was vice president of the Shinra Electric Power Company, a monopoly corporation and "de facto" world government. After his father's death, he becomes the president of the company.
History[edit]
Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII[edit]
Appearing infrequently in Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, Rufus is secretively supplying funding and information to AVALANCHE as an "anonymous benefactor," while suggesting to the Turks that there may be a leak in the company. He intended to use AVALANCHE to kill his father so that he could become President of the Shinra Company. The plan failed, though Rufus continued scheming.
Rufus is in attendance in Rocket Town during the first attempt to launch a rocket into space. It is here that Rufus and the President argue about Shinra's direction causing serious tension within the company.
Final Fantasy VII[edit]
In Final Fantasy VII, Rufus's role serves as a frequent antagonist to the party while simultaneously attempting to undermine the plans of Sephiroth. When news of his father's death reached him, Rufus arrived at Shinra 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.
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 took 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, WEAPONs, which had gone on a rampage. The Diamond WEAPON later appeared from beneath the sea and approached Midgar. Though the WEAPON was unable to reach the city due to the interference of AVALANCHE it fired many energy blasts toward Midgar in the seconds before its demise. The Sister Ray fired a shot to destroy the barrier over the Northern Crater and it went straight through the Diamond WEAPON; several of the shots fired hit the Shinra building. Among those areas struck were Rufus' office on the 70th floor from where he was watching the proceedings. As far as the public and the Shinra Board of Directors knew at the time, Rufus was dead.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children[edit]
Rufus soon made his presence known in Final Fantasy VII Advent Children when he summoned Cloud to act as a bodyguard. Cloud was shocked that Rufus was still alive but was not interested in how he survived the WEAPON’s attack on Midgar. Rufus became one of many to have contracted the fatal illness known as Geostigma. 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 Shinra. Cloud, already hesitant to help Rufus, rejects him outright upon this “revelation" Later, Kadaj approaches him personally, telling Rufus that he doesn't like it when people lie to him. Rufus then accompanies Kadaj to Edge, and in a shock move 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 and perhaps his injuries sustained in the Diamond WEAPON attack on Midgar. However Rufus later proves to be far more resilient than he was letting on. He is able to walk, and the wheelchair was only part of his performance. However, it also served other practical uses. Rufus did suffer from Geostigma, thus he would be weak and he could also use the chair to conceal Jenova’s head from Kadaj. Rufus also spends most of the film 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 the box containing Jenova's remains.
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 spent Rufus is seen resting in his wheelchair once more, and is cured of Geostigma by Great Gospel, a cleansing rain sent by the spirit of Aerith.
Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII[edit]
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 after Diamond WEAPON's attack on Midgar.
As well, Vincent Valentine inquires to Reeve Tuesti as to the World Regenesis Organization's wealthy benefactor. Reeve honestly states that he doesn't know who the person is or care what their motives are, as long as he or she continues to cut the checks. When probed further, Reeve conjectures that whoever is funding the World Regenesis Organization 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.
Personality[edit]
In Final Fantasy VII, Rufus is depicted as callous, cold-hearted and ruthless. His views on how Shinra 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. But by Advent Children it seems Rufus has reformed and is dedicated to helping the regeneration of the planet. 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.
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