Junon Statue

On the subject of game objects and Midgar reservoirs,
Ever since my first FFVII playthrough, I've always wondered what this statue was supposed to be:



No label on it in game; my assumption was President Shinra, but given that this is the most significant military base in the game, it could also be Heidegger. Its design is vague, especially the head. It's too fat to be Rufus, who would also likely see it as an obnoxious waste of money.

Any canon on this that anyone is aware of?

From that low-res screen grab, looks like a Spartan . I can see a mohawk helmet thing and a shield. I am probably totally wrong .

If it's an object rather than a part of the prerendered background, perhaps it's more decipherable in the High-Res rerelease (don't have it; IIRC the backgrounds aren't touched much).

Every time I look at that mangled thing I see something different and wackier.

It's identified as a statue of Rufus on pg. 255 of the Ultimania Omega.

Yeah I figured it was Rufus, looking all heroic and shit. I think it's all just part of the celebration.

Ryvius said:

it's too fat to be Rufus,

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Well, damn, I do think I see the coat and I guess that bar isn't a rifle, but a shotgun.

I guess he had to order people to do something to express his ceremonial position title as a teenager. Or maybe it was built during the inauguration. Can't find the scan. The fact that he was always so adamant about wasting money on such ceremonial things (eg, the Shinra rocket, appeasing people) shows how conceited he had to be to have that built.

Although the question has now been answered, now I see a person wearing a crown and a cape. I guess it could easily be Rufus.

Before the Ultimania Omega, the way to figure out that this was Rufus was via the 'Perfect Guide' bonus disc that came with FFVII International. Click on the statue and you can read the name 'Rufus' in Japanese.

He never said that glorifying himself was a waste of money.
He just said it was cheaper to control the common people with fear. I mean, if you're going to be putting gold statues of yourself up all over the place, you need to make economies somewhere.

Ryvius said:

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This needs to be a smiley right now.

LicoriceAllsorts said:

He never said that glorifying himself was a waste of money.
He just said it was cheaper to control the common people with fear. I mean, if you're going to be putting gold statues of yourself up all over the place, you need to make economies somewhere.

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Shinra no. 26, a project that he disdained and viewed as a waste of money, was a similar grandiose and ostensibly impractical display of Shinra's glory, though.

ForceStealer said:

This needs to be a smiley right now.

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Yes. Yes it does.

No one ever said Rufus was modest. I think the giant parade and banners everywhere (his personal logo took resources to design and produce, Rufus isn’t cheap when it comes to his ‘brand”) make that clear. Rufus also likes statues. After Meteor Fall he has that giant memorial statue constructed in the center of Edge.

“What kind of monument?”
“An ostensible kind- A monument to commemorate how the planet repelled the Meteor.”
“An ostensible kind? Then what’s its true purpose?”
“To claim our place.”
“Ah! Having it in the centre of the city means Shinra owns the place! You come up with the best ideas, Boss!” replied Reno.

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Rufus likes to put his name on things and the statue, probably commissioned to mark Rufus’s inauguration, does serve a purpose. Rufus is the new leader and he wants to cement his place in the minds of the people. He wants to build a legend around himself, complete with statues. Rufus knows how to manipulate people and isn't against propaganda.

Ryvius said:

Shinra no. 26, a project that he disdained and viewed as a waste of money, was a similar grandiose and ostensibly impractical display of Shinra's glory, though.

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Shinra's glory isn't Rufus's glory. At the time, Rufus could care less about he well being of the company, burn it for all he cared. Furthermore, the President had established Shinra as a world power and then some, the spectacle wasn't necessary and there were no tangible returns. Whereas, spending on an inauguration ceremony complete with parades and statues helps to establish Rufus in the minds of the people. Also, the cost of the inauguration parades and statues included, is likely substantially less than the space program.

Cameo makes a good point; Rufus pains to distance himself from his father's glory as much as possible, which we automatically assume makes sense considering the type of person Rufus is and his relationship to his pops, but it makes a lot of objective sense as well; there's a lot of smarts with the heir to a big name to distance himself from the shadow of his predecessor, even with the best of intentions.

No one's going to take the head honcho of an organization seriously if everyone measures him against the dude who came before.

Guys, I was joking.

Anyway my headcanon states that the big gold statue was a gift to Rufus from the good burghers of Junon who wanted to express their gratitude for the "Rufus Effect" that had given such a boost to the economy. ("Rufus Effect" is canon, btw). Rufus is a nicely-brought-up young man, so he did the decent thing with this gift. I mean, he could have just put it in his downstairs bathroom, but he didn't want to hurt their feelings.

Fair enough, I get your points in regard to the Space Program thing, Shinra's glory =/= Rufus' personal glory and his own branding for himself. I wasn't really thinking of the distinction before or of the game of separating his legacy from his father's. And no I never said he was modest, I was insisting the opposite because I got thinking of the parade etc. relative to things like the Space Program incident:

The fact that he was always so adamant about wasting money on such ceremonial things (eg, the Shinra rocket, appeasing people) shows how conceited he had to be to have that built.

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LicoriceAllsorts said:

("Rufus Effect" is canon, btw).

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This is true. For those who do not know: Speak to the grunt at the dock in Junon, before Meteor has been summoned.

“Lately the economy
seems to be improving.
Must be the 'Rufus' effect.”
“Cargo ships are always coming
and going from Costa del Sol.”
“I'll forget you're being
stowaways, if you
help with the cargo.”

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