• There are currently leaks out on the internet for FFVII Rebirth; we have received legal notice about these being posted on the forums. Do not post any images, videos, or other media, or links to them from FFVII Rebirth or the artbook. Any leaked media or links to them will be deleted.Repeat offenders will be suspended.
    Please help us out by reporting any leaks, and do not post spoilers outside of the spoiler section.

Is FF7 happening in real life?

Nandemoyasan

Standing guard
AKA
Johnny
lifestream.png

The climate is being destroyed by power-and-money-hungry businesspeople... but I guess we don't have any magical colored orbs that give us superhuman abilities. Also, there isn't enough mousse in the world for a hairdo like that.

But it seems close enough. I wonder when the resistance groups will start forming? What do you think?
 

LNK

Pro Adventurer
AKA
Nate
View attachment 3827

The climate is being destroyed by power-and-money-hungry businesspeople... but I guess we don't have any magical colored orbs that give us superhuman abilities. Also, there isn't enough mousse in the world for a hairdo like that.

But it seems close enough. I wonder when the resistance groups will start forming? What do you think?
O
View attachment 3827

The climate is being destroyed by power-and-money-hungry businesspeople... but I guess we don't have any magical colored orbs that give us superhuman abilities. Also, there isn't enough mousse in the world for a hairdo like that.

But it seems close enough. I wonder when the resistance groups will start forming? What do you think?
There are groups out there, but like you said, we don't have super human abilities. The only thing that we can do is (sadly) wait until the old politicians faze out.
 
There's Extinction Rebellion. But also, you know, the resistance groups won't always necessarily look like the good guys.

I was listening to some NASA scientists reminiscing about the moon landings on the radio today. One of them stated with absolute conviction that we have the ability to deflect any meteor or asteroid that's on a collision course for earth.

The very rich are all busy preparing their private arks to make sure they survive the apocalypse. The difference between them and Pres Shinra is that Pres Shinra didn't foresee either of the apocalypses threatening their world: the death of the planet, or the summoning of meteor. He really believed in the Promised Land.
 

Ite

Save your valediction (she/her)
AKA
Ite
I wrote a long bit about the corporate-mandated puppet state but this article goes into it better so here’s a link and an undoctored photograph of the basic point:

1564187668183.jpeg

Folks here have disagreed on whether Mako is an allegory for fossil fuels. I see the relation between the two quite clearly. Both are quickly depleting finite resources that continue to be used only because of the right wing propaganda machine that serves the shallow-minded instant gratification toad people that make up the 1%.

Most people in the world are fast asleep. Nothing short of mass murder and terrorism is going to change things. Knowing this, the awake people find themselves impotent.
 

Rydeen

In-KWEH-dible
This is why I appreciate the game even more as time goes on, rather than less. I personally believe that FFVII is more relevant now than ever - how many games can you say that about? When I first played the game in middle school 13 years ago, it was the first game I ever played that wasn't just cool, but felt relevant to me. It indulged my bitter, rebellious sensibilities, growing up in a place with high income inequality, big business, pollution, and disrespect for life. It also made me question Christianity for the first time, but that's not relevant to the thread. I always knew from that age that the modern world, already resembling FFVII, would unfortunately become more, rather than less like it. And unfortunately that many innocents will always be punished due to the actions of those in power.

The game goes on to point out that people are complacent, because these bad business practices gave them (except for the poor, of course), a more luxurious quality of life. I see so many people talk/post about the "poor animals" but participate just as eagerly in the consumerism that's destroying the ecosystem as anyone else. They don't want to change their lifestyle. They want platitudes and excuses.

@LicoriceAllsorts, that actually made me laugh out loud. I've always thought of President Shinra as like, a more polite and well spoken version of Trump.

While I don't necessarily agree with the article's analog to Rufus, the parts of his argument that are not incorrect are interesting. There's also not that much character development to go off in the OG.
 
Last edited:
I'm an unashamed Rufus apologist, but I'm well aware he really is a bit of a bastard in the OG. Innocent, 'disposable' people being crushed by the steamroller of the powerful is a universal constant of history, sad to say. In fact, there's been less of it about these last two hundred years in the west than in any previous age. Those of us lucky enough to live in western liberal democracies have been extraordinarily fortunate to live in a time and place when ordinary human beings have some rights.

Your comment about everybody but the poor leading a more luxurious life reminded me of the fact that many people in the Midgar slums make a living picking over stuff that drops from the plate above. I don't know if there's even been a neater analogy for trickle-down economics! And I agree with you that the characterisations of the general public, as represented through all the NPCs, are scarily realistic when compared with the reactions of so many people today. Nobody wants to give up their lifestyle, and in their heart of hearts they don't believe it will ever really come to that.
 

Rydeen

In-KWEH-dible
OG Rufus is: entitled, egocentric, and rules through fear based rhetoric. That is very Trump-like, but the similarities end there. President Shinra is entitled, egocentric, emotional, impractical, known for constantly perving on women, and is very ostentatious/wasteful, so I think there are more qualities in common with President Shinra. But the ruling with fear thing is definitely a Rufus thing and definitely an important characteristic of the current political climate. I feel that at least in The States, we have made a similar transition between those two political philosophies.

I don't remember that bit about people under the plate scavenging for fallen items. I wonder if the analogy was intentional.

I remember reading in Case of Barrett how people weren't so much turned off by mako because it wasn't right, but rather because they were scared. Way to prove douchey-OG-Rufus right lol.
 
I guess one difference for me is that Rufus seemed (to me) to be suggesting that the people should be made afraid of Shinra, whereas the current administration in the USA (and elsewhere) is manipulating fear of 'the other'. Trump really does use the rhetoric of 'trust in me and you'll have a great life', which is very much Shinra Snr's line. Not to mention the 'let's do shitty stuff and then blame it on terrorists' line.
 

Rydeen

In-KWEH-dible
I think this hearkens back to the discussion from the other thread where I pondered that we don't actually know all that much about the specifics of OG Rufus' political beliefs. I think he wants people to be afraid of Shinra, but more afraid of Shinra's enemies. Both Shinras scapegoat, but that's just politics. Trump is an ironic figure, because he encourages people to be afraid of the American government, except for the people in his administration, which will, according to him, take care of you and protect you from those 'damn Mexicans and terrorists.' Trump seems to bounce between both philosophies whenever convenient. Then again, so does President Shinra. He wants to blame the plate drop on terrorists, eliciting fear, but also wants to cover up Sephiroth's escapades, probably because they specifically reflect on Shinra.
 
Last edited:

Roger

He/him
AKA
Minato
President Shinra is entitled, egocentric, emotional, impractical, known for constantly perving on women, and is very ostentatious/wasteful, so I think there are more qualities in common with President Shinra.

I think you are projecting Trump characteristics on President Shinra without any basis here. He has all of four scenes in the original game, he doesn't perve on women in any of them. We never see him lose his temper or panic, I dunno where emotional is coming from either.
 

Rydeen

In-KWEH-dible
I think you are projecting Trump characteristics on President Shinra without any basis here. He has all of four scenes in the original game, he doesn't perve on women in any of them. We never see him lose his temper or panic, I dunno where emotional is coming from either.

Mostly the compilation. In the OG he frequented the Honey Bee Inn and dressed up as a king for a kink (pretty sure it was unused code though), and in the compilation he has two known illegitimate sons. It's been a long time since I've watched BC so I could be skewing this in my head, but I remember him being sort of emotional. Maybe that isn't the right word? More attached to dogma not based in logic.

But I guess it's confusing because I was talking about OG Rufus and then went on to compilation President Shinra. I left post-meteor-compilation Rufus out of it since there was too much character change and it's irrelevant.
 
Last edited:

Roger

He/him
AKA
Minato
Mostly the compilation. In the OG he frequented the Honey Bee Inn and dressed up as a king for a kink (pretty sure it was unused code though), and in the compilation he has two known illegitimate sons. It's been a long time since I've watched BC so I could be skewing this in my head, but I remember him being sort of emotional. Maybe that isn't the right word? More attached to dogma not based in logic.

But I guess it's confusing because I was talking about OG Rufus and then went on to compilation President Shinra. I left post-meteor-compilation Rufus out of it since there was too much character change and it's irrelevant.

He's been unfaithful to his wife. Constantly perving on women I'd say is quite different. We have no idea what the relationship between President Shinra and Lazard and Evan's mothers were like.

I don't know if I find his acts lacking logic. He conquered the world, there were certainly false steps he took along the way. The strategy he employed everywhere didn't work as well in Wutai. He blamed the platedrop on AVALANCHE and it killed a lot of the organisation and a lot of people believed it was AVALANCHE's fault. His hypothesis about the Promised Land being rich with mako energy has merit, the only place exec board discovered that fit the bill was in an inhospitable area. So impractical I can give you but there's certainly logic behind all the decisions that we define President Shinra by.
 
The "President" in the Honeybee Inn is not President Shinra, he's another company president who's come to Midgar to have a meeting with Pres Shinra, and his flunkeys are worried they're going to be late for this:'
Second Speaker: ...whisper... whisper... (We have a luncheon with President Shinra...)
First Speaker: Psst...... (You tell him......)
...
Second Speaker: Psst...... (I'm so disgusted with the President.) ......the sought after Promised Land......
First Speaker: Psst...... (It's like this every time we have a business trip to Midgar.) ......One with Blue Eyes...
First Speaker: (We come all the way to Midgar, just for this...)

There's a line in the Turks side-novel where it states that Annette Townsend received a much bigger pay-off than the President's other mistresses (because she was expecting a child), making it sound as if the President had an awful lot of flings with the typing pool.

President Shinra was a pretty despicable human being but quite a successful ruler. If it hadn't been for Sephiroth and if it hadn't been for the company's total failure to fully understand the effect of mako extraction on the planet, the age of Shinra might have really been a golden age for most people.
 

LNK

Pro Adventurer
AKA
Nate
I think this hearkens back to the discussion from the other thread where I pondered that we don't actually know all that much about the specifics of OG Rufus' political beliefs. I think he wants people to be afraid of Shinra, but more afraid of Shinra's enemies. Both Shinras scapegoat, but that's just politics. Trump is an ironic figure, because he encourages people to be afraid of the American government, except for the people in his administration, which will, according to him, take care of you and protect you from those 'damn Mexicans and terrorists.' Trump seems to bounce between both philosophies whenever convenient. Then again, so does President Shinra. He wants to blame the plate drop on terrorists, eliciting fear, but also wants to cover up Sephiroth's escapades, probably because they specifically reflect on Shinra.
Yeah, Trump flip flops every day. It's hard for me to stay interested in politics because it's always a new lie, a new fear tactic, etc. I'm a union worker, so I'm thrusted into the politics, but damn. It is disheartening to see someone who is supposed to be leading us, doing and saying the things he does. What's worse, is just like in Midgar, there are people who believe that the administration has our best interests at heart. Especially when it comes to "terrorism."
 

Lex

Administrator
This has just occurred to me: is it possible that President Shinra was actually based on Trump? Trump was obviously famous enough during the development cycle at the time for this to have been the case. I know I know, FFVII is Japanese but FF is obviously western-influenced all over the place.
 

Ite

Save your valediction (she/her)
AKA
Ite
I thought that back when I first played but I can’t find a source to back up that assumption. And certainly now I don’t think they’d comment on it. But since the 80s he has been the international face of Wall Street.
 

Rydeen

In-KWEH-dible
Glad I wasn't crazy for thinking the same thing ever since I played the OG, because President Shinra is a lot more cultured and "classy," at least in demeanor... He's no Biff Tannen, but there are just enough of commonalities to raise the question. Trump didn't always have the image of a blubbering baffoon across the world. Then he got political. :monster:
 

Ite

Save your valediction (she/her)
AKA
Ite
Yeah when he joined the tea party or whatever those birthey ppl were was the first time I was like “Oh, the Wall Street shark guy is now old and senile. Time for him to retire to the dining car, I guess.” Then he did the opposite of that lol. But before that, his public image was exactly what he wanted it to be: a mogul, impossibly wealthy and powerful — and cunning.
 

LNK

Pro Adventurer
AKA
Nate
I played 9 before 7, and at the point I had never really heard of Trump. I was 18, but never watched anything he was a part of. Was too focused on girls and basketball lol
 

LNK

Pro Adventurer
AKA
Nate
Yeah when he joined the tea party or whatever those birthey ppl were was the first time I was like “Oh, the Wall Street shark guy is now old and senile. Time for him to retire to the dining car, I guess.” Then he did the opposite of that lol. But before that, his public image was exactly what he wanted it to be: a mogul, impossibly wealthy and powerful — and cunning.
As I've gotten older I've realized we all have a different perceptions on things though. Trump is a mogul, wealthy and powerful. But, in my opinion, he's a narcissist, bigot, ruthless, and just all around bad human being. To other people, he is a great "God" fearing man.

To a lot of people Shinra was the same way. Yes, using mako energy benefited the people, but at what sacrifice? By doing so, the planets lifespan is shortened drastically. One day, future generations are going to have to deal with the consequences
 
It is true that everybody has different perceptions, but perceptions are not always accurate. Perception does not equal truth. And anybody who thinks Trump is a god-fearing man is wilfully deluding themselves. I'd be astonished to learn he believed in god. But he's good at pretending to be whatever people need him to be.
I never saw Trump as anything but tasteless, vulgar and faintly ridiculous. It absolutely floored me to learn that people thought he was some kind of financial wizard and that his name had become a desireable brand synonymous with style and glamour. I mean, even that name, 'trump' - it means a fart. Even before he entered politics, I wouldn't have been caught dead living in a Trump Tower or wearing anything with the Trump name on it.
The episode of Netflix's Dirty Money that deals with Trump is illuminating.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ite

LNK

Pro Adventurer
AKA
Nate
"Perception does not equal truth. And anybody who thinks Trump is a god-fearing man is wilfully deluding themselves. I'd be astonished to learn he believed in god. But he's good at pretending to be whatever people need him to be. "

Oh, I agree with you, I'm just saying how he is perceived. Most of the people I've talked to that STILL actually support him, just don't care anymore. They just can't fathom an alternative. While I don't agree with how democrats have dealt with him being President, he is definitely a bad person. I just don't like our two party system.

"It absolutely floored me to learn that people thought he was some kind of financial wizard and that his name had become a desireable brand synonymous with style and glamour "

Same here! I had union coworkers support him without even knowing he is a big union buster. After giving them information, they changed their mind

"
Even before he entered politics, I wouldn't have been caught dead living in a Trump Tower or wearing anything with the Trump name on it.
The episode of Netflix's Dirty Money that deals with Trump is illuminating. "

Me either! i don't have netflix, but I'll have to check it out.
 
Top Bottom