Final Fantasy 7 is noted for deconstructing many tropes that were common by that time in RPG's. I do think one thing that could be said about the deconstruction part is the character of Rufus. Even though we don't think about it much, but Rufus' presence in the story shows that just because you kill the big head of the operations doesn't mean it will tumble the empire or corrupt company. Even though Rufus develops into a better character than his father, his first appearance in the game is gloating about ruling through fear. So, it shows that even the successor afterwards can keep up the status quo rather than really change anything.
I agree! That twist was very prescient in the context of other 90s games too. The old thinking was: once Ganon is gone, once Bowser is stomped, once Count Von Wolfenstein has been staked, the game should be over, right? The “he was the main villain all along” trope is used in FFVII with Sephiroth, taking his cue from Kefka, who *spoilers etc.* However, for FFVII, the problem of Shinra and fossil fuels the exploitation of the Planet for capital gain isn’t removed by Sephiroth’s grand entrance. It’s an inherited problem, because Shinra’s evil is, in the end, systemic, and it can’t be pinned all on one person. That’s why getting to know (and occasionally admire) Rufus and his actions is so cool!
The main thing FF7 did was just put 10 times as much thought into the details of the society it was depicting. It has clear political and economic structures that affect the world in understandable ways. Most of the previous games in the series, and all RPGs since then, don't even bother doing this. They usually just lazily default onto a kind of romanticized feudal society, which would never actually exist anywhere but is nice to imagine.
The Rufus thing probably wasn't intended to be deconstructing tropes. They probably just realised they'd created a much more complex fictional society, and that the behaviour would need to change to match it. It's very hard to change the direction of a heavily institutionalized corporation, but fairly easy to change the direction of a feudal society ruled by "Divine Right of Kings", it happened in medieval Europe all the time. There's actually a chapter in Machievelli's The Prince on the issue. He pointed out that those types of society were very good for invading because you could change their political direction fairly easily.
The main thing FF7 did was just put 10 times as much thought into the details of the society it was depicting. It has clear political and economic structures that affect the world in understandable ways. Most of the previous games in the series, and all RPGs since then, don't even bother doing this. They usually just lazily default onto a kind of romanticized feudal society, which would never actually exist anywhere but is nice to imagine.
The Rufus thing probably wasn't intended to be deconstructing tropes. They probably just realised they'd created a much more complex fictional society, and that the behaviour would need to change to match it. It's very hard to change the direction of a heavily institutionalized corporation, but fairly easy to change the direction of a feudal society ruled by "Divine Right of Kings", it happened in medieval Europe all the time. There's actually a chapter in Machievelli's The Prince on the issue. He pointed out that those types of society were very good for invading because you could change their political direction fairly easily.
That's a good point, and it really shows how Midgar's urban setting would be different from the medieval fantasies we had seen up until this point. I still say it does have some reality ensues elements to it. Not to mention mass media can be used to paint themselves as benevolent to the masses. In this day and age of social media, it would have helped Shinra keep up their images.
I remember playing FFVII the first time and thinking "Welp, blood is everywhere, the president is dead and everyone else is an idiot, guess Shinra is finished." Cue Rufus, then I'm thinking "Who the hell is this carrot top?" ... "Omg he pulled a Schwarzenegger.. I think I like this guy."
Shinra with social media... O.O a scary thought. Wonder if they’ll address that with the remake, or if they’ll keep to the 1990s-meets-1930s aesthetic.
How dare you! *sweeps orange hair, while pulling a shotgun out from the billowing tails of a dashing double-breasted white coat.* Dark Nation, sic 'em.
The Disc One Final Boss thing has been a a recurring thing in Final Fantasy. However, unlike in previous games like FF6, when Kefka betrays Gestahl and that is the end of the empire. It takes a while for Shrina to really have it's foundation rocked, and it ironically comes from one of the products of their own creation (Sepiroth through Hojo).
Also you are right about social media being a great tool for Shinra. I think in Crisis Core we saw a budding version of it. So, it would be out of the deal to have it in the remake.
I know it was a bit hyperbolistic, but Rufus is a character that irks me. He talks a big game, and then doesn't act on it. The plot likes to forget he exists until they need some convenient character to shove the plot forward while chasing Sephiroth. His behavior also is very...strange. I understand the sentiment of "If you want something, you do it yourself," but does the mission to track down Sephiroth really require his personal involvement on the scene? Whose doing his job while he's gone? Hiedagar? Scarlette? Reeve? Mayor Domino?
I figure that under his father's rule, SOLDIER and the Turks would be deployed. And Rufus *is* sending the Turks after them all too. But trust in the SOLDIER program has been understandably rocked. I don't really remember CC, but wasn't sending SOLDIER after SOLDIER not a great call for Shinra in the end? If I were Rufus, I'd only be sending myself. I think it works in the comic-book logic way that FFVII sometimes relies on. Rufus thinks he's hot shit, and he pays the price for it.
What IS his job? Aside from being devilishly handsome? I mean, these sorts of corporations practically run themselves.
Maybe Rufus thinks that if he's chasing Sephiroth, Sephiroth can't sneak up on him from behind and stab him like a skewer. Or maybe it's just me, but his insistence on leading the hunt himself totally made sense to me. He's clearly the most competent person on the board, not that that's saying much. It IS nice to see him get blasted in the face by Weapon, but it's also nice that he survived.
Before the untimely demise of President Shinra, in the original game, it's stated that the city of Junon was Rufus Shinra's given domain. He was in charge of the military installation and battery that looms over original town beneath it. As Vice-President of Shinra Inc, his office headquarters were in Junon and his given job was basically overseeing the military operations of the Shinra Company that were stationed there. Particularly, anything having to do with the airbase that was located in that location.
However, that wasn't always the case. Since back in Before Crisis, Rufus Shinra was a sitting member of the Shinra Inc Executive Board and was a leading adviser to President Shinra and part of all meetings. Presumably, given his previous role as
financier of AVALANCHE and his attempted coup of the Shinra Company,
his daddy thought it was best he was given a more limited role within the company, somewhere far away from the main dealings of the company in Midgar.
With all that in mind, Rufus Shinra's aesthetic and personality fits perfectly. He's far more ruthless in regards to overseeing the company since he never was interested in just the company's profits or attempts at harvesting Mako. He's more militaristic, ruthless and willing to utilize the company's weapon power to achieve his ends. He's been stuck in Junon for awhile, and given his youth and experience, he's very comfortable fully embracing his role as President of the company, while also traveling within the very airship that was stationed at the airbase he controls. His newfound role and responsibility at apprehending and defeating Sephiroth allows him the means to not only flex Shinra's military power, but also feel out what full control of the company is like. Since that's what he's wanted for a very long time.
As a villain, I always saw him more as a rival to the heroes than outright villain since after President Shinra's death and Sephiroth's return, most of Shinra's resources focus on tailing and defeating Sephiroth. From that point on, Rufus is determined to be the one that beats Sephiroth since it would serve as a display of power and control, while also cementing his legacy as the next head of the company. To me, he always came off as ruthlessly ambitious and determined. And exceptionally Machiavellian. Even after his "redemption" post FFVII, he's certainly not just helping to rebuild the world out of a feeling of contrition and benevolence. He's pragmatic and realizes that if he's to have any sort of future and means of control in the new world, he will have to play the role of "redeemed villain" and work to help better the world. Because, even if the WRO is the main force restoring the world, he's their main financier and he definitely intends to keep the name of "Shinra" at the forefront of business in the world.
"it's stated that the city of Junon was Rufus Shinra's given domain. He was in charge of the military installation and battery that looms over original town beneath it. As Vice-President of Shinra Inc, his office headquarters were in Junon and his given job was basically overseeing the military operations of the Shinra Company that were stationed there."
Where is this stated? I have looked and looked and I can't find any evidence of it in the canon.
If this is canon, then he must have held this role during the extremely brief interval between his release from the Turks' custody and the assassination of his father. According to the timeline on the wiki, Rufus was released in October, μγλ 007, and President Shinra was killed sometime in December. That wiki timeline is not entirely accurate, but in this case it's accurate enough for us to know that Rufus' posting to Junon can't have lasted more than three months.
He barely had time to settle into the job.
I think one way of interpreting this story is that, a lot of the time, Rufus didn't know what he was doing - but he knew he had to give the impression that he did. Nobody could guess that he was making it up as he went along. That's my headcanon, anyway. His world was in disarray and he couldn't entirely trust his fellow board members. They were all his father's appointees. He had some sound political instincts, for a would-be autocrat. I have no doubt that in his heart he believes the world belongs to him. It's what he was taught to believe as a small child, and those character-forming lessons stay with us forever.
If you talk to numerous soldier and Shinra NPCs in Junon, they say repeatedly that Rufus was the one who originally was in charge of the installation. That was his home base. It's why his military parade and celebration of his ascent in the Shinra Company was thrown in Junon, and not say... Midgar. That's his main office. His base. His seat of power, so to speak.
Loath though I am to contradict you, I can't find any evidence of that in the scripts I can find online, and I have no memory of it from my numerous playthroughs. If you could tell me where I could see the actual dialogue, I'd be really grateful. I'm not able to play the game right now, otherwise I'd load it up and check it out myself.
The only NPC comment in Junon (in the original game) of interest to more esoteric Rufus Shinra lore is from an NPC at the cargo ship harbor.
English said:
“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.”
From this comment it would be natural to assume that Rufus has a special interest in the transportations between Costa del Sol and Junon, but really there is lots of room for filling in the gaps and deciding more precise headcanons out of that. Because of how much time Rufus spends in Junon, both on disc 1 and on disc 2, it's also natural to associate him with that location. Indeed, with Junon being the second-largest city in the world after Midgar, it makes sense that the leader of the Shinra company would continuously move between Midgar and Junon.
It is also true that this one room in Junon seemingly contains a statue of Rufus Shinra. In-game you wouldn't know for certain due to the low resolution of the art, but the FFVII International Bonus Disc and Ultimania Omega (page 255) gives me this impression.
ルーファウス像
"Rufus Statue"
It makes more sense to me at least to assume that this is a statue in the likeness of Rufus, rather than a statue of some random person that Rufus just happens to own.
As a final aside, there is also this comment from one of the bikini ladies at Costa del Sol.
English said:
“Hey!
President Rufus came here yesterday.”
“He used to be the President's little boy.
We nicknamed him the little Prez!”
“He didn't look much different
than the surfers on the beach.”
I can't speak with certainty about the exact meanings of this quote (especially since I can't read Japanese) but it nevertheless reinforces what we already know: The plot likes to link Rufus to Costa del Sol and Junon.
You're a true scholar, Shademp. You're absolutely right that the game likes to associate Rufus with Junon (he has two big scenes there), and the effect of this association is so powerful that some fans have assumed a more detailed canonical association than there actually is. For example, many fans thought Rufus was held under house arrest in Junon during his four years of imprisonment by the Turks, despite there being zero evidence for this, and some evidence that he was in fact in Midgar all the time.
I know the Rufus effect quote. I didn't know the quote about the 'little Prez'.
You're a true scholar, Shademp. You're absolutely right that the game likes to associate Rufus with Junon (he has two big scenes there), and the effect of this association is so powerful that some fans have assumed a more detailed canonical association than there actually is. For example, many fans thought Rufus was held under house arrest in Junon during his four years of imprisonment by the Turks, despite there being zero evidence for this, and some evidence that he was in fact in Midgar all the time.
I know the Rufus effect quote. I didn't know the quote about the 'little Prez'.
Rufus doesn't really get involved in the chase personally, the only thing he does is try to swipe the Tiny Bronco. When there's a real risk of encountering Sephiroth, (in the Temple) he sends the Turks instead. I think the logic is just the logistical difficulty of moving large amounts of troops, small groups can move faster, so the plan is to use the Highwind and/or Bronco to find Sephy, and then call in the big guns.
Re those quotes, they seem to be just referring to the military parades, bringing that many troops through Junon will boost the economy because they all go shopping when off duty.
The only outright incompetent Exec is Palmer, and even that may be questionable. There's a little moment when you sneak up behind him in Rocket Town where he seems to be dropping the mask.
