Rufus Shinra



Rufus Shinra acted as Vice President of the Shin-Ra Corporation through Before Crisis and through most of the Midgar chapter of Final Fantasy VII. He operated out of the Shin-Ra secondary headquarters in Junon.

Story
During Sephiroth's attack on the Shin-Ra Building in Midgar, the Shin-Ra executive Palmer called Junon for help, Rufus responded by hopping a helicopter to Midgar. By the time he arrived, mostly everyone in the building was dead, including President Shinra, Rufus' father.

After a brief fight against Cloud Strife, during which he uses a double-barreled sawed-off shotgun and is accompanied by his Guard Hound, Dark Nation, Rufus flees the building. It is eventually restored and Rufus resumes normal operations as the President of the Shin-Ra Corporation. Unlike his father, who ruled with money and power, Rufus claims that he will rule by fear.

The next time Rufus is seen by AVALANCHE is when they board his cargo ship from Junon to Costa del Sol. He never interacts with them.

His attempts to take control of Cid Highwind's Tiny Bronco airplane are foiled when Cloud's crew help the pilot escape in said plane.

Rufus is encountered again when he is confronted by Cloud at the Northern Crater which the Shinra believe to be the Promised Land. Afterward, he tries to have Tifa Lockhart and Barret Wallace publicly executed to help calm the panic from Sephiroth's summoned Meteor. His plans are foiled when Sapphire WEAPON attacks Junon and causes enough confusion for the two to escape on the Highwind.

Rufus is seen one last time in Final Fantasy VII when he has the Sister Ray cannon moved from Junon to Midgar in order to destroy Diamond WEAPON and the barrier surrounding Sephiroth. As he launches the cannon, Diamond WEAPON launches its own attack on Midgar, which hits on-level with the President's office, from which he is overseeing the operation. Due to the damage, no one can reach the office to find a body, so he is simply presumed dead. However, the opening of Dirge of Cerberus revealed he was alive, being loaded into the helicopter during Meteorfall.

In Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Rufus reveals himself to Cloud and that he was under the protection of the Turks for the two year period, living with them in the Healin Lodge in a wheelchair, covered by a white sheet which is supposedly hiding his Geostigma, being in the final stages of the disease. Rufus explains that his near-death experience opened his eyes to the truth and now desires to undo the chaos his company brought onto the world. Near the movie's climax, he backed up his resolve as he removes the sheet and stands from the wheelchair. The sheet seems to have only been around him to hide the head of Jenova from Kadaj. He has something of a shootout with the villain after throwing the container off the ledge with him and Kadaj plunging after it. Like most of the characters, he is cured of Geostigma at the end, prolonging the life of the Shinra family and Rufus' chance for further redemption.

It is hinted at in the game Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus that he is secretly funding the World Regenesis Organization headed by Reeve Tuesti, who had a feeling his mysterious benefactor was someone who owed a debt to the planet.

Battle
Rufus is fought alongside with his panther-like dog, the Dark Nation.

Rufus Shinra