Best President

August 17, 2007, 10:11 AM

Rufus Shinra is a cool president and does a good job in the role but will he ever be as great a president as his father.

President Shinra was the first president of the Shinra Company. He built it from a simple weapons development company to a corporation that controlled the world in a single generation. He was a remarkably capable manager who excelled at the science of predicting human nature and guiding public opinion. It was his theory that one could control the world by grasping the masses' hearts with money. He found the opinions of his son, Rufus, dangerous and ensured that they were kept away from company affairs by assigning him duties in "far away" lands. The President dedicated a large amount of Shinra Inc's resources and money into research of the Cetra with the hope of finding "The Promised Land" and building a powerful Mako Reactor there.

Rufus did have a huge crisis on his hands but its shows at the end of FFVII and the beginning of advent children, Red XIII and his cubs looking down on a midgar that is no longer functional with ultimitely says that Rufus failed to re-build Shinra Inc.

So my question is who is the best president Rufus or his father?

August 17, 2007, 7:31 PM

His father of course. Rufus is a doofus. Plain and simple. Power hungry enemy worthy of hating. Plus he was dumb.

August 17, 2007, 7:48 PM

Obviously Rufus. In FFVII, you're supposed to already hate the previous President Shinra, but find him dead.

Then, they introduce a new president who is even worse than the last, willing to rule by fear rather than money, a certain Rufus Shinra. So Rufus has to be worse, at least for the immediate moment, for the sake of dramatic tension. As a president, business-wise and politically, he also fails in the long run - whereas the former President Shinra was a corrupt official, Rufus was a full-on dictator.

And based on history, which of the two is more likely to meet a violent resistance?

August 18, 2007, 1:53 AM

It is hard to say since you never really see how President Shinra operates... but Rufus is a dufus, as was said before. President Shinra commanded Sephiroth and created the Turks. Even though he died by Sephiroth's hands, I still say he was a much more competent and powerful man than his son.

August 19, 2007, 1:01 PM

I think shinra was the better president but remember rufus is just a newbie and i like the way he does stuff around midgar he fights if he has to fight and in advent children he faced kadaj with cloud and company./

August 19, 2007, 1:21 PM

I'd have to say that Rufus was the better President, he knew there was easier to control people other than using money. Rufus was also able to track down Cloud wherever he went, while his father was unable to find AVALANCHE, Rufus was also able to keep the masses under control while the meteor was falling, and he actually tried to do something about it. And rufus broke the barrier surrounding Sephiroth, while i think his father would have let it remain as long as Sephiroth wasn't a threat to him.

August 19, 2007, 11:11 PM

Interesting topic.

President Shinra's time was short-lived, literally, so we couldn't see much of what he actually did. What we did discover, though, is that he was all-too-quick to cover up Shinra's mistakes, frame and blame AVALANCHE for the collapse of the plate and everything else we saw. We know, from Rufus' small speech, that his father controlled people through fear and money. We ALSO discover something else, in a different game; that President Shinra actually began Deepground and authorised Hojo to conduct such experiments, subsequently creating Hojo and, ironincally, leading to his own demise.

President Rufus, on the other hand, actually wanted people to benefit from Mako energy and simply became blind to everything else in his quest to find the Promised Land. He tried to make up for his mistakes in Advent Children and he even did what he could to get to Sephiroth, presumabely to get rid of him. Whether or not he did it to stop him from taking the Promised Land from him, or because he actually saw him as a threat, I don't know. Regardless of his motivation, he inadertently ended up fighting with your party ... despite attempted and publicised murder xD Although, the justification for that was for the benefit of the people.

So aye. I'm fond of Rufus.

August 20, 2007, 2:32 AM

I didnt see AC.. my personal opinion of both is, President Shinra more than likely would have played the villian much better than Rufus. For some reason I liked Rufus' attitude and his whole "New Age" agenda, it was quite ashame that he was killed. I think in the end it was no longer about mako energy, it was about survival.

August 20, 2007, 9:40 AM

I'm not sure Shin-Ra would've lasted 500 so Rufus could've rebuilt it for all we know. We didn't see much of president shinra so as far as who's personality I prefered, I can't really answer that. I think President shinra did a better job than Rufus.

August 20, 2007, 2:21 PM

Rufus isnt afraid to get his hands dirty as you do see him fight in FF7 and advent children but his father had the fighting done for him, he doesnt look like the type to lift a finger, he was more intelligent and let others do his dirty work.