"I heard that no one's ever seen him bleed or cry."
----Aerith Gainsborough

"I wonder what sort of person he is..."
----Tifa Lockeart

"He likes to make speeches just like his father."
----Tifa Lockheart

In Depth (History)

Nothing is really known about this guy's childhood. It's like he just belonged to a royal family and everything is confidential. But he is the son of the most powerful and influential man on the Planet: President ShinRa. His mother was not mentioned at all in the game; nobody knows who or where she is... but several rumours arise from this (the most popular one is that President ShinRa killed her in front of Rufus).
As mentioned by Barret, Rufus must've been sent away to another place away from Midgar where his father was. It could be in Junon. It could be in Nibelheim... or even in Costa del Sol... wherever.
Rufus is cold, but he has this really nice laughter which sounds like "Heh, Heh, Heh...".
If you fight with him, you can't petrify him, you can't even use bad breath. Judging from that plus the way he speaks and moves around, you could say that he's such a stiff person.
He wears white. All white. Black turtle neck underneath... and brown shoes.
During those times when his father was still alive, he was just the Vice President of the ShinRa Electric Power Company; however, as soon as his Old Man (as he would refer to his father in the PS version) had kicked the bucket, it's strange enough that he was immediately there in Midgar to take his place... and introduced himself to Cloud and the others in the balcony of the President's Office. It's also where he and Cloud had a little battle.
Rufus has this pet kitty (that looks like a panther) called Dark Nation. Dark Nation's the one who is responsible for torturing newbie players in beating Rufus. You see, Rufus only has an HP of 500 and he has no MP, but his kitty keeps on casting barrier around itself and of course, around its master so that Cloud's attacks wouldn't really get through them... making you focus your attention on getting rid of the kitty first. Rufus's shotgun does little damage to you but isn't it amazing how he could aim and fire it with just one hand? (Shotguns are usually heavy and it's hard to keep hold of it once you've fired it... you have to be really strong).
Rufus was also in search of the Promised Land, just like Sephiroth. That's just his goal, so really doesn't like AVALANCHE hanging around and disturbing him, right? 

No, really; on the serious side... (Character Analysis)

He speaks as if he owns the world. He may sound so harsh. He can be rude to you if he wants to. He speaks with sarcastic humour, his words sound so dignified and even though he sounds mean and heartless, at least they mean something that is worthwhile to be reflected upon. For example: "People are ignorant. They'll feel better when someone is punished" and the ever-popular "Fear is Power" policy...
You might be wondering why he's wearing white. White means purity and cleanliness and all the other synonyms for those two words. If you wear white, you must be careful not to give it stains because even the littlest stain on your white suit can be noticeable as easily as people can spot a red pimple on the tip of your nose. He must be a very careful person who thinks first before he acts. Maybe he's even obsessive-compulsive when it comes to keeping himself clean; I mean, look at his pants, it's even rolled up a little as if he's preventing it from touching the dirty ground.
His elegance is what sets him aside from the rest of the characters here. He is too poised and too stiff. Ever tried to imagine what it would be like if he tripped and fell and hurt himself in front of Cloud and the others? It could be very embarrassing for him. It seems like he wants everything to be perfectly planned out first before he makes a decision and act out on something.
Judging from this, Rufus is obviously a perfectionist... and it must have been hard for him to have a father like President ShinRa: evil, money-hungry, corrupt... you can even see that guy in the Honeybee Inn. Disgusting.
He hated his father. He doesn't like people calling him "President ShinRa" when he took over the presidency; instead, he insisted on being called "President Rufus" and refers to his father as Old Man.

Love Stories, anyone? (On Love)

What the hell?! This guy has a love story! Didn't ya know?! Who's the girl, you might ask? Hmm... good question. I don't know myself. O_o *had you there for a moment, huh? ;-)*
But looking at it more closely, he must've loved money and power. And maybe if he will have a girlfriend, he might shower her with too many expensive gifts everyday and maybe every waking hour of the lucky girl.
Okay, so every person has a love story. It doesn't have to be a human! It could be a material possession.
He must've loved his pet, Dark Nation because it's so loyal to him. If you kill the panther first, you have to go on and fight Rufus, but if you defeat Rufus before Dark Nation, you don't have to get rid of the panther anymore because wherever its master goes, it follows.
But you insist on the women? And the men??? Okay, I'll give you the list of the top four most-wanted girls (and also boys) for Rufus as based on field observation:
For the Girls:
1. Tifa
2. Elena
3. Aerith
4. Scarlet O_o *whoever gave you that idea?!*

For the Boys:
1. Reno
2. Tseng
3. Cloud
4. Sephiroth (I dont know why, but when I read their YAOI stories, it's always inside the Elevator O_x')

But we won't judge which girl or guy is best or not for him.

Webmistress Tifa says: Hmm... I definitely love this guy... I see fragments of myself in his character: spoiled (yes, I'm a self-confessed spoiled brat), bossy, impatient, quiet at times, likes to make speeches (I love Public Speaking), vain, likes cleanliness, stiff, too poised, plans out everything first, uses fear as a tool for reinforcement (yeah, I love threatening people and scaring them so that they'd follow my orders) etc... and I definitely would say that my ideal guy would be him. Heheh.
Anyway, going back to his I.D. card up above, it's full of unspecified information. Here's what I'd have to say or guess about those: For his age, he could be around 20-23 years old. For his date of birth... hmm... it is possible that he is a Capricorn (think near-end of December 'til middle of January). Capricorns are like born-politicians. They can be greedy. They can also be sociable if they want to... and usually they'd be hypocrites (no offense to the Capricorns out there. I'm mentioning the bad sides)... the typical Rufus ShinRa. For his blood type, judging from his attitude, he could be an AB. In Japan, when some people ask for your blood type, they can easily judge your personality from there. I noticed that people with AB blood type can really be serious people (think Cloud Strife, and the Zelgadis Graywords from Slayers). For his height... He's taller than Cloud. I'm betting that he's around 5'10"-6'0". And for his birthplace... it could be in whichever among these three places: Nibelheim, Midgar or Junon.

Rufus must've been an abused child in the hands of his father. Maybe if President ShinRa had been a good father to him, he could be a different person.

And I've noticed something: the moment President ShinRa died, Rufus was immediately there to take his place... and he's supposed to be in a place far away from Midgar, right? *_*' which made me think... what if he and Sephiroth had a little "agreement", like, "Hey, you kill my daddy, will you? And I'll help you with what you want". But in the end, they must've had some disagreements because they both have the same goal and it's like survival of fittest... and Rufus "did not survive". You get the idea. o_O'

Webmistress Aerith says: Speaking as one who thinks that rich and powerful rulers are brats, I say that Rufus is a brat. *duh* Well, he knows how to get what he wants, right? Anyways, I also think that he's a tougher and more evil version of Seifer Almasy of FF8 fame. And that he kicks butt, especially around the corporate world of ShinRa. And that he probably washes his hands 10 times. And that his father was a fat, abusive old man in a red suit. And that he thinks highly, or probably just wants to torture, the Turks. And that he's got the potential to be a family man (well, he lurves his pet Dark Nation, right? ^^). And there's a lot more than meets the eye... (Advent Children? Hmmm....) 

Hmm. I would have a lot more to say if Square provided us with more information about him, but nooo. All we get is one fight scene, a few cameos and a schtupid FMV. *grumble* 
 

Because of his unusual charm and charisma. Plus, he's got "pretty-boy" looks if you look closely (at least in a girl's point-of-view). But if they'd be a boyband, Rufus would be the angsty but posh boy. Whatevah.

Check out this art by... I don't know. Someone just gave this to me. If you are the artist of this drawing or you know who the artist is, please contact us so that proper recognition would be given to the artist. =)
If you stare at it, he looks like this model posing for a magazine cover. You think Rufus could pass as a model? ;-)
Anyway, it's what made me think that Rufus should be considered as a hunk.

/tifa&aerith//2003/