10 Video Game Villains With Wasted Potential
8. Rufus Shinra - Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII has one of the most recognisable antagonists in interactive entertainment in Sephiroth, the silver-haired stabber of Cetra. But, before we get the tale of Cloud and his nemesis, the game’s first act really puts its foot on the pedal to tell warnings of corporations destroying the planet.
Shinra is the evil force, with players constantly clashing with regular grunts and specialist fixer groups like the Turks as they work on dismantling the company.
At the top of it all sits Rufus Shinra, a ruthless individual driven by ambition and self-importance. He forgoes mourning the murder of his Father, takes over the corporation and is obsessed with his own individual goals. Ignoring FF7’s additional media (which is best to do as most of it is largely terrible), Rufus gets a cinematic and poetic send-off where his actions do lead to something for the greater good.
The problem is that between the first meeting and the death of Rufus, there’s just not all that much of him. By the second half, the game largely forgets about him in favour of building the Sephiroth plot. This makes sense but it does mean the looming threat of Shinra, and its newest President, lose their momentum along the way. Players don’t even get to have a real showdown with Rufus.
This might be something that the remake trilogy fixes but, considering its wide departures to the original plot, it's not quite the same thing.