Did you know this isn't even close to how Bahamut looked in mythology?
In the original Arabian depiction, he was a vast fish, and on top of the fish's head stood Kujata, the giant bull, and on Kujata's back was a mountain of ruby. At the top of the mountain was an angel, and above the angel was six Hells, then above that was Earth, and finally at the top was seven Heavens.
The way Final Fantasy depicts mythological creatures leaves much to be desired. Square Enix is good at making a dramatic RPG, but when it comes to actual mythology, they're so stupid its not even funny.
They do that on purpose. Whats cooler: Giant fish treated like pack mule, or epic dragon with many cousins that leave you and your enemies shaking in shear terror.
@MCSuire - It's because the FF Bahamut (and Tiamat) are drawn from Dungeons & Dragons lore. On the side, Kujata is a summon in FFVII, where it is a bull. Tangentially, the FF Shiva is, by what sparse information I've seen, based on a Celtic creation deity, rather than the Hindu deity.
DragonSolomon said: They do that on purpose. Whats cooler: Giant fish treated like pack mule, or epic dragon with many cousins that leave you and your enemies shaking in shear terror.
Why not just give it a more appropriate name for the sake of not looking stupid?
Also I do know that Dungeons & Dragons were the first ones to depict Bahamut this way. Square Enix however is still stupid from taking their word for monster names.