Bahamut ZERO (バハムート零式, Bahamūto Reishiki?, lit. Bahamut Type-0) is a recurring creature in the Final Fantasy series, first appearing in Final Fantasy VII. It is a stronger form of Bahamut with Teraflare as its signature attack.
Appearances[]
Final Fantasy VII[]
Bahamut ZERO appears as a summon materia obtained in the planetarium in Cosmo Canyon when the player touches the blue Huge Materia, after having obtained both Bahamut and Neo Bahamut. If the player did not obtain the blue Huge Materia, Bahamut ZERO can later be dug up from Bone Village after the Raid on Midgar. Bahamut ZERO can be permanently missed if the player obtains all four Huge Materia but does not obtain both of the other Bahamuts.
When summoned, Bahamut ZERO uses Tera Flare, flying through space and before launching a beam of energy through the atmosphere. Tera Flare deals piercing magical damage equal to 7.5x base magic damage. Bahamut ZERO costs 180 MP to summon.
Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-[]
Bahamut ZERO appeared as a non-elemental summon and the game's strongest summon. It is a stronger version of Bahamut and lacks the original version's Comet-elemental nature. In order to summon Bahamut ZERO, players were required to have four Ultima materia equipped to their main weapon in battle and have the materia power gauge at max. The summon could easily hit the max damage cap and could be summoned during the optional Jade Weapon fights.
Final Fantasy Type-0[]
Bahamut ZERO appears as an eidolon exclusive to Arecia Al-Rashia, who refers to it as the "Eidolon of Supreme Destruction," and the strongest Bahamut-class eidolon. Unlike other eidolons, its appearing is distinct from others in its class. It appears only at the end of Chapter 5 if Class Zero falls to Shinryu Celestia. It is a LV99 Eidolon who uses a physical attack, Grand Buster, and a breath attack. The first tier breath attack is Mega Flare. By fully charging Mega Flare it turns into Giga Flare, and fully charging Giga Flare turns into Tera Flare that summons all Bahamuts to its side to unleash a concentrated salvo of energy on the opponent. If Bahamut ZERO is summoned, the player must unleash Tera Flare to complete the mission.
Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade[]
Bahamut ZERO appears during Tifa's Tera Flare UR+ Legend summon.
Mobius Final Fantasy[]
The Final Fantasy VII incarnation of Bahamut ZERO appeared as a light-elemental Warrior ability card for players to summon during the Final Fantasy VII collaboration events. It allowed player characters to perform the Light Fury (ライトマグナム, Raito Magunamu?, lit. Light Magnum) ability, which dealt light damage to enemies within an area of effect and lowered their Break defense.
Non-Final Fantasy guest appearances[]
Super Smash Bros.[]
Bahamut ZERO appears as a hazard for the Midgar stage. If his Summon Materia is used, Bahamut will use Teraflare to create a huge pillar of light in the middle of the stage, causing devastating damage to any players other than the Summoner caught in it. Bahamut ZERO also destroys the Midgar background with the attack.
As of version 1.10.0 in Smash Ultimate, Bahamut ZERO also appears as a Spirit, represented by a giant Ridley.
Merchandise[]
Bahamut ZERO has been released as a small trade figurine in Japan as part of Final Fantasy Creatures collections.
Etymology[]
The 零式 (Reishiki?) in Bahamut ZERO's Japanese name comes from the A6M Reishiki Kanjō Sentōki (零式艦上戦闘機), a Japanese fighter plane. In Final Fantasy Type-0 its inclusion also alludes to the recurring theme of "zero" in the game.
Bahamut (Arabic بهموت Bahamūt) originated as an enormous whale in ancient pre-Islamic Arabian mythology. Upon Bahamut's back stands a bull with four thousand eyes, ears, noses, mouths, tongues and feet called Kujuta (also spelled "Kuyutha") (compared with the pair of Behemoth and Leviathan). Between each of these is a distance of a 500-year journey. On the back of Kujuta is a mountain of ruby. Atop this mountain is an angel who carries six hells, earth, and seven heavens on its shoulders.
Another version of the Arabic story is that Bahamut is indeed a dragon and he stands on a whale called Liwash.
In modern times, the game Dungeons & Dragons is responsible for reimagining Bahamut as the king of dragons, a benevolent Platinum Dragon; the opposite of the malevolent Tiamat, the five-headed Chromatic Queen of Dragons.