Quote Originally Posted by BG-57
Which is why I mentioned the tapir. That's an uncontrollable gameplay element. And FFVIII Shiva looks different from FFVI Shiva. Aren't they the same entity despite that?
Yes, because two of those Shivas (what you've just stated) are based on GF, they both have the same objective = same entity, you can even control them. The only reason why they look different is because they came from different FF games.
The help from that angel is entirely different.

Try to compare from the other FF little helpies for the final battles to the angel in the final battle of FF8. So generally, it has to be plot-related.