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The FF franchise includes countless iconic places. Starting with Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has found a cherished place in players' hearts, and they admire the unique quirks that make these locales so unique. However, when it comes to one location that deserves more recognition than the others, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its elegant design, but also for being a truly weird school.

The Absolute Blockbuster Scene

Before, we must mention the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden turning into an airship and fleeing from a missile attack was absolute cinema. This place was not only designed to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that allows them to develop new tactics and reposition, depending on the needs of those in command. I readily regard it as one of the coolest airship creations in the series, along with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and some of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

The change of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the more unforgettable moments in video game history.

A First View of a Gloomy Sanctuary

When we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis escorting Squall out of the medical wing, we get our initial view of the location this brooding-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot starts from the floor of the school and rises to focus on the impressive size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that appears advanced, but also heavenly. The rounded structures recall a distinctly late ‘90s idea of how the future would look. Conversely, because of the gilded accents on the building and the long trails of light coming from the enormous glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden evokes a giant angel. It was built to be a tranquil place — excessively peaceful for an establishment that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

The Memorable Soundtrack

Complementing the tranquility that the appearance of Balamb Garden portrays, we have the school’s background music. One of the most cherished memories I have from being a kid is walking around the main area of Balamb Garden, seeing those aquatic statues spouting water, and listening to the soothing theme song. The issue is that it continues playing in your head constantly. Once it returns to my mind, I’m compelled to search on YouTube for a extended “Balamb Garden” song video. The only way to make it stop playing inside my head is to have enough of it.

• Gentle music that sticks in your mind
• Main courtyard with fountain features
• Nostalgic associations for countless players

A Intriguing Institution

Balamb Garden is fascinating as a setting as well as an organization. First, it enrolls kids from five to fifteen years old to mold them into mercenaries, but it looks like a giant church. There are many military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but none look less militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Contradictory Slogan

If you use the Balamb Garden Network using one of the game terminals, you learn that the motto of the institution is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I never have the impression that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. But, given that the training area, where students find real monsters they can defeat, is the only place in the whole school available at all hours during the day, perhaps that’s what they mean by “playing.” While combat preparation is the primary part of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their nutrition is terrible, since students are consuming so many hot dogs that the staff have no other response to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Strict Regulations

Students are controlled by a strict set of rules, which, on one hand, we would expect from a combat school, but conversely seems weirdly funny. First, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their rooms in the evenings, unless it’s for training. A student may be dismissed if they fall behind in their curriculum, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is really concerned about its students’ romantic activities. The school officially suggests that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the true risk of being a student of Balamb Garden is love affairs, not battling with weapons and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)

More Than Only Good Looks

Starting with the delicate advanced design of the building to the ironies and debatable actions of the school, there are countless aspects of Balamb Garden to admire. We all like to joke about Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than just aesthetics.