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The Final Fantasy series boasts countless iconic locations. From Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, every one has found a cherished place in players' hearts, who admire the unique quirks that make these areas so special. However, when it comes to one setting that warrants greater attention than the rest, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its stunning design, but also for being a incredibly strange school.

An Pure Cinematic Reveal

Before, we must mention the obvious. Balamb Garden transforming into an airship and escaping from a rocket attack was pure cinema. This location was not only intended to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a moving base that permits them to establish new plans and reposition, depending on the needs of those in charge. Many easily regard it as one of the best airship concepts in the franchise, together with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and several of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

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

A Initial Glimpse of a Gloomy Home

When we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis leading Squall out of the medical wing, we get our first view of the place this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot starts from the floor of the school and ascends to zoom in on the impressive scale of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels advanced, but also divine. The rounded structures evoke a specifically late ‘90s vision of how the future would look. Conversely, because of the golden details on the building and the long trails of light emanating from the immense glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden looks like a giant angel. It was built to be a serene place — excessively peaceful for an establishment that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

The Memorable Soundtrack

Matching the calmness that the appearance of Balamb Garden portrays, we have the school’s theme song. One of the fondest recollections I have from my youth is walking around the main area of Balamb Garden, watching those aquatic statues spraying water, and listening to the lullaby-ish theme song. The issue is that it keeps playing in your head constantly. Once it returns to my mind, I’m forced to search on YouTube for a extended “Balamb Garden” song video. The sole way to make it stop playing inside my head is to overdose of it.

• Soothing tune that sticks in your mind
• Main area with fountain features
• Sentimental memories for many players

The Compelling School

Balamb Garden is fascinating as a location and also an institution. For starters, it accepts kids from five to fifteen years old to turn them into mercenaries, but it looks like a enormous church. There are numerous military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but not one look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

The Ironic Motto

If you access the Balamb Garden Network using one of the game terminals, you learn that the credo of the school is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I never have the feeling that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. However, considering that the training area, where students encounter living monsters they can battle, is the only place in the entire school accessible at any time during the day, maybe that’s what they intend by “playing.” While combat preparation is the primary part of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their food is terrible, since students are consuming so many frankfurters that the personnel have nothing else to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Strict Policies

Students are governed by a strict set of rules, which, for one, we should anticipate from a combat school, but on the other seems oddly funny. For example, there’s no dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their dorms in the nights, unless it’s for training. A student may be expelled if they lag in their studies, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is truly worried about its students’ relationships. The school officially recommends that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the true threat of being a student of Balamb Garden is romantic relationships, not battling with gunblades and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

Greater Than Only Aesthetics

From the refined futuristic design of the building to the paradoxes and questionable decisions of the academy, there are countless elements of Balamb Garden to appreciate. We all like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than just good looks.