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The FF franchise features numerous unforgettable settings. Starting with Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, all the way to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, every one has found a special place in fans' hearts, and they celebrate the distinctive quirks that make these areas so special. But, when it comes to one location that deserves more attention than the others, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its stunning design, but also for being a truly bizarre school.

The Absolute Cinematic Reveal

Before, let's highlight the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden transforming into an airship and fleeing from a missile attack was pure cinema. This location was not only intended to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that permits them to develop new strategies and reposition, depending on the requirements of those in charge. I readily regard it as one of the coolest airship designs in the franchise, along 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 more unforgettable moments in gaming history.

The Initial Look of a Gloomy Home

As we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis escorting Squall out of the medical wing, we get our initial glimpse of the location this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot begins from the ground of the school and rises to zoom in on the staggering size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels advanced, but also somehow angelic. The curvy structures bring to mind a specifically late ‘90s concept of how the tomorrow would look. Conversely, because of the gilded accents on the building and the extended trails of light emanating from the enormous glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden evokes a giant angel. It was created to be a peaceful place — excessively peaceful for an academy that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.

An Catchy Melody

Matching the calmness that the design of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s background music. One of the most cherished recollections I have from childhood is walking around the main area of Balamb Garden, watching those fish statues spouting water, and hearing to the soothing theme song. The catch is that it continues playing in your head constantly. Whenever it comes back to my mind, I’m forced to search on YouTube for a 3-hour-long “Balamb Garden” song video. The only way to get it out of playing inside my head is to have enough of it.

• Gentle tune that sticks in your mind
• Central courtyard with fountain features
• Nostalgic memories for many players

The Compelling Academy

Balamb Garden is compelling as a location and also an establishment. First, it accepts kids from five to 15 years old to turn them into mercenaries, but it appears like a massive 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.

A Paradoxical Motto

When you access the Balamb Garden Network using one of the game terminals, you learn that the credo of the academy is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I never have the sense that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. But, given that the training center, where students find real monsters they can defeat, is the only place in the whole school accessible at any time during the day, maybe that’s what they intend by “playing.” While training is the primary aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is terrible, since students are eating so many frankfurters that the faculty have nothing else to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Strict Policies

Students are governed by a rigid set of rules, which, for one, we would anticipate from a combat school, but on the other seems strangely humorous. First, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their dorms in the evenings, unless it’s for training. A student may be expelled if they fall behind in their studies, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not look like it, but Balamb Garden is genuinely worried about its students’ romantic activities. The school officially advises that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the real risk of being a student of Balamb Garden is romantic relationships, not battling with weapons and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

Greater Than Only Aesthetics

Starting with the elegant futuristic design of the building to the paradoxes and questionable decisions of the institution, there are countless aspects of Balamb Garden to admire. Many of us like to make fun of Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than just aesthetics.