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The Final Fantasy series features numerous memorable places. Starting with Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, all the way to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has earned a special place in players' hearts, who admire the unique quirks that make these worlds so remarkable. However, when it comes to one place that warrants greater recognition than the rest, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its beautiful design, but additionally for being a truly strange school.

The Pure Movie Reveal

First, we must address the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden transforming into an airship and escaping from a rocket attack was absolute cinema. This place was not just intended to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that permits them to establish new strategies and relocate, based on the demands of those in command. I readily consider it as one of the most impressive airship designs in the series, alongside Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and several of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

This conversion of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the most iconic moments in video game history.

A Initial Glimpse of a Gloomy Sanctuary

When we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis escorting Squall out of the infirmary, we get our initial look of the location this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot begins from the ground of the school and ascends to zoom in on the awe-inspiring size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that makes it feel futuristic, but also somehow angelic. The rounded structures recall a specifically late ‘90s concept of how the tomorrow would look. Conversely, because of the golden details on the building and the long beams of light emanating from the massive glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden resembles a massive angel. It was created to be a serene place — too peaceful for an establishment that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

The Unforgettable Melody

Complementing the calmness that the appearance of Balamb Garden portrays, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the dearest recollections I have from my youth is strolling around the central area of Balamb Garden, seeing those aquatic statues spouting water, and listening to the lullaby-ish theme song. The problem is that it keeps playing in your head constantly. Once it returns to my mind, I’m forced to look up on YouTube for a 3-hour-long “Balamb Garden” song video. The sole way to make it stop playing inside my head is to have enough of it.

• Lullaby music that sticks in your mind
• Central area with water features
• Sentimental feelings for many players

A Intriguing Institution

Balamb Garden is compelling as a location as well as an establishment. First, it accepts kids from five to fifteen years old to mold them into mercenaries, but it looks like a enormous church. There are a lot of military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but none look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Paradoxical Slogan

If you use the Balamb Garden Network via one of the in-game terminals, you find out 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” — only Zell. But, given that the training area, where students encounter living monsters they can battle, is the only place in the entire school available at any time during the day, perhaps that’s what they mean by “playing.” While combat preparation is the key part of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their food is awful, since students are eating so many frankfurters that the personnel have no other response to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Strict Regulations

Students are governed by a tight set of rules, which, for one, we would anticipate from a military school, but on the other seems oddly humorous. First, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their rooms in the nights, unless it’s for training. A student can be expelled if they fall behind in their curriculum, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is genuinely concerned about its students’ sex life. The school formally 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 intro cutscene.)

Greater Than Only Good Looks

From the delicate futuristic design of the building to the ironies and dubious decisions of the school, there are many features of Balamb Garden to appreciate. We all like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than only good looks.