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The Final Fantasy series features many unforgettable 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 fans' hearts, and they celebrate the unique idiosyncrasies that make these locales so remarkable. However, when it comes to one place that merits greater praise than the others, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its beautiful design, but additionally for being a incredibly bizarre school.

The Absolute Blockbuster Scene

Before, we must highlight the obvious. Balamb Garden transforming into an flying vessel and escaping from a missile attack was absolute cinema. This institution was not only intended to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that enables them to develop new tactics and move, depending on the demands of those in command. I readily regard it as one of the coolest airship designs in the series, together with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and several of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

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

The First Glimpse of a Brooding Sanctuary

When we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis leading Squall out of the medical wing, we get our first view of the location this gloomy-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot begins from the floor of the school and ascends to zoom in on the impressive scale of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that appears advanced, but also somehow heavenly. The curvy structures evoke a distinctly late ‘90s idea of how the tomorrow would look. Conversely, because of the golden features on the building and the extended beams of light coming from the enormous glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden evokes a massive angel. It was created to be a peaceful place — excessively peaceful for an academy that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

An Unforgettable Melody

Matching the tranquility that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s theme song. One of the fondest memories I have from my youth is strolling around the main area of Balamb Garden, seeing those aquatic statues spurting water, and listening to the gentle theme song. The issue is that it keeps playing in your head indefinitely. Once it returns to my mind, I’m forced 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.

• Lullaby melody that remains in your mind
• Central courtyard with fountain features
• Sentimental associations for many players

A Intriguing School

Balamb Garden is intriguing as a setting and also an institution. First, it enrolls kids from five to 15 years old to transform them into mercenaries, but it appears like a enormous church. There are numerous military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but none look less militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Paradoxical Motto

If you use the Balamb Garden Network using one of the in-game terminals, you learn that the motto of the school is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I never have the impression that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. But, given that the facility, where students find living monsters they can kill, is the sole place in the whole school accessible at any time during the day, maybe that’s what they mean by “playing.” While combat preparation is the primary aspect 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 except “No more hot dogs today.”

Tight Policies

Students are controlled by a strict set of rules, which, on one hand, we would expect from a military school, but conversely seems oddly amusing. For example, there’s no dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their dorms in the nights, except it’s for training. A student may be expelled if they lag in their studies, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not look like it, but Balamb Garden is truly concerned about its students’ relationships. The school formally advises 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 romantic relationships, not fighting with weapons and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)

More Than Just Appearance

Starting with the delicate advanced design of the building to the contradictions and debatable actions of the academy, there are numerous aspects of Balamb Garden to appreciate. We all like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than only good looks.