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The Final Fantasy series features countless unforgettable places. From Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, all the way to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has secured a special place in fans' hearts, who love the distinctive quirks that make these areas so remarkable. However, when it comes to one place that deserves more praise than the others, it is definitely Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its beautiful design, but additionally for being a absolutely bizarre school.

The Absolute Movie Scene

First, let's highlight the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden morphing into an airship and escaping from a rocket attack was absolute cinema. This location was not just intended to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that permits them to create new tactics and relocate, based on the needs of those in charge. Many easily regard it as one of the best airship creations in the franchise, together with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and some of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

This transformation of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the more iconic moments in gaming history.

A First View of a Gloomy Home

When we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis escorting Squall out of the infirmary, we get our initial glimpse of the place this brooding-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot begins from the ground of the school and ascends to zoom in on the staggering scale of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that appears futuristic, but also heavenly. The curvy structures bring to mind a specifically late ‘90s concept of how the tomorrow would look. On the other hand, because of the gilded accents on the building and the extended trails of light emanating from the immense glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden resembles a massive angel. It was designed to be a serene place — excessively peaceful for an institution that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

The Catchy Soundtrack

Complementing the calmness that the design of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the most cherished recollections I have from my youth is strolling around the main area of Balamb Garden, seeing those fish statues spraying water, and hearing to the soothing theme song. The issue is that it continues playing in your head forever. Whenever it returns to my mind, I’m compelled to search 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.

• Gentle melody that lingers in your mind
• Main area with fountain features
• Nostalgic associations for countless players

A Compelling Academy

Balamb Garden is intriguing as a location and also an organization. For starters, it accepts kids from 5 to 15 years old to transform them into mercenaries, but it looks like a giant church. There are numerous military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but not one look less militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Paradoxical Motto

When you use the Balamb Garden Network using one of the in-game terminals, you find out that the credo of the school is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, 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 encounter real monsters they can defeat, is the sole place in the entire 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 diet is poor, since students are eating so many frankfurters that the staff have no other response to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Strict Rules

Students are controlled by a rigid set of rules, which, on one hand, we should expect from a combat school, but on the other seems strangely funny. For example, there’s no dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their rooms in the nights, unless it’s for training. A student may be dismissed if they fall behind in their curriculum, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is truly concerned about its students’ relationships. The school formally suggests 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 elegant advanced design of the building to the paradoxes and debatable practices of the institution, there are many features of Balamb Garden to celebrate. We all like to make fun of Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than only aesthetics.