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The Final Fantasy franchise features numerous iconic places. Starting with Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, all the way to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has secured a special place in players' hearts, and they love the unique quirks that make these locales so special. However, when it comes to one setting that deserves greater recognition than the others, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its elegant design, but additionally for being a truly strange school.

The Pure Blockbuster Reveal

First, let's highlight the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden turning into an flying vessel and escaping from a rocket attack was pure cinema. This location was not just intended to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that permits them to develop new tactics and reposition, depending on the demands of those in charge. Many readily consider it as one of the best airship concepts in the franchise, alongside Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and some of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

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

A First Look of a Brooding Home

When we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis leading Squall out of the medical wing, we get our initial look of the location this brooding-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot begins from the floor of the school and ascends to zoom in on the awe-inspiring size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that appears futuristic, but also somehow divine. The flowing structures evoke a specifically late ‘90s idea of how the future would look. Meanwhile, 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 resembles a massive angel. It was created to be a tranquil place — too peaceful for an establishment that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

An Memorable Melody

Matching the calmness that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden suggests, we have the school’s background music. One of the dearest memories I have from being a kid is strolling around the central area of Balamb Garden, watching those fish statues spouting water, and listening to the lullaby-ish theme song. The catch is that it continues playing in your head constantly. Whenever it comes back to my mind, I’m compelled to look up on YouTube for a 3-hour-long “Balamb Garden” song video. The only way to end playing inside my head is to listen to it repeatedly of it.

• Lullaby music that lingers in your mind
• Central area with fountain features
• Nostalgic memories for countless players

A Compelling School

Balamb Garden is compelling as a setting and also an establishment. For starters, it enrolls kids from five to 15 years old to mold them into mercenaries, but it looks like a massive 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.

The Contradictory Slogan

When you access the Balamb Garden Network via one of the game terminals, you learn that the slogan of the school is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I didn't have the sense that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. However, considering that the facility, where students encounter real monsters they can battle, is the sole place in the whole school available at any time during the day, perhaps that’s what they intend by “playing.” While combat preparation is the most important aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is terrible, since students are consuming so many frankfurters that the staff have nothing else to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Tight Rules

Students are controlled by a tight set of rules, which, for one, we should expect from a combat school, but conversely seems oddly funny. 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 can be dismissed 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’ sex life. The school formally recommends 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 fighting 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 ironies and questionable practices of the institution, there are countless elements of Balamb Garden to appreciate. Many of us like to make fun of Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than just aesthetics.