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The FF franchise includes numerous memorable settings. From Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, all the way to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, every one has found a cherished place in fans' hearts, who admire the unique details that make these areas so remarkable. However, if one location that merits more recognition than the rest, it is definitely Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its elegant design, but additionally for being a absolutely bizarre school.

An Absolute Cinematic Moment

First, let's address the obvious. Balamb Garden morphing into an airship and fleeing from a rocket attack was pure cinema. This place was not just intended to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that permits them to develop new tactics and relocate, based on the demands of those in control. I readily regard it as one of the best airship designs in the series, alongside 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 memorable moments in video game history.

A First View of a Brooding Home

When we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis escorting Squall out of the infirmary, we get our initial glimpse of the place this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot starts from the floor of the school and rises to focus on the awe-inspiring size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels advanced, but also angelic. The flowing structures evoke a specifically late ‘90s idea of how the tomorrow would look. Meanwhile, because of the gilded details on the building and the extended trails of light coming from the enormous glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden resembles a giant angel. It was built to be a peaceful place — too peaceful for an institution that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.

An Unforgettable Melody

Complementing the tranquility that the appearance of Balamb Garden portrays, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the most cherished memories I have from my youth is strolling around the main area of Balamb Garden, watching those aquatic statues spouting water, and hearing to the lullaby-ish theme song. The issue is that it keeps playing in your head constantly. Once it comes back 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 overdose of it.

• Lullaby melody that sticks in your mind
• Central hub with fountain features
• Nostalgic feelings for many players

A Compelling Institution

Balamb Garden is fascinating as a setting as well as an organization. First, it accepts kids from five to 15 years old to turn them into mercenaries, but it looks like a giant church. There are a lot of military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but not one look less militaristic than Balamb Garden.

The Contradictory Slogan

If you access the Balamb Garden Network using one of the in-game terminals, you learn that the motto of the institution 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” — only Zell. But, given that the training center, where students encounter real monsters they can kill, is the only place in the entire school accessible at any time during the day, perhaps that’s what they mean by “playing.” While combat preparation is the key aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is awful, since students are eating so many hot dogs that the staff have nothing else to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Rigid Rules

Students are controlled by a strict set of rules, which, on one hand, we should anticipate from a military school, but on the other seems strangely funny. For example, there’s no dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their rooms in the nights, except 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 look like it, but Balamb Garden is truly concerned about its students’ romantic activities. The school officially 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 love affairs, not fighting with weapons and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

More Than Just Aesthetics

From the elegant advanced design of the building to the contradictions and debatable decisions of the school, there are countless aspects of Balamb Garden to admire. Many of us like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than simply aesthetics.