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This Final Fantasy franchise boasts 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 secured a cherished place in fans' hearts, who celebrate the distinctive details that make these areas so special. But, if one location that warrants more attention than the rest, it is certainly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its beautiful design, but additionally for being a truly bizarre school.

The Absolute Movie Moment

First, we must highlight the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden morphing into an airship and fleeing from a missile attack was absolute cinema. This institution was not just intended to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that permits them to create new plans and reposition, based on the requirements of those in charge. Many readily view it as one of the coolest airship designs 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 most iconic moments in gaming history.

The Initial View of a Gloomy Home

As we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis leading Squall out of the medical wing, we get our initial view of the location this brooding-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot starts from the ground of the school and rises to zoom in on the staggering size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that makes it feel advanced, but also heavenly. The curvy structures recall a distinctly late ‘90s concept of how the tomorrow would look. On the other hand, because of the gilded accents on the building and the long beams of light coming from the immense glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden looks like a massive angel. It was designed to be a tranquil place — too peaceful for an academy that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.

The Catchy Melody

Matching the calmness that the appearance of Balamb Garden portrays, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the fondest recollections I have from childhood is walking around the central area of Balamb Garden, seeing those fish statues spraying water, and listening to the soothing theme song. The problem is that it continues playing in your head constantly. Whenever 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 listen to it repeatedly of it.

• Gentle music that sticks in your mind
• Main hub with water features
• Sentimental memories for countless players

The Fascinating Academy

Balamb Garden is intriguing as a setting and also an institution. For starters, it accepts kids from five to 15 years old to mold 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 none look less militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Paradoxical Slogan

When you access the Balamb Garden Network via one of the game terminals, you find out that the motto of the institution is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, but I never have the sense that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. But, given that the training area, where students find living monsters they can kill, is the sole place in the entire school accessible at all hours during the day, perhaps that’s what they mean 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 eating so many frankfurters that the personnel have nothing else to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Tight Rules

Students are governed by a strict set of rules, which, for one, we would anticipate from a combat school, but on the other seems weirdly amusing. First, there’s no dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their rooms in the evenings, unless it’s for training. A student can be expelled if they fall behind in their studies, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not look like it, but Balamb Garden is truly worried about its students’ relationships. The school formally suggests that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the true danger 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 Only Aesthetics

From the refined advanced design of the building to the ironies and debatable actions of the academy, there are many elements of Balamb Garden to admire. We all like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than simply surface appeal.