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The Final Fantasy franchise includes many unforgettable locations. Starting with Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has earned a special place in fans' hearts, and they admire the distinctive idiosyncrasies that make these locales so remarkable. But, when it comes to one location that deserves greater recognition than the rest, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its beautiful design, but additionally for being a absolutely bizarre school.

An Pure Cinematic Moment

First, let's mention the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden transforming into an flying vessel and escaping from a rocket attack was absolute cinema. This place was not just designed to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a moving base that allows them to establish new plans and relocate, based on the demands of those in command. Many readily view it as one of the coolest airship creations in the franchise, along with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and several 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 Glimpse of a Brooding Home

As we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis escorting Squall out of the infirmary, we get our first look of the environment this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot begins from the floor of the school and ascends to focus on the impressive magnitude of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels futuristic, but also somehow divine. The rounded structures evoke a distinctly late ‘90s vision of how the future would look. Conversely, because of the gilded features on the building and the extended trails of light emanating from the massive glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden resembles a giant angel. It was designed to be a serene place — too peaceful for an institution that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

An Unforgettable Theme Song

Matching the serenity that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s theme song. One of the dearest memories I have from childhood is strolling around the main area of Balamb Garden, seeing those fish statues spraying water, and hearing to the gentle theme song. The problem 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 sole way to get it out of playing inside my head is to overdose of it.

• Soothing tune that lingers in your mind
• Main hub with water features
• Sentimental feelings for countless players

The Compelling Academy

Balamb Garden is fascinating as a setting and also an establishment. For starters, it accepts kids from 5 to 15 years old to turn 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 not one look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Paradoxical Motto

When you use the Balamb Garden Network using one of the in-game terminals, you discover that the slogan of the institution is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I never have the sense that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. However, considering that the facility, where students encounter living monsters they can kill, is the only place in the entire school accessible at all hours during the day, perhaps that’s what they mean by “playing.” While training is the most important aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their nutrition is terrible, since students are eating so many frankfurters that the personnel have no other response to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Tight Policies

Students are controlled by a tight set of rules, which, for one, we should anticipate from a combat school, but conversely seems weirdly amusing. First, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their dorms in the nights, unless it’s for training. A student can be expelled if they lag in their studies, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not look like it, but Balamb Garden is really concerned about its students’ sex life. The school formally advises 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 battling with weapons and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)

Greater Than Just Aesthetics

From the elegant advanced design of the building to the paradoxes and dubious practices of the school, there are countless elements of Balamb Garden to appreciate. Many of us like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than only surface appeal.