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This FF franchise boasts many iconic places. From Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, all the way to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has earned a cherished place in fans' hearts, who celebrate the distinctive details that make these worlds so remarkable. But, if one setting that warrants greater attention than the others, it is definitely Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its elegant design, but also for being a truly strange school.

An Absolute Cinematic Scene

Before, we must mention the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden morphing into an flying vessel and fleeing from a rocket attack was pure cinema. This place was not only designed to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that permits them to establish new tactics and reposition, depending on the demands of those in charge. Many readily view it as one of the best airship concepts in the franchise, along with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and several of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

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

A Initial Look of a Gloomy Sanctuary

When we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis escorting Squall out of the medical wing, we get our first glimpse of the place this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot begins from the ground of the school and rises to focus on the awe-inspiring magnitude of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that makes it feel futuristic, but also heavenly. The flowing structures bring to mind a distinctly late ‘90s vision of how the tomorrow would look. Meanwhile, because of the golden accents on the building and the extended trails of light coming from the immense glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden evokes a giant angel. It was designed to be a tranquil place — excessively peaceful for an institution that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.

The Catchy Theme Song

Matching the calmness that the design of Balamb Garden portrays, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the fondest memories I have from being a kid is strolling around the main area of Balamb Garden, watching those fish statues spurting water, and hearing to the lullaby-ish theme song. The catch is that it continues playing in your head constantly. Once it returns to my mind, I’m compelled to search on YouTube for a extended “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
• Sentimental associations for many players

A Compelling Academy

Balamb Garden is compelling as a location and also an establishment. First, it enrolls kids from five to 15 years old to transform them into mercenaries, but it appears like a massive church. There are numerous military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but none look less militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Ironic Slogan

If you use the Balamb Garden Network using one of the in-game terminals, you learn that the credo of the school is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, but I never have the feeling that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. However, given that the facility, where students encounter real monsters they can defeat, is the only place in the entire school available at any time during the day, perhaps that’s what they mean by “playing.” While training is the most important part of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is awful, since students are eating so many hot dogs that the staff have no other response to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Rigid Policies

Students are governed by a tight set of rules, which, for one, we should expect from a combat school, but conversely seems oddly amusing. For example, there’s no dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their rooms in the evenings, except 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 truly worried about its students’ relationships. The school officially suggests that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the real danger of being a student of Balamb Garden is romantic relationships, not fighting with weapons and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

More Than Only Appearance

From the elegant advanced design of the building to the contradictions and dubious practices of the school, there are numerous elements of Balamb Garden to appreciate. Many of us like to joke about Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than simply good looks.