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This Final Fantasy franchise features numerous iconic places. From Elfheim in the very first 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 love the unique details that make these areas so special. However, when it comes to one place that warrants greater attention than the others, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its stunning design, but additionally for being a truly bizarre school.

An Absolute Movie Reveal

Before, we must highlight 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 academy for mercenaries. It is a moving base that enables them to establish new plans and reposition, depending on the needs of those in control. Many easily consider it as one of the coolest airship concepts in the series, along with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and some of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

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

A First 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 glimpse of the place this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot starts from the floor of the school and ascends to focus on the impressive scale of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels advanced, but also divine. The rounded structures bring to mind a distinctly late ‘90s concept of how the tomorrow would look. Conversely, because of the golden accents on the building and the extended trails of light emanating from the enormous glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden evokes a giant angel. It was built to be a tranquil place — excessively peaceful for an academy that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.

The Unforgettable Soundtrack

Matching the calmness that the appearance of Balamb Garden suggests, we have the school’s background music. One of the most cherished memories I have from my youth is strolling around the main area of Balamb Garden, seeing those fish statues spouting water, and listening to the gentle theme song. The problem is that it keeps playing in your head indefinitely. Once it comes back to my mind, I’m forced to search on YouTube for a 3-hour-long “Balamb Garden” song video. The only way to get it out of playing inside my head is to have enough of it.

• Lullaby music that sticks in your mind
• Main hub with fountain features
• Nostalgic feelings for countless players

The Intriguing Institution

Balamb Garden is intriguing as a setting and also an institution. First, it accepts kids from 5 to 15 years old to turn them into mercenaries, but it looks like a enormous church. There are numerous military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but not one look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

The Contradictory Slogan

When you access the Balamb Garden Network using one of the in-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 feeling that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. But, considering that the training area, where students find living monsters they can kill, is the only place in the entire school accessible at all hours during the day, maybe that’s what they intend by “playing.” While training is the primary aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their food is poor, since students are consuming so many frankfurters that the staff have no other response to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Strict Policies

Students are controlled by a strict set of rules, which, on one hand, we would anticipate from a military school, but conversely seems oddly humorous. First, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their dorms in the evenings, unless it’s for training. A student may be dismissed if they lag in their studies, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not look like it, but Balamb Garden is genuinely concerned about its students’ relationships. The school formally recommends that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the true risk of being a student of Balamb Garden is love affairs, not battling with weapons and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)

More Than Only Good Looks

Starting with the delicate advanced design of the building to the paradoxes and dubious 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 reminds us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than just aesthetics.