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This Final Fantasy series includes countless iconic places. From Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, every one has earned a special place in players' hearts, who love the distinctive quirks that make these areas so unique. But, if one location that warrants more attention than the rest, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its elegant design, but additionally for being a absolutely weird school.

The Absolute Cinematic Scene

First, let's mention the obvious. Balamb Garden turning into an flying vessel and escaping from a rocket attack was absolute cinema. This institution was not only designed to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that permits them to establish new tactics and move, depending on the needs of those in control. I easily consider it as one of the best airship creations in the series, along with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and some of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

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

A Initial Look of a Brooding Home

When we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis leading Squall out of the infirmary, we get our first glimpse of the environment this brooding-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot starts from the floor of the school and ascends to zoom in on the impressive scale of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that appears advanced, but also somehow divine. The curvy structures recall a distinctly late ‘90s vision of how the future would look. Meanwhile, because of the gilded details on the building and the long beams of light emanating from the enormous glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden resembles a giant angel. It was created to be a peaceful place — excessively peaceful for an institution that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

The Unforgettable Theme Song

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

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

The Compelling Academy

Balamb Garden is intriguing as a setting as well as an institution. First, it accepts kids from 5 to fifteen years old to turn them into mercenaries, but it looks like a enormous church. There are a lot of military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but none look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

The Contradictory Philosophy

If you use the Balamb Garden Network using one of the game terminals, you find out 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, given that the training area, where students encounter real monsters they can battle, is the only place in the whole school available at any time during the day, maybe that’s what they intend by “playing.” While combat preparation is the primary part of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is terrible, since students are devouring so many hot dogs that the personnel have no other response to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Rigid Rules

Students are controlled by a rigid set of rules, which, for one, we should anticipate from a combat school, but on the other seems oddly funny. For example, there’s no dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their rooms in the nights, except it’s for training. A student can be expelled if they fall behind 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 suggests that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the real risk of being a student of Balamb Garden is romantic relationships, not fighting with weapons and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

More Than Only Appearance

From the delicate futuristic design of the building to the paradoxes and dubious actions of the school, there are many features of Balamb Garden to admire. Many of us like to joke about Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than only aesthetics.