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The Final Fantasy franchise boasts countless unforgettable places. Starting with Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, every one has found a special place in players' hearts, who admire the distinctive quirks that make these locales so special. But, when it comes to one place that deserves more praise than the others, it is definitely Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its stunning design, but additionally for being a truly bizarre school.

The Absolute Cinematic Scene

First, we must address the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden turning into an flying vessel and fleeing from a rocket attack was absolute cinema. This location was not just designed to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that enables them to establish new tactics and move, based on the demands of those in charge. Many easily consider it as one of the coolest airship creations in the franchise, together with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and some of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

This change of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the most iconic moments in gaming history.

The Initial Look of a Brooding Sanctuary

When we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis escorting Squall out of the medical wing, we get our initial view of the place 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 appears futuristic, but also heavenly. The rounded structures recall a specifically late ‘90s vision of how the tomorrow would look. On the other hand, because of the gilded details on the building and the long trails of light emanating from the massive glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden resembles a giant angel. It was built to be a serene place — excessively peaceful for an institution that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

An Unforgettable Theme Song

Complementing the tranquility that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden suggests, we have the school’s theme song. One of the most cherished memories I have from my youth is strolling around the main area of Balamb Garden, seeing those fish statues spurting water, and listening to the soothing theme song. The catch is that it continues playing in your head constantly. Once it returns to my mind, I’m forced to look up 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.

• Lullaby tune that sticks in your mind
• Main courtyard with fountain features
• Nostalgic feelings for many players

A Fascinating Institution

Balamb Garden is compelling as a setting as well as an organization. First, it enrolls kids from five to 15 years old to turn them into mercenaries, but it appears 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.

The Contradictory Slogan

If you use the Balamb Garden Network via one of the 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 sense that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. But, considering that the training center, where students encounter living monsters they can kill, is the only place in the whole school available at all hours during the day, maybe that’s what they intend by “playing.” While training is the key aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is awful, since students are consuming so many hot dogs that the personnel have nothing else to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Strict Regulations

Students are controlled by a tight set of rules, which, for one, we should anticipate from a combat school, but on the other seems oddly amusing. For example, there’s no dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their dorms in the evenings, except it’s for training. A student may be expelled if they fall behind in their curriculum, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is genuinely worried about its students’ sex life. The school officially recommends that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the real 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 opening cutscene.)

More Than Just Appearance

From the delicate advanced design of the building to the ironies and dubious decisions of the school, there are countless elements of Balamb Garden to admire. We all like to make fun of Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than only aesthetics.