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The FF franchise includes countless memorable locations. Starting with Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, all the way to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, every one has secured a special place in players' hearts, who admire the distinctive details that make these worlds so remarkable. However, if one setting that deserves more recognition than the others, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its stunning design, but also for being a truly strange school.

The Pure Cinematic Scene

First, we must mention the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden turning into an airship and fleeing from a missile attack was absolute cinema. This location was not just intended to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a moving base that permits them to establish new plans and relocate, based on the needs of those in command. Many easily consider it as one of the coolest airship designs in the series, along with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and several of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

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

The Initial Look of a Gloomy Home

As we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis leading Squall out of the infirmary, we get our initial look of the place this gloomy-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot starts from the floor of the school and ascends to zoom in on the awe-inspiring size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that appears advanced, but also divine. The curvy structures recall a specifically late ‘90s idea of how the future would look. Meanwhile, because of the golden features on the building and the long beams of light emanating from the enormous 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 academy that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

An Memorable Theme Song

Complementing the serenity that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden suggests, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the fondest recollections I have from being a kid is walking around the main area of Balamb Garden, seeing those fish statues spurting water, and hearing to the soothing theme song. The issue is that it keeps playing in your head indefinitely. Once it comes back to my mind, I’m compelled 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.

• Gentle melody that sticks in your mind
• Main courtyard with fountain features
• Sentimental associations for countless players

The Intriguing Academy

Balamb Garden is fascinating as a setting and also an organization. First, it accepts kids from 5 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 not one look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

The Ironic Philosophy

If you use the Balamb Garden Network using one of the game terminals, you discover that the motto of the institution is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I never have the impression that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. But, given that the training area, where students encounter real monsters they can kill, is the only place in the entire school accessible at any time during the day, perhaps 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 poor, since students are consuming so many frankfurters that the faculty have no other response to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Tight Rules

Students are governed by a strict set of rules, which, on one hand, we should anticipate from a military school, but conversely seems weirdly amusing. First, 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 dismissed if they lag in their studies, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is truly 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 true danger of being a student of Balamb Garden is romantic relationships, not battling with weapons and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

More Than Just Aesthetics

Starting with the refined futuristic design of the building to the ironies and dubious decisions of the academy, there are many elements of Balamb Garden to admire. Many of us like to make fun of Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than just good looks.