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The Final Fantasy franchise boasts numerous iconic locations. Starting with Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, every one has found a special place in fans' hearts, and they admire the unique idiosyncrasies that make these locales so unique. However, if one location that deserves more recognition than the rest, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its stunning design, but additionally for being a incredibly strange school.

An Absolute Blockbuster Scene

First, let's highlight the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden turning into an flying vessel and fleeing from a rocket attack was pure cinema. This place was not only intended to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that allows them to create new strategies and reposition, based on the demands of those in control. Many readily consider it as one of the coolest airship designs in the franchise, along 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 unforgettable moments in gaming history.

The Initial Glimpse of a Gloomy Home

When we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis leading Squall out of the infirmary, we get our initial look of the location this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot starts from the ground of the school and ascends to zoom in on the impressive size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels futuristic, but also somehow heavenly. The flowing structures evoke a distinctly late ‘90s concept of how the tomorrow would look. Meanwhile, because of the golden features on the building and the long trails of light coming from the enormous glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden evokes a giant angel. It was created to be a peaceful place — too peaceful for an institution that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

An Memorable Melody

Matching the calmness that the appearance of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the fondest recollections I have from being a kid is strolling around the central area of Balamb Garden, watching those aquatic statues spraying water, and hearing to the soothing theme song. The issue is that it continues playing in your head indefinitely. Once it comes back to my mind, I’m forced to look up on YouTube for a extended “Balamb Garden” song video. The only way to end playing inside my head is to listen to it repeatedly of it.

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

The Compelling School

Balamb Garden is fascinating as a location as well as an institution. First, it accepts kids from 5 to fifteen years old to transform them into mercenaries, but it appears like a giant church. There are many military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but none look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Paradoxical Slogan

When you use the Balamb Garden Network using one of the game terminals, you find out that the motto of the academy is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I never have the sense that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. However, given that the facility, 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 mean by “playing.” While training is the primary part of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their nutrition is terrible, since students are eating so many frankfurters that the faculty have nothing else to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Rigid Rules

Students are controlled by a strict set of rules, which, for one, we would anticipate from a combat school, but on the other seems oddly funny. First, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their rooms in the nights, except it’s for training. A student may be dismissed if they lag in their studies, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is genuinely 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 true danger of being a student of Balamb Garden is love affairs, not fighting with gunblades and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)

Greater Than Just Good Looks

Starting with the refined futuristic design of the building to the paradoxes and debatable decisions of the school, there are numerous aspects of Balamb Garden to appreciate. We all like to joke about Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than only good looks.