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The FF franchise includes countless unforgettable places. From Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, all the way to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, every one has earned a special place in fans' hearts, and they celebrate the unique details that make these areas so unique. But, if one setting that deserves more praise than the rest, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its elegant design, but also for being a truly bizarre school.

An Pure Cinematic Reveal

First, we must highlight the obvious. Balamb Garden transforming into an airship and escaping from a missile attack was pure cinema. This location was not only designed to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a moving base that permits them to develop new tactics and reposition, based on the demands of those in charge. Many readily regard 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 change of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the most unforgettable moments in gaming history.

A Initial Glimpse of a Gloomy Sanctuary

As we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis leading Squall out of the medical wing, we get our first view of the environment this gloomy-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot begins from the ground of the school and rises to zoom in on the staggering magnitude of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that makes it feel futuristic, but also somehow divine. The rounded structures recall a distinctly late ‘90s concept of how the tomorrow would look. Conversely, because of the golden details on the building and the long trails of light emanating from the massive glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden resembles a massive angel. It was built to be a tranquil place — too peaceful for an establishment that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.

An Unforgettable Theme Song

Matching the tranquility that the design of Balamb Garden portrays, we have the school’s theme song. One of the dearest memories I have from being a kid is walking around the main area of Balamb Garden, seeing those aquatic statues spouting water, and hearing to the soothing theme song. The problem is that it keeps playing in your head forever. Whenever it returns to my mind, I’m compelled to look up on YouTube for a extended “Balamb Garden” song video. The sole way to get it out of playing inside my head is to listen to it repeatedly of it.

• Soothing music that lingers in your mind
• Main courtyard with water features
• Nostalgic memories for countless players

A Fascinating School

Balamb Garden is fascinating as a setting as well as an institution. For starters, it enrolls 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 not one look less militaristic than Balamb Garden.

The Paradoxical Philosophy

When you use the Balamb Garden Network via one of the game terminals, you discover that the credo of the school is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, but I never have the feeling 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 defeat, is the sole place in the whole school accessible 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 nutrition is awful, since students are eating so many hot dogs that the personnel have nothing else to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Tight Regulations

Students are governed by a strict set of rules, which, for one, we should anticipate from a combat school, but conversely seems strangely funny. First, there’s no dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their rooms in the evenings, 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 genuinely worried about its students’ romantic activities. The school formally advises 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 weapons and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)

More Than Just Good Looks

From the refined advanced design of the building to the contradictions and questionable practices of the institution, there are many elements of Balamb Garden to celebrate. Many of us like to joke about Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than simply good looks.