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This FF series features numerous 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, each has earned a special place in players' hearts, and they admire the distinctive details that make these worlds so remarkable. But, if one setting that merits greater praise than the rest, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its stunning design, but additionally for being a absolutely strange school.

The Absolute Movie Scene

First, let's mention the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden turning into an airship and fleeing from a rocket attack was pure cinema. This location was not only intended to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that permits them to create new tactics and reposition, based on the requirements of those in control. Many readily regard it as one of the best airship concepts in the series, alongside Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and several 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 First Glimpse of a Gloomy Sanctuary

When we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis escorting Squall out of the medical wing, we get our first look of the environment this brooding-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot starts from the floor of the school and rises to focus on the staggering size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels futuristic, but also heavenly. The flowing structures bring to mind a specifically late ‘90s vision of how the tomorrow would look. Conversely, because of the golden accents on the building and the long beams of light emanating from the massive glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden looks like a giant angel. It was built to be a tranquil place — excessively peaceful for an establishment that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.

An Memorable Soundtrack

Complementing the serenity that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden suggests, we have the school’s background music. One of the most cherished memories I have from childhood is strolling around the main area of Balamb Garden, seeing those aquatic statues spraying water, and listening to the gentle theme song. The catch is that it keeps playing in your head forever. Whenever it comes back to my mind, I’m forced to search on YouTube for a 3-hour-long “Balamb Garden” song video. The only way to get it out of playing inside my head is to overdose of it.

• Gentle tune that remains in your mind
• Main area with water features
• Sentimental feelings for countless players

A Intriguing School

Balamb Garden is fascinating as a location as well as an organization. For starters, it enrolls kids from 5 to fifteen years old to mold them into mercenaries, but it appears like a massive 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.

A Paradoxical Motto

When you access the Balamb Garden Network via one of the game terminals, you find out that the credo of the school is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, but I didn't have the sense that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. However, given that the facility, where students find living monsters they can kill, is the only place in the whole school accessible at all hours during the day, perhaps that’s what they intend by “playing.” While combat preparation is the key aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their food is terrible, since students are eating so many frankfurters that the staff have no other response to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Rigid Rules

Students are governed by a rigid set of rules, which, on one hand, we would expect from a military school, but on the other seems strangely humorous. For example, there’s no dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their dorms in the evenings, except it’s for training. A student can 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 truly concerned about its students’ romantic activities. The school formally advises 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 gunblades and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)

Greater Than Only Appearance

From the refined futuristic design of the building to the ironies and dubious decisions of the academy, there are countless elements of Balamb Garden to celebrate. 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 just surface appeal.