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The FF series includes many iconic locations. From Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has found a cherished place in players' hearts, and they celebrate the unique details that make these worlds so unique. However, if one place that merits more attention than the others, it is certainly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its stunning design, but additionally for being a incredibly bizarre school.

The Absolute Blockbuster Scene

Before, let's mention the obvious. Balamb Garden transforming into an flying vessel and fleeing from a rocket attack was pure cinema. This institution was not just designed to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that enables them to develop new tactics and reposition, based on the needs of those in charge. I readily consider it as one of the most impressive airship designs in the franchise, together 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 iconic moments in video game history.

The Initial Look of a Brooding Sanctuary

As we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis leading Squall out of the medical wing, we get our first view of the place this brooding-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot begins from the ground of the school and ascends to focus on the impressive magnitude of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that appears futuristic, but also somehow divine. The rounded structures bring to mind a specifically late ‘90s idea of how the future 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 resembles a giant angel. It was designed to be a peaceful place — excessively peaceful for an institution that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

The Unforgettable Melody

Complementing the serenity that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden portrays, we have the school’s theme song. One of the most cherished memories I have from childhood is strolling around the main area of Balamb Garden, watching those aquatic statues spurting water, and listening to the gentle theme song. The issue is that it continues playing in your head forever. Whenever it returns to my mind, I’m compelled to look up on YouTube for a 3-hour-long “Balamb Garden” song video. The sole way to get it out of playing inside my head is to have enough of it.

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

The Fascinating Academy

Balamb Garden is compelling as a location and also an institution. First, it accepts kids from five to 15 years old to turn them into mercenaries, but it appears like a enormous church. There are many military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but not one look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Paradoxical Motto

If you use the Balamb Garden Network via one of the game terminals, you learn that the motto of the school is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, but I never have the impression that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. However, given that the training area, where students find living monsters they can battle, is the sole place in the entire school available at any time during the day, maybe that’s what they mean by “playing.” While combat preparation is the most important part of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is awful, since students are consuming so many hot dogs that the personnel have no other response to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Rigid Rules

Students are controlled by a strict set of rules, which, for one, we should expect from a military school, but on the other seems oddly humorous. For example, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their rooms in the nights, unless it’s for training. A student can be expelled if they lag in their curriculum, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not look like it, but Balamb Garden is really concerned about its students’ romantic activities. The school formally recommends 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 love affairs, not battling with gunblades and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

More Than Only Appearance

From the refined advanced design of the building to the paradoxes and dubious actions of the academy, there are countless elements of Balamb Garden to admire. Many of us like to joke about Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than only good looks.