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This FF series includes countless memorable places. From Elfheim in the very first 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 locales so unique. But, if one location that deserves more praise than the others, it is definitely Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its elegant design, but additionally for being a absolutely strange school.

An Absolute Cinematic Scene

First, let's mention the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden turning into an flying vessel and escaping from a rocket attack was pure cinema. This place was not just designed to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that enables them to create new tactics and relocate, depending on the requirements of those in control. I 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.

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

A Initial View of a Brooding Sanctuary

As we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis escorting Squall out of the medical wing, we get our first view of the location this brooding-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 makes it feel advanced, but also somehow angelic. The rounded structures bring to mind a distinctly late ‘90s idea of how the future would look. Conversely, because of the golden features on the building and the extended trails of light coming from the massive glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden resembles a massive angel. It was designed to be a serene place — too peaceful for an institution that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.

An Catchy Theme Song

Complementing the calmness that the design of Balamb Garden portrays, we have the school’s theme song. One of the dearest recollections I have from being a kid is strolling around the main area of Balamb Garden, watching those fish statues spraying water, and listening to the lullaby-ish theme song. The issue is that it continues playing in your head forever. Once it comes back to my mind, I’m forced to look up 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 music that lingers in your mind
• Main hub with water features
• Sentimental memories for many players

A Fascinating Institution

Balamb Garden is intriguing as a setting and also an institution. First, it accepts kids from 5 to fifteen years old to turn them into mercenaries, but it looks like a enormous church. There are a lot of military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but none look less militaristic than Balamb Garden.

The Ironic Philosophy

If you use the Balamb Garden Network using one of the in-game terminals, you learn that the motto of the academy is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I never have the sense that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. However, considering that the facility, where students encounter real monsters they can battle, is the only place in the entire school available at any time during the day, maybe 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 hot dogs that the staff have no other response to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Strict Regulations

Students are controlled by a strict set of rules, which, for one, we would expect from a combat school, but on the other seems strangely humorous. For example, there’s no dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their dorms in the evenings, unless it’s for training. A student may be expelled if they fall behind in their curriculum, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not look like it, but Balamb Garden is truly worried 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 romantic relationships, not fighting with weapons and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)

Greater Than Only Good Looks

From the refined advanced design of the building to the ironies and dubious decisions of the academy, there are numerous elements of Balamb Garden to celebrate. We all like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than simply aesthetics.