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This FF series includes many unforgettable places. From Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, all the way to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has secured a special place in fans' hearts, who love the distinctive quirks that make these areas so remarkable. However, when it comes to one location that deserves greater recognition than the rest, it is certainly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its beautiful design, but also for being a truly strange school.

An Absolute Cinematic Moment

Before, we must highlight the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden turning into an flying vessel and escaping from a rocket attack was pure cinema. This institution was not only intended to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that enables them to develop new plans and relocate, depending on the needs of those in control. I easily view it as one of the best airship concepts in the series, together 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 more iconic moments in gaming history.

A First View of a Gloomy Home

As we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis escorting Squall out of the medical wing, we get our initial view of the location this gloomy-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot begins from the ground of the school and rises to zoom in on the staggering size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels advanced, but also somehow divine. The flowing structures evoke a specifically late ‘90s concept of how the future would look. Meanwhile, because of the gilded accents on the building and the extended trails of light emanating from the enormous glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden resembles a massive angel. It was designed to be a tranquil place — excessively peaceful for an establishment that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.

An Catchy Theme Song

Complementing the serenity that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden suggests, we have the school’s theme song. One of the fondest recollections I have from childhood is strolling around the central area of Balamb Garden, seeing those aquatic statues spouting water, and listening to the lullaby-ish theme song. The catch is that it continues playing in your head indefinitely. Whenever 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 get it out of playing inside my head is to overdose of it.

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

A Fascinating Academy

Balamb Garden is fascinating as a location as well as an establishment. For starters, it accepts kids from 5 to fifteen years old to mold them into mercenaries, but it appears like a giant church. There are a lot of military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but not one look less militaristic than Balamb Garden.

The Contradictory Philosophy

When you use the Balamb Garden Network via one of the in-game terminals, you learn that the credo of the institution is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I didn't have the feeling that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. However, given that the facility, where students find real monsters they can defeat, is the sole place in the whole school available at all hours during the day, maybe that’s what they mean by “playing.” While combat preparation is the most important aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their nutrition is terrible, since students are eating so many hot dogs that the faculty have no other response to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Strict Policies

Students are controlled by a strict set of rules, which, for one, we would expect from a military school, but on the other seems strangely humorous. First, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their dorms in the evenings, except it’s for training. A student may be expelled if they fall behind in their curriculum, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is truly worried about its students’ sex life. 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 romantic relationships, not battling with weapons and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

More Than Only Aesthetics

Starting with the delicate futuristic design of the building to the contradictions and debatable practices of the institution, there are countless aspects of Balamb Garden to admire. Many of us like to make fun of Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than simply aesthetics.