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The Final Fantasy series boasts many memorable places. Starting with 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 admire the unique details that make these locales so remarkable. However, when it comes to one setting that deserves greater recognition than the rest, it is definitely Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its beautiful design, but additionally for being a truly weird school.

An Absolute Blockbuster Moment

First, let's mention the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden turning into an airship and fleeing from a missile attack was absolute cinema. This location was not just designed to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that permits them to create new strategies and move, based on the needs of those in charge. Many readily consider it as one of the most impressive airship concepts in the franchise, alongside 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 most unforgettable moments in gaming history.

The Initial Look of a Gloomy Home

As we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis escorting Squall out of the infirmary, we get our initial glimpse of the environment this gloomy-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot begins from the floor of the school and rises to zoom in on the impressive scale of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that makes it feel futuristic, but also angelic. The rounded structures recall a specifically late ‘90s vision of how the future would look. Meanwhile, because of the golden features on the building and the long trails of light coming from the immense glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden looks like a giant angel. It was designed to be a tranquil place — too peaceful for an institution that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.

The Catchy Melody

Complementing the serenity that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s theme song. One of the fondest memories I have from childhood is walking around the main area of Balamb Garden, seeing those aquatic statues spurting water, and hearing to the gentle theme song. The issue is that it continues playing in your head indefinitely. Once it returns 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 listen to it repeatedly of it.

• Gentle melody that sticks in your mind
• Main area with water features
• Nostalgic memories for countless players

A Compelling Academy

Balamb Garden is compelling as a setting as well as an institution. First, it enrolls kids from five to 15 years old to mold 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 Ironic Motto

When you use the Balamb Garden Network via one of the game terminals, you discover that the credo of the academy is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I never have the feeling that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. However, considering that the facility, where students encounter real monsters they can kill, is the sole 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 primary aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their nutrition is awful, since students are consuming so many frankfurters that the personnel have nothing else to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Tight Rules

Students are controlled by a rigid set of rules, which, for one, we should anticipate from a combat school, but conversely seems oddly humorous. For example, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their dorms in the evenings, unless it’s for training. A student may be dismissed if they lag in their studies, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is truly concerned about its students’ relationships. The school formally advises that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the true risk of being a student of Balamb Garden is love affairs, not fighting with gunblades and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

Greater Than Just Aesthetics

From the delicate advanced design of the building to the contradictions and questionable actions of the academy, there are many elements of Balamb Garden to appreciate. We all like to make fun of Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than simply good looks.