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The Final Fantasy franchise includes many memorable settings. Starting with Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, all the way to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, every one has secured a cherished place in fans' hearts, and they admire the distinctive quirks that make these worlds so special. However, if one setting that merits more praise than the others, it is certainly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its elegant design, but additionally for being a truly bizarre school.

An Pure Movie Scene

Before, we must highlight the obvious. Balamb Garden transforming into an airship and fleeing from a missile attack was pure cinema. This location was not just designed to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a moving base that allows them to create new strategies and move, based on the demands of those in command. Many readily regard it as one of the most impressive airship designs in the series, along 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 more memorable moments in gaming history.

A First View of a Gloomy Home

When we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis escorting Squall out of the infirmary, we get our first look of the environment this gloomy-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot begins from the floor of the school and rises to focus on the impressive size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels futuristic, but also somehow heavenly. The curvy structures recall a distinctly late ‘90s idea of how the future would look. Meanwhile, because of the golden features on the building and the extended beams of light emanating from the enormous glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden evokes a massive angel. It was created to be a tranquil place — excessively peaceful for an establishment that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

The Catchy Theme Song

Complementing the serenity that the design of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s theme song. One of the fondest memories I have from my youth is strolling around the main area of Balamb Garden, seeing those aquatic statues spouting water, and hearing to the lullaby-ish theme song. The problem is that it keeps playing in your head indefinitely. Once 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 make it stop playing inside my head is to listen to it repeatedly of it.

• Lullaby tune that sticks in your mind
• Central hub with fountain features
• Sentimental associations for countless players

The Fascinating School

Balamb Garden is compelling as a setting and also an institution. First, it enrolls kids from five to 15 years old to turn 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 none look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Contradictory Motto

If you use the Balamb Garden Network via one of the in-game terminals, you discover that the slogan of the school is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, but I didn't have the feeling that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. However, considering that the facility, where students encounter real monsters they can kill, is the only place in the whole school accessible at all hours during the day, perhaps that’s what they mean by “playing.” While training is the key aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their nutrition 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.”

Tight Policies

Students are governed by a tight set of rules, which, on one hand, we should anticipate from a combat school, but on the other seems oddly amusing. First, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their dorms in the evenings, unless 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 really worried about its students’ relationships. The school formally suggests 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 cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

More Than Just Aesthetics

From the refined futuristic design of the building to the contradictions and dubious practices of the school, there are countless features of Balamb Garden to admire. We all like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than simply surface appeal.