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The Final Fantasy franchise features many iconic locations. From Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has earned a cherished place in fans' hearts, who celebrate the unique quirks that make these worlds so remarkable. But, when it comes to one location that merits more recognition than the rest, it is definitely Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its stunning design, but additionally for being a truly bizarre school.

An Pure Movie Reveal

Before, we must highlight the obvious. Balamb Garden morphing into an airship and fleeing from a missile attack was pure cinema. This institution was not just intended to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that allows them to develop new tactics and move, based on the demands of those in control. Many easily regard it as one of the most impressive airship designs in the series, 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 more iconic moments in gaming history.

The Initial Glimpse of a Brooding Home

As we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis leading Squall out of the medical wing, we get our initial look of the location this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot starts from the floor of the school and rises to zoom in on the staggering scale of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels advanced, but also angelic. The curvy structures evoke a distinctly late ‘90s idea of how the tomorrow would look. On the other hand, because of the gilded accents on the building and the extended beams of light emanating from the massive glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden looks like a giant angel. It was built to be a tranquil place — excessively peaceful for an establishment that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

The Unforgettable 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 my youth is walking around the main area of Balamb Garden, watching those aquatic statues spurting water, and listening to the lullaby-ish theme song. The issue is that it keeps playing in your head indefinitely. Once it returns to my mind, I’m forced to look up on YouTube for a 3-hour-long “Balamb Garden” song video. The only way to make it stop playing inside my head is to overdose of it.

• Soothing tune that sticks in your mind
• Main courtyard with fountain features
• Sentimental associations for many players

A Intriguing Academy

Balamb Garden is fascinating as a setting and also an establishment. First, it enrolls kids from five to fifteen years old to mold them into mercenaries, but it looks like a giant church. There are numerous military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but none look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

The Ironic Motto

When you access the Balamb Garden Network using one of the game terminals, you learn that the motto 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” — only Zell. However, given that the training area, where students encounter real monsters they can battle, is the only place in the whole school available at any time during the day, perhaps that’s what they intend by “playing.” While training is the primary part of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their food is awful, since students are devouring so many hot dogs that the staff have no other response to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Rigid Regulations

Students are governed by a rigid set of rules, which, on one hand, we should expect from a military school, but conversely seems oddly humorous. First, there’s no dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their dorms in the evenings, unless it’s for training. A student can be dismissed if they fall behind in their curriculum, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is truly concerned about its students’ sex life. The school officially advises that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the real danger of being a student of Balamb Garden is love affairs, not battling with weapons and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

More Than Only Appearance

Starting with the delicate advanced design of the building to the ironies and dubious actions of the institution, there are many elements of Balamb Garden to admire. We all like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than only aesthetics.