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This FF series features countless memorable places. Starting with Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, all the way to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, every one has found a special place in fans' hearts, and they admire the unique quirks that make these locales so unique. However, when it comes to one place that merits more praise than the others, it is certainly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its elegant design, but additionally for being a truly bizarre school.

An Absolute Cinematic Reveal

Before, let's mention the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden morphing into an airship and escaping from a rocket attack was pure cinema. This location was not only intended to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that permits them to develop new plans and relocate, depending on the requirements of those in command. I readily view it as one of the most impressive airship concepts in the franchise, along with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and several of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

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

A Initial Glimpse of a Brooding Home

As we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis escorting Squall out of the medical wing, we get our initial view of the place this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot starts from the floor of the school and ascends to zoom in on the impressive scale of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that makes it feel futuristic, but also divine. The rounded structures recall a distinctly late ‘90s vision of how the tomorrow would look. Meanwhile, because of the gilded details on the building and the long trails of light emanating from the enormous glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden resembles a massive angel. It was created to be a serene place — too peaceful for an establishment that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

An Memorable Theme Song

Complementing the tranquility that the appearance of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the fondest memories I have from being a kid is walking around the central area of Balamb Garden, watching those fish statues spouting water, and listening to the soothing theme song. The problem is that it keeps playing in your head forever. Once it returns to my mind, I’m compelled to search on YouTube for a extended “Balamb Garden” song video. The sole way to make it stop playing inside my head is to have enough of it.

• Soothing tune that sticks in your mind
• Main area with water features
• Nostalgic associations for countless players

The Intriguing Institution

Balamb Garden is compelling as a setting as well as an establishment. For starters, it accepts kids from 5 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.

The Ironic Slogan

If you access the Balamb Garden Network using 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 sense that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. However, considering that the training center, where students find real monsters they can kill, is the only place in the whole school accessible at any time 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 food is poor, since students are consuming so many hot dogs that the staff have nothing else to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Rigid Regulations

Students are governed by a rigid set of rules, which, on one hand, we would anticipate from a combat school, but conversely seems weirdly 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 lag in their curriculum, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not look like it, but Balamb Garden is genuinely concerned about its students’ sex life. The school formally suggests that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the real threat 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 intro cutscene.)

Greater Than Only Appearance

Starting with the elegant advanced design of the building to the ironies and dubious decisions of the institution, there are many elements of Balamb Garden to celebrate. Many of us like to joke about Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than just good looks.