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The Final Fantasy series features countless unforgettable settings. Starting with Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has secured a special place in fans' hearts, and they love the distinctive idiosyncrasies that make these areas so special. But, if one setting that warrants greater attention than the others, it is certainly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its stunning design, but also for being a absolutely weird school.

The Pure Cinematic Reveal

First, we must highlight the obvious. Balamb Garden morphing into an airship and fleeing from a missile attack was pure cinema. This place was not just designed to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that enables them to create new strategies and move, based on the demands of those in charge. I readily view it as one of the best airship creations in the series, alongside 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.

The First Glimpse of a Brooding Home

As we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis escorting Squall out of the medical wing, we get our first glimpse of the location this gloomy-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 somehow divine. The flowing structures evoke a distinctly late ‘90s idea of how the tomorrow would look. On the other hand, because of the golden details on the building and the extended beams of light coming from the immense glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden evokes a massive angel. It was built to be a tranquil place — too peaceful for an academy that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

An Catchy Soundtrack

Complementing the calmness that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden suggests, we have the school’s theme song. One of the dearest memories I have from my youth is walking around the central area of Balamb Garden, watching those aquatic statues spouting water, and listening to the gentle theme song. The catch is that it keeps playing in your head constantly. Once it comes back to my mind, I’m compelled to look up on YouTube for a extended “Balamb Garden” song video. The only way to make it stop playing inside my head is to overdose of it.

• Soothing melody that lingers in your mind
• Main courtyard with fountain features
• Nostalgic feelings for many players

A Intriguing Academy

Balamb Garden is compelling as a setting and also an institution. First, it enrolls kids from five to 15 years old to transform them into mercenaries, but it looks like a giant 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 Contradictory Philosophy

If you access the Balamb Garden Network using one of the game terminals, you find out that the slogan of the academy is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, but I didn't have the sense that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. However, given that the training center, where students find real monsters they can battle, is the only place in the whole school accessible at all hours 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 diet is poor, since students are eating so many frankfurters that the staff have nothing else to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Strict Policies

Students are governed by a strict set of rules, which, for one, we would expect from a military school, but conversely seems strangely amusing. For example, there’s no dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their rooms in the nights, except it’s for training. A student can be expelled if they fall behind in their studies, 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 officially 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 slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)

Greater Than Just Aesthetics

From the refined futuristic design of the building to the ironies and dubious practices of the school, there are many features of Balamb Garden to appreciate. Many of us like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than only surface appeal.