🔗 Share this article

This Final Fantasy franchise boasts numerous memorable locations. From Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has found a special place in fans' hearts, who admire the distinctive quirks that make these worlds so special. But, if one place that deserves greater attention than the others, it is definitely Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its elegant design, but also for being a truly strange school.

The Pure Blockbuster Reveal

Before, we must highlight the obvious. Balamb Garden turning into an flying vessel and fleeing from a missile attack was absolute cinema. This institution was not just intended to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a moving base that permits them to develop new strategies and reposition, depending on the demands of those in command. Many easily consider it as one of the best airship concepts in the series, together with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and several of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

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

The Initial View of a Brooding Home

As we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis leading Squall out of the medical wing, we get our first view of the location this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot starts from the ground of the school and ascends to focus on the awe-inspiring scale of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that makes it feel advanced, but also heavenly. The curvy structures bring to mind a specifically late ‘90s concept of how the future would look. Conversely, because of the gilded features on the building and the long trails of light emanating from the immense glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden looks like a giant angel. It was created to be a serene place — too peaceful for an establishment that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

An Catchy Theme Song

Matching the calmness that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s theme song. One of the most cherished memories I have from my youth is walking around the main area of Balamb Garden, seeing those fish statues spraying water, and hearing to the gentle theme song. The catch is that it continues playing in your head constantly. Once it comes back to my mind, I’m forced to look up on YouTube for a 3-hour-long “Balamb Garden” song video. The sole way to get it out of playing inside my head is to listen to it repeatedly of it.

• Gentle music that remains in your mind
• Main courtyard with water features
• Sentimental feelings for countless players

The Compelling Institution

Balamb Garden is intriguing as a setting and also an establishment. First, it enrolls kids from 5 to fifteen years old to turn them into mercenaries, but it appears like a enormous church. There are many military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but none look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Ironic Philosophy

If you access the Balamb Garden Network via one of the game terminals, you learn that the credo of the institution is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, but I didn't have the impression that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. But, considering that the facility, where students encounter real monsters they can kill, is the only place in the whole school available at any time during the day, perhaps that’s what they mean by “playing.” While combat preparation is the primary aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their food is awful, since students are eating so many hot dogs that the staff have no other response to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Tight Regulations

Students are governed by a strict set of rules, which, on one hand, we should expect from a combat school, but conversely seems strangely 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 curriculum, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not look like it, but Balamb Garden is truly worried about its students’ sex life. The school formally advises that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the real risk of being a student of Balamb Garden is love affairs, not battling with gunblades and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)

More Than Just Aesthetics

Starting with the elegant advanced design of the building to the ironies and dubious actions of the academy, there are numerous elements of Balamb Garden to appreciate. We all like to make fun of Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than simply good looks.