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This Final Fantasy series boasts countless memorable places. Starting with Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has earned a cherished place in fans' hearts, who admire the unique idiosyncrasies that make these locales so unique. However, if one place that deserves greater attention than the others, it is definitely Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its beautiful design, but additionally for being a truly bizarre school.

The Pure Cinematic Moment

First, we must address the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden transforming into an flying vessel and escaping from a rocket attack was absolute cinema. This place was not just designed to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that allows them to establish new strategies and reposition, based on the demands of those in control. I readily consider it as one of the most impressive airship concepts in the series, together with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and several of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

The change of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the most memorable moments in gaming history.

The First Look of a Brooding Sanctuary

As we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis leading Squall out of the medical wing, we get our initial view of the environment this gloomy-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot starts from the floor of the school and rises to focus on the staggering magnitude of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that makes it feel futuristic, but also angelic. The curvy structures bring to mind a distinctly late ‘90s vision of how the tomorrow would look. On the other hand, because of the gilded accents on the building and the long trails of light coming from the massive glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden resembles a giant angel. It was designed to be a tranquil place — excessively peaceful for an establishment that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

The Catchy Soundtrack

Matching the serenity that the appearance of Balamb Garden portrays, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the fondest memories I have from childhood is strolling around the central area of Balamb Garden, seeing those aquatic statues spraying water, and listening to the gentle theme song. The issue is that it keeps playing in your head constantly. Whenever it returns to my mind, I’m forced 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 listen to it repeatedly of it.

• Lullaby melody that sticks in your mind
• Central hub with fountain features
• Sentimental feelings for many players

The Intriguing Academy

Balamb Garden is intriguing as a setting and also an institution. First, it accepts kids from five to fifteen years old to transform them into mercenaries, but it looks like a massive church. There are a lot of military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but not one look less militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Ironic Slogan

If you access the Balamb Garden Network using one of the in-game terminals, you find out that the slogan of the institution is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I didn't have the feeling that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. But, given that the facility, where students find living monsters they can kill, is the sole place in the whole school available 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 diet is poor, since students are eating 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 tight set of rules, which, on one hand, we would anticipate from a military school, but conversely seems weirdly amusing. First, there’s no dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their dorms in the nights, except it’s for training. A student can 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 really worried about its students’ romantic activities. The school formally recommends 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 romantic relationships, not battling with weapons and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

Greater Than Only Good Looks

Starting with the delicate advanced design of the building to the paradoxes and questionable decisions of the academy, there are countless elements of Balamb Garden to appreciate. We all like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than just surface appeal.