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The Final Fantasy franchise boasts countless iconic places. From Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, every one has secured a cherished place in players' hearts, and they admire the unique idiosyncrasies that make these worlds so unique. But, when it comes to one place that warrants more praise than the others, it is definitely Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its stunning design, but also for being a incredibly strange school.

The Pure Blockbuster Scene

First, let's highlight the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden transforming into an airship and escaping from a rocket attack was absolute cinema. This institution was not just designed to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that allows them to develop new tactics and reposition, based on the demands of those in command. Many readily consider it as one of the best airship creations in the franchise, together with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and some of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

This conversion of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the more iconic moments in gaming history.

A Initial Glimpse of a Brooding Sanctuary

When we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis escorting Squall out of the infirmary, we get our first look of the location this brooding-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot begins from the floor of the school and ascends to focus on the staggering size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels futuristic, but also divine. The curvy structures recall a specifically late ‘90s vision of how the tomorrow would look. Meanwhile, because of the golden accents on the building and the long beams of light emanating from the immense glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden looks like a giant angel. It was designed to be a tranquil place — excessively peaceful for an institution that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

The Memorable Theme Song

Complementing the serenity that the appearance of Balamb Garden suggests, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the most cherished recollections I have from childhood is walking around the main area of Balamb Garden, seeing those fish statues spraying water, and hearing to the soothing theme song. The problem is that it keeps 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 make it stop playing inside my head is to have enough of it.

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

A Compelling School

Balamb Garden is fascinating as a location as well as an establishment. For starters, it accepts kids from 5 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 not one look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Contradictory Motto

If you use the Balamb Garden Network via one of the in-game terminals, you learn that the motto of the academy is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, but I never have the impression that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. However, considering that the training center, where students encounter real monsters they can kill, is the sole place in the entire school accessible at all hours during the day, perhaps that’s what they mean by “playing.” While combat preparation is the key aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is terrible, since students are consuming so many frankfurters that the faculty have nothing else to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Tight Rules

Students are controlled by a rigid set of rules, which, on one hand, we should anticipate from a combat school, but on the other seems weirdly funny. For example, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their rooms in the nights, except it’s for training. A student may be dismissed if they fall behind in their curriculum, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is genuinely 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 romantic relationships, not battling with gunblades and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)

Greater Than Only Aesthetics

From the refined advanced design of the building to the contradictions and dubious actions of the school, there are countless features of Balamb Garden to celebrate. Many of us like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than only good looks.