🔗 Share this article

The FF series features countless iconic locations. Starting with 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, who love the unique idiosyncrasies that make these locales so unique. But, when it comes to one place that warrants more attention than the others, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its elegant design, but also for being a incredibly weird school.

An Pure Cinematic Scene

First, we must address the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden transforming into an flying vessel and fleeing from a rocket attack was pure cinema. This place was not only intended to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that permits them to create new plans and move, depending on the requirements of those in charge. I easily view it as one of the coolest airship designs in the series, along 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 iconic moments in video game history.

The First Glimpse of a Brooding Home

As we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis escorting Squall out of the infirmary, we get our first glimpse of the location this brooding-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot starts from the ground of the school and ascends to zoom in on the impressive scale of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that appears advanced, but also heavenly. The flowing structures evoke a specifically late ‘90s concept of how the future would look. Conversely, because of the gilded accents on the building and the long trails of light coming from the immense glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden resembles a giant angel. It was built to be a tranquil place — excessively peaceful for an institution that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.

The Catchy Soundtrack

Matching the tranquility that the appearance of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the fondest memories I have from childhood is walking around the central area of Balamb Garden, seeing those aquatic statues spurting water, and listening to the soothing theme song. The catch is that it continues playing in your head constantly. Once it comes back to my mind, I’m compelled to search on YouTube for a 3-hour-long “Balamb Garden” song video. The only way to make it stop playing inside my head is to have enough of it.

• Lullaby tune that lingers in your mind
• Main courtyard with water features
• Nostalgic feelings for many players

The Fascinating Academy

Balamb Garden is compelling as a location and also an organization. First, it accepts kids from five to 15 years old to mold them into mercenaries, but it looks like a massive church. There are numerous military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but not one look less militaristic than Balamb Garden.

The Contradictory Philosophy

If you access the Balamb Garden Network via one of the in-game terminals, you discover that the slogan of the academy is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, but I never have the sense that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. However, considering that the facility, where students find real monsters they can kill, is the sole place in the entire school available at any time during the day, perhaps that’s what they intend by “playing.” While training is the most important aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is awful, since students are eating so many frankfurters that the personnel have nothing else to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Rigid Regulations

Students are controlled by a strict set of rules, which, for one, we would expect from a military school, but on the other seems oddly humorous. First, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their rooms in the nights, except it’s for training. A student can be dismissed if they lag in their studies, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not look like it, but Balamb Garden is really concerned about its students’ romantic activities. The school formally recommends 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 weapons and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

More Than Just Good Looks

From the elegant advanced design of the building to the paradoxes and questionable practices of the institution, there are countless features of Balamb Garden to admire. Many of us like to make fun of Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than simply surface appeal.