🔗 Share this article

This Final Fantasy franchise includes countless iconic places. Starting with Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, every one has earned a special place in players' hearts, who love the distinctive details that make these locales so remarkable. However, when it comes to one location that deserves more praise than the rest, 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 Absolute Blockbuster Scene

First, we must address the obvious. Balamb Garden turning into an flying vessel and escaping from a missile attack was pure cinema. This institution was not only intended to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that allows them to establish new plans and move, depending on the requirements of those in charge. I readily regard it as one of the coolest airship creations in the series, together with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and several of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

The transformation of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the most unforgettable moments in video game history.

The First Look of a Gloomy Sanctuary

When we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis leading Squall out of the medical wing, we get our initial look of the place this brooding-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot starts from the floor of the school and ascends to zoom in on the impressive size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels futuristic, but also heavenly. The curvy structures recall a specifically late ‘90s concept of how the tomorrow would look. Meanwhile, because of the gilded features on the building and the long beams of light emanating from the massive glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden evokes a massive angel. It was designed to be a serene place — too peaceful for an academy that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.

An Unforgettable Melody

Matching the tranquility that the appearance of Balamb Garden portrays, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the fondest recollections I have from my youth is walking around the central area of Balamb Garden, watching those aquatic statues spraying water, and listening to the soothing theme song. The catch is that it keeps playing in your head constantly. Whenever it returns to my mind, I’m compelled to search on YouTube for a 3-hour-long “Balamb Garden” song video. The only way to get it out of playing inside my head is to have enough of it.

• Soothing melody that remains in your mind
• Main area with fountain features
• Nostalgic associations for many players

The Fascinating School

Balamb Garden is compelling as a location and also an institution. First, it accepts kids from five to 15 years old to turn them into mercenaries, but it appears like a giant church. There are many military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but none look less militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Contradictory Slogan

If you use the Balamb Garden Network using one of the in-game terminals, you learn that the motto of the institution is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I didn't have the sense that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. But, considering that the facility, where students find living monsters they can defeat, is the only place in the entire school available at any time during the day, maybe that’s what they intend by “playing.” While training is the primary part of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their nutrition is awful, since students are eating so many hot dogs that the faculty have nothing else to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Tight Regulations

Students are controlled by a strict set of rules, which, on one hand, we would expect from a military school, but on the other seems weirdly humorous. First, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their dorms in the nights, except it’s for training. A student may be expelled if they fall behind in their curriculum, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not look like it, but Balamb Garden is truly concerned about its students’ sex life. The school officially advises 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 slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)

More Than Only Appearance

From the elegant advanced design of the building to the ironies and questionable decisions of the school, there are numerous aspects of Balamb Garden to appreciate. We all like to joke about Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than simply good looks.