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This Final Fantasy franchise features countless iconic locations. From Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, all the way to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, every one has found a special place in fans' hearts, and they celebrate the unique quirks that make these locales so unique. But, if one location that merits greater recognition than the others, it is certainly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its stunning design, but additionally for being a incredibly weird school.

An Absolute Cinematic Scene

Before, let's address the obvious. Balamb Garden turning into an airship and escaping from a missile attack was pure cinema. This location was not only intended to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that permits them to establish new plans and reposition, depending on the requirements of those in charge. Many readily regard it as one of the best airship designs in the series, alongside Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and some of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

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

A First Look of a Gloomy Home

When we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis leading Squall out of the infirmary, we get our initial view of the location this gloomy-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot starts from the ground of the school and ascends to zoom in on the staggering magnitude of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels advanced, but also heavenly. The rounded structures bring to mind a distinctly late ‘90s vision of how the tomorrow would look. Conversely, because of the gilded accents on the building and the extended beams of light emanating from the enormous glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden resembles a giant angel. It was created to be a serene place — excessively peaceful for an academy that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

An Unforgettable Theme Song

Matching the calmness that the appearance of Balamb Garden suggests, we have the school’s background music. One of the most cherished memories I have from my youth is strolling around the main area of Balamb Garden, seeing those aquatic statues spurting water, and listening to the lullaby-ish theme song. The issue is that it keeps playing in your head indefinitely. 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 end playing inside my head is to overdose of it.

• Soothing tune that lingers in your mind
• Central courtyard with fountain features
• Nostalgic associations for countless players

A Compelling Academy

Balamb Garden is fascinating as a setting and also an institution. First, it accepts kids from five to 15 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 Philosophy

If you use the Balamb Garden Network via one of the in-game terminals, you find out that the motto of the academy is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I never have the feeling that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. But, given that the training area, where students encounter real monsters they can defeat, is the only place in the entire school accessible at any time during the day, perhaps that’s what they intend by “playing.” While combat preparation is the key aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is awful, since students are eating so many frankfurters that the faculty have nothing else to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Rigid Rules

Students are governed by a tight set of rules, which, on one hand, we would expect from a combat school, but on the other seems oddly humorous. First, there’s no 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 lag in their curriculum, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not look like it, but Balamb Garden is really concerned about its students’ relationships. 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 love affairs, not fighting with gunblades and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)

More Than Only Good Looks

From the refined futuristic design of the building to the paradoxes and questionable practices of the academy, there are countless aspects of Balamb Garden to admire. Many of us like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than just aesthetics.