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The FF series features countless memorable places. Starting with Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has earned a cherished place in players' hearts, who admire the unique idiosyncrasies that make these locales so special. However, if one place that merits greater attention than the others, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its beautiful design, but also for being a incredibly bizarre school.

An Pure Blockbuster Reveal

Before, we must mention the obvious. Balamb Garden transforming into an airship and escaping from a missile attack was absolute cinema. This location was not only designed to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a moving base that enables them to create new plans and move, based on the demands of those in control. I easily view it as one of the most impressive airship concepts in the series, along with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and several of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

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

A First View of a Gloomy Home

When we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis leading Squall out of the medical wing, we get our initial look of the location this brooding-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot begins from the floor of the school and rises to focus on the awe-inspiring magnitude of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels advanced, but also angelic. The flowing structures bring to mind a distinctly late ‘90s idea of how the future would look. Conversely, because of the gilded features on the building and the extended beams of light emanating from the immense glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden evokes a giant angel. It was designed to be a peaceful place — excessively peaceful for an institution that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

An Memorable Soundtrack

Complementing the calmness that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden suggests, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the most cherished recollections I have from childhood is strolling around the main area of Balamb Garden, watching those fish statues spraying water, and hearing to the soothing 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 3-hour-long “Balamb Garden” song video. The only way to get it out of playing inside my head is to listen to it repeatedly of it.

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

A Fascinating Academy

Balamb Garden is intriguing as a setting as well as an establishment. First, it accepts kids from five to 15 years old to mold them into mercenaries, but it looks like a enormous church. There are a lot of military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but none look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

The Ironic Motto

When you access the Balamb Garden Network using one of the game terminals, you learn that the motto of the academy is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, but I didn't have the sense that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. But, given that the training area, where students find real monsters they can kill, is the only place in the entire school accessible at any time during the day, maybe that’s what they intend by “playing.” While training is the most important part of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their nutrition is awful, since students are devouring so many frankfurters that the faculty have nothing else to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Tight Regulations

Students are controlled by a strict set of rules, which, on one hand, we should expect from a military school, but conversely seems strangely funny. For example, there’s no dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their rooms in the nights, unless it’s for training. A student can be expelled if they lag in their studies, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is truly concerned about its students’ romantic activities. The school officially suggests 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 gunblades and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

More Than Only Good Looks

From the refined advanced design of the building to the ironies and debatable practices of the school, there are countless aspects of Balamb Garden to celebrate. Many of us like to make fun of Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than just aesthetics.