🔗 Share this article

The FF series boasts countless unforgettable locations. From Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, all the way to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has found a cherished place in players' hearts, and they love the unique quirks that make these locales so special. However, if one setting that warrants greater recognition than the others, it is definitely Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its beautiful design, but also for being a truly strange school.

An Absolute Cinematic Moment

First, we must mention the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden transforming into an flying vessel and escaping from a rocket attack was absolute cinema. This place was not only designed to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that allows them to develop new tactics and relocate, depending on the requirements of those in charge. Many readily regard it as one of the best 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 more memorable moments in gaming history.

The Initial View of a Brooding Home

When we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis escorting Squall out of the medical wing, we get our first view of the location this brooding-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot starts from the floor of the school and ascends to focus on the staggering scale of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that makes it feel advanced, but also somehow heavenly. The flowing structures bring to mind a specifically late ‘90s idea of how the tomorrow would look. On the other hand, because of the gilded accents on the building and the long trails of light emanating from the massive glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden resembles a giant angel. It was designed to be a tranquil place — too peaceful for an academy that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

The Catchy Soundtrack

Complementing the serenity that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden portrays, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the dearest memories I have from my youth is walking around the central area of Balamb Garden, seeing those aquatic statues spraying water, and hearing to the soothing theme song. The issue is that it keeps playing in your head indefinitely. Once it returns to my mind, I’m forced to search on YouTube for a 3-hour-long “Balamb Garden” song video. The sole way to end playing inside my head is to listen to it repeatedly of it.

• Lullaby tune that sticks in your mind
• Central hub with water features
• Sentimental associations for countless players

A Intriguing School

Balamb Garden is fascinating as a location and also an institution. For starters, it accepts kids from five to fifteen years old to transform 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 militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Ironic Slogan

If you access the Balamb Garden Network via one of the in-game terminals, you discover that the credo of the institution is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I never have the feeling that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. But, considering that the training area, where students encounter real monsters they can defeat, is the only place in the whole school available at any time during the day, maybe that’s what they mean by “playing.” While combat preparation is the primary aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their nutrition is poor, since students are eating so many hot dogs that the staff have no other response to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Tight Regulations

Students are governed by a rigid set of rules, which, on one hand, we would anticipate from a military school, but conversely seems strangely funny. For example, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their dorms in the nights, unless it’s for training. A student may be dismissed if they fall behind in their curriculum, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is truly concerned about its students’ relationships. The school formally 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 romantic relationships, not battling with gunblades and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)

Greater Than Just Appearance

Starting with the refined advanced design of the building to the ironies and questionable decisions of the school, there are countless features of Balamb Garden to celebrate. Many of us like to joke about Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than simply aesthetics.