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This FF series includes many memorable places. From Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has secured a special place in players' hearts, who celebrate the unique idiosyncrasies that make these worlds so unique. However, if one location that merits more recognition than the rest, it is certainly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its stunning design, but additionally for being a absolutely bizarre school.

The Pure Movie Reveal

Before, we must highlight the obvious. Balamb Garden transforming into an flying vessel and escaping from a rocket attack was pure cinema. This institution was not only designed to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that permits them to develop new strategies and reposition, based on the needs of those in command. Many readily view it as one of the most impressive airship concepts in the franchise, along with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and some of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

This transformation of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the more memorable moments in video game history.

A Initial Glimpse of a Gloomy Sanctuary

When we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis leading Squall out of the infirmary, we get our initial view of the location this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot begins from the ground of the school and ascends to zoom in on the awe-inspiring magnitude of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels advanced, but also somehow angelic. The rounded structures bring to mind a specifically late ‘90s concept of how the tomorrow would look. Conversely, because of the golden accents on the building and the long trails of light emanating from the immense glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden looks like a massive angel. It was designed to be a peaceful place — too peaceful for an establishment that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

The Catchy Soundtrack

Complementing the calmness that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden portrays, we have the school’s theme song. One of the fondest memories I have from childhood is walking around the central area of Balamb Garden, watching those aquatic statues spouting water, and listening to the gentle theme song. The catch is that it continues playing in your head constantly. Once it comes back to my mind, I’m forced to search on YouTube for a 3-hour-long “Balamb Garden” song video. The sole way to get it out of playing inside my head is to have enough of it.

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

The Fascinating Institution

Balamb Garden is intriguing as a setting as well as an establishment. For starters, it accepts kids from five to 15 years old to turn them into mercenaries, but it appears like a giant church. There are numerous military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but none look less militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Paradoxical Slogan

When you use the Balamb Garden Network via one of the in-game terminals, you find out that the credo of the academy is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, but I never have the impression that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. However, given that the training area, where students find living monsters they can battle, is the sole place in the whole school accessible at any time during the day, maybe that’s what they intend by “playing.” While combat preparation is the key part of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is awful, since students are eating so many frankfurters that the personnel have no other response to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Strict Rules

Students are controlled by a strict set of rules, which, on one hand, we should expect from a combat school, but conversely seems strangely humorous. First, there’s no dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their dorms in the nights, unless it’s for training. A student may be expelled if they fall behind 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 officially suggests that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the true threat 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.)

Greater Than Only Appearance

From the refined advanced design of the building to the ironies and debatable practices of the school, there are numerous elements of Balamb Garden to admire. We all like to joke about Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than simply surface appeal.