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The FF franchise boasts many memorable locations. Starting with Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, all the way to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, every one has earned a special place in fans' hearts, who admire the unique idiosyncrasies that make these worlds so unique. However, when it comes to one location that merits more praise than the rest, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its beautiful design, but additionally for being a truly bizarre school.

An Pure Cinematic Reveal

Before, we must highlight the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden transforming into an airship and escaping from a missile attack was pure cinema. This institution was not just designed to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that allows them to develop new plans and reposition, depending on the requirements of those in command. I easily regard it as one of the best airship designs in the series, along with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and some of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

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

A First View of a Gloomy Sanctuary

When we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis leading Squall out of the medical wing, we get our first view of the location this gloomy-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot begins from the ground of the school and ascends to zoom in on the awe-inspiring size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that appears advanced, but also heavenly. The curvy structures recall a specifically late ‘90s concept of how the tomorrow would look. Meanwhile, 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 evokes a giant angel. It was built to be a serene place — excessively peaceful for an institution that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

An Catchy Melody

Matching the serenity that the design of Balamb Garden portrays, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the most cherished recollections I have from my youth is walking around the main area of Balamb Garden, watching those aquatic statues spurting water, and hearing to the lullaby-ish theme song. The problem is that it continues 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 make it stop playing inside my head is to have enough of it.

• Lullaby music that remains in your mind
• Main hub with fountain features
• Nostalgic memories for many players

A Compelling School

Balamb Garden is fascinating as a location and also an institution. For starters, it enrolls kids from 5 to fifteen years old to mold them into mercenaries, but it looks like a giant 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 Paradoxical Philosophy

If you use the Balamb Garden Network via one of the game terminals, you discover that the motto of the institution 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, considering that the training area, where students encounter real monsters they can kill, is the only place in the entire school available at all hours during the day, maybe that’s what they intend by “playing.” While combat preparation is the key aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their food is awful, since students are consuming so many frankfurters that the personnel have nothing else to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Rigid Regulations

Students are governed by a rigid set of rules, which, for one, we should anticipate from a military school, but conversely seems oddly funny. First, there’s no dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their dorms in the evenings, unless it’s for training. A student may be dismissed if they lag in their curriculum, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not look like it, but Balamb Garden is truly concerned about its students’ sex life. The school officially recommends 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 fighting with gunblades and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

Greater Than Only Appearance

Starting with the elegant futuristic design of the building to the paradoxes and debatable practices of the institution, there are many aspects of Balamb Garden to admire. We all like to make fun of Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than just aesthetics.