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This FF series boasts numerous iconic settings. Starting with 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 special place in players' hearts, and they admire the distinctive quirks that make these areas so remarkable. However, if one location that warrants more praise than the others, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its beautiful design, but also for being a absolutely weird school.

The Pure Movie Scene

Before, we must mention the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden transforming into an airship and fleeing from a missile attack was absolute cinema. This institution was not just intended to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that permits them to establish new plans and reposition, based on the demands of those in command. Many easily 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.

The change of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the most memorable moments in gaming history.

The Initial Glimpse of a Brooding Sanctuary

When we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis leading Squall out of the infirmary, we get our initial look of the environment this brooding-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot starts from the floor of the school and rises to zoom in on the staggering scale of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that appears advanced, but also somehow heavenly. The flowing structures evoke a specifically late ‘90s vision of how the tomorrow would look. On the other hand, because of the gilded features on the building and the extended beams of light coming from the immense glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden evokes a giant angel. It was designed to be a tranquil place — too peaceful for an institution that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.

The Unforgettable Theme Song

Complementing the serenity that the appearance of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the most cherished recollections I have from childhood is walking around the central area of Balamb Garden, watching those aquatic statues spraying water, and listening to the soothing theme song. The catch is that it continues playing in your head forever. Once it comes back to my mind, I’m compelled to look up on YouTube for a extended “Balamb Garden” song video. The only way to make it stop playing inside my head is to listen to it repeatedly of it.

• Gentle music that sticks in your mind
• Main area with fountain features
• Sentimental memories for countless players

The Intriguing Institution

Balamb Garden is compelling as a location as well as an institution. First, it accepts kids from five to 15 years old to mold them into mercenaries, but it looks like a giant church. There are many military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but not one look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

The Paradoxical Motto

When you use the Balamb Garden Network using one of the in-game terminals, you discover that the slogan of the institution is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I didn't have the sense that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. But, considering that the training center, where students encounter living monsters they can battle, is the only place in the entire school available at all hours during the day, maybe that’s what they mean by “playing.” While training is the most important aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is awful, since students are eating so many hot dogs that the personnel have no other response to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Strict Rules

Students are governed by a rigid set of rules, which, for one, we would anticipate from a military school, but conversely seems weirdly funny. For example, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their rooms in the nights, unless it’s for training. A student may be expelled if they lag 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’ sex life. The school formally recommends that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the real danger of being a student of Balamb Garden is romantic relationships, not fighting with weapons and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

Greater Than Just Appearance

Starting with the elegant futuristic design of the building to the contradictions and questionable decisions of the institution, there are numerous features of Balamb Garden to appreciate. Many of us like to make fun of Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than simply surface appeal.