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This Final Fantasy series features countless iconic places. Starting with Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, every one has found a special place in players' hearts, and they admire the distinctive details that make these worlds so remarkable. But, if one location that deserves more recognition than the rest, it is definitely Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its elegant design, but also for being a incredibly strange school.

The Pure Cinematic Reveal

Before, let's mention the obvious. Balamb Garden morphing into an airship and fleeing from a rocket attack was absolute cinema. This location was not just designed to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that permits them to establish new plans and move, based on the demands of those in command. I readily view it as one of the best airship designs in the series, along with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and several of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

The change of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the more iconic moments in video game history.

The First Look of a Brooding Sanctuary

As we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis escorting Squall out of the infirmary, we get our initial view of the environment this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot starts from the ground of the school and ascends to zoom in on the awe-inspiring scale of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that appears advanced, but also divine. The rounded structures evoke a specifically late ‘90s vision of how the tomorrow would look. Conversely, because of the golden details on the building and the extended beams of light coming from the massive glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden resembles a massive angel. It was designed to be a tranquil place — excessively peaceful for an institution that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

The Catchy Melody

Matching the tranquility that the design of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the fondest memories I have from childhood is walking around the central area of Balamb Garden, seeing those aquatic statues spurting water, and listening to the gentle theme song. The catch is that it continues playing in your head indefinitely. Whenever 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 end playing inside my head is to have enough of it.

• Gentle tune that sticks in your mind
• Main area with fountain features
• Nostalgic feelings for countless players

The Intriguing Academy

Balamb Garden is intriguing as a setting and also an establishment. For starters, it enrolls kids from five to 15 years old to turn them into mercenaries, but it looks like a massive church. There are many military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but none look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Paradoxical Philosophy

When you use the Balamb Garden Network using one of the in-game terminals, you learn that the motto of the institution is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I didn't have the impression that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. But, considering that the facility, where students encounter real monsters they can kill, is the sole place in the whole school accessible 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 food is awful, since students are consuming so many hot dogs that the staff have no other response to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Tight Regulations

Students are controlled by a tight set of rules, which, for one, we should expect from a military school, but on the other seems oddly amusing. First, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their rooms in the evenings, except 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 truly worried 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 love affairs, not fighting with gunblades and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

More Than Only Good Looks

Starting with the refined futuristic design of the building to the contradictions and dubious actions of the institution, there are numerous elements of Balamb Garden to admire. We all like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than just surface appeal.