🔗 Share this article

The FF franchise includes countless unforgettable 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 secured a cherished place in players' hearts, and they admire the unique idiosyncrasies that make these areas so special. However, when it comes to one place that deserves more recognition than the others, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its beautiful design, but additionally for being a truly strange school.

The Absolute Cinematic Scene

Before, let's mention the obvious. Balamb Garden turning into an flying vessel and fleeing from a missile attack was pure cinema. This institution was not just designed to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that permits them to develop new plans and move, based on the requirements of those in command. Many readily view it as one of the most impressive airship designs in the franchise, along with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and several of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

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

A First View of a Brooding Sanctuary

When we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis escorting Squall out of the medical wing, we get our initial look of the place this brooding-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot starts from the ground of the school and rises to focus on the impressive scale of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels advanced, but also divine. The rounded structures evoke a distinctly late ‘90s vision of how the tomorrow would look. On the other hand, because of the gilded details on the building and the long beams of light emanating from the enormous glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden looks like a massive angel. It was designed to be a serene place — too peaceful for an institution that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.

The Unforgettable Soundtrack

Matching the calmness that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s theme song. One of the fondest recollections I have from my youth is walking around the main area of Balamb Garden, seeing those fish statues spouting water, and hearing to the lullaby-ish theme song. The issue is that it keeps playing in your head constantly. Once it comes back to my mind, I’m forced to search on YouTube for a extended “Balamb Garden” song video. The only way to make it stop playing inside my head is to have enough of it.

• Lullaby melody that remains in your mind
• Central hub with water features
• Sentimental feelings for countless players

The Intriguing School

Balamb Garden is fascinating as a setting as well as an organization. For starters, it accepts kids from five to fifteen years old to turn them into mercenaries, but it looks like a enormous church. There are numerous military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but not one look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Contradictory Slogan

If you access the Balamb Garden Network via one of the game terminals, you find out that the slogan of the institution is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I didn't have the feeling that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. But, given that the facility, where students find living monsters they can defeat, is the only place in the entire school available at all hours 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 devouring so many frankfurters that the personnel have no other response to say except “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 combat school, but on the other seems strangely amusing. For example, there’s no dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their rooms in the nights, except it’s for training. A student can be expelled if they fall behind in their studies, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is genuinely concerned about its students’ relationships. The school formally recommends that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the real 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 intro cutscene.)

More Than Only Appearance

Starting with the refined futuristic design of the building to the paradoxes and questionable decisions of the school, there are countless elements of Balamb Garden to appreciate. We all like to joke about Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than simply good looks.