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The FF franchise features countless unforgettable settings. 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 found a special place in players' hearts, who celebrate the distinctive details that make these worlds so remarkable. But, when it comes to one setting that merits more attention than the others, it is certainly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its stunning design, but additionally for being a incredibly strange school.

An Absolute Cinematic Scene

Before, let's highlight the obvious. Balamb Garden turning into an airship and escaping from a missile attack was pure cinema. This place was not only intended to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a moving base that allows them to develop new strategies and reposition, depending on the needs of those in charge. I easily consider 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 change of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the most iconic moments in gaming history.

A First Glimpse of a Brooding Home

As we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis escorting Squall out of the infirmary, we get our initial glimpse of the place this brooding-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot begins from the ground of the school and rises to focus on the awe-inspiring magnitude of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that makes it feel futuristic, but also angelic. The rounded structures bring to mind a specifically late ‘90s vision of how the future would look. On the other hand, because of the gilded accents on the building and the long beams of light emanating from the massive glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden evokes a massive angel. It was designed to be a serene place — too peaceful for an establishment that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.

An Unforgettable Melody

Complementing the serenity that the appearance of Balamb Garden portrays, we have the school’s background music. One of the most cherished memories I have from being a kid is strolling around the main area of Balamb Garden, seeing those fish statues spraying water, and listening to the soothing theme song. The problem is that it keeps playing in your head constantly. Once it returns to my mind, I’m compelled to look up 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 tune that lingers in your mind
• Central courtyard with fountain features
• Sentimental feelings for many players

The Fascinating Institution

Balamb Garden is intriguing as a location as well as an organization. For starters, it enrolls kids from 5 to 15 years old to turn them into mercenaries, but it looks like a enormous church. There are a lot of military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but none look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

The Contradictory Motto

When you access the Balamb Garden Network using one of the in-game terminals, you discover that the credo of the school is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, but I didn't have the impression that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. But, considering that the training area, where students find living monsters they can kill, is the only place in the whole school accessible at any time during the day, maybe that’s what they intend by “playing.” While training is the primary part of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their food is terrible, since students are devouring so many frankfurters that the personnel have nothing else to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Rigid Regulations

Students are controlled by a rigid set of rules, which, on one hand, we should anticipate from a military school, but on the other seems strangely funny. First, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their dorms in the nights, except it’s for training. A student may be dismissed if they lag in their curriculum, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is genuinely worried about its students’ sex life. The school formally advises that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the true danger of being a student of Balamb Garden is romantic relationships, not fighting with weapons and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)

Greater Than Just Aesthetics

Starting with the elegant advanced design of the building to the paradoxes and questionable actions of the academy, there are numerous aspects of Balamb Garden to celebrate. Many of us like to joke about Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than simply surface appeal.