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This FF series boasts countless memorable locations. Starting with Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, all the way to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, every one has earned a cherished place in fans' hearts, and they celebrate the unique idiosyncrasies that make these areas so remarkable. However, when it comes to one place that deserves more recognition than the others, it is certainly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its stunning design, but additionally for being a incredibly weird school.

An Pure Blockbuster Moment

First, let's mention the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden turning into an airship and fleeing from a rocket attack was pure cinema. This institution was not only intended to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that permits them to develop new tactics and reposition, based on the needs of those in command. Many readily consider it as one of the most impressive 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 Initial Glimpse of a Gloomy Sanctuary

As we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis escorting Squall out of the medical wing, we get our first look of the location this gloomy-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot starts from the floor of the school and ascends to zoom in on the awe-inspiring magnitude of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels advanced, but also somehow heavenly. The curvy structures recall a specifically late ‘90s idea of how the future would look. On the other hand, because of the gilded features on the building and the extended beams of light coming from the enormous glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden resembles a massive angel. It was built to be a serene place — excessively peaceful for an institution that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

The Unforgettable Soundtrack

Matching the tranquility that the appearance of Balamb Garden suggests, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the dearest recollections I have from being a kid is strolling around the central area of Balamb Garden, watching those aquatic statues spouting water, and listening to the gentle theme song. The problem is that it keeps playing in your head constantly. Whenever it returns to my mind, I’m forced to search on YouTube for a 3-hour-long “Balamb Garden” song video. The only way to make it stop playing inside my head is to overdose of it.

• Gentle tune that remains in your mind
• Central hub with fountain features
• Nostalgic associations for many players

The Intriguing Institution

Balamb Garden is compelling as a setting and also 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 many military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but not one look less militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Paradoxical Motto

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 never have the sense that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. However, given that the training center, where students find real monsters they can kill, is the only place in the entire school accessible at all hours during the day, perhaps that’s what they intend by “playing.” While combat preparation is the primary aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their food is poor, since students are devouring so many hot dogs that the staff have nothing else to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Rigid Regulations

Students are governed by a tight set of rules, which, for one, we would anticipate from a combat school, but conversely seems strangely amusing. First, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their rooms in the nights, except it’s for training. A student can be dismissed if they fall behind in their curriculum, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is really worried 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 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 Just Aesthetics

Starting with the delicate advanced design of the building to the ironies and debatable actions of the academy, there are countless features of Balamb Garden to appreciate. Many of us like to joke about Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than only good looks.