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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, all the way to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has secured a cherished place in players' hearts, who love the unique quirks that make these worlds so unique. But, if one setting that merits more recognition than the others, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its beautiful design, but also for being a absolutely bizarre school.

The Absolute Cinematic Moment

First, we must mention the obvious. Balamb Garden morphing into an flying vessel and fleeing from a missile attack was absolute cinema. This place was not just intended to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a moving base that permits them to create new tactics and relocate, depending on the requirements of those in command. Many readily view it as one of the best airship designs in the series, together 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 more iconic moments in video game history.

The First Glimpse of a Gloomy Home

As we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis leading Squall out of the infirmary, we get our initial view of the place this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot begins from the floor of the school and ascends to focus on the awe-inspiring size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that appears advanced, but also heavenly. The curvy structures bring to mind a specifically late ‘90s idea of how the future would look. Meanwhile, because of the gilded accents on the building and the extended trails of light emanating from the immense glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden evokes a giant angel. It was designed to be a peaceful place — too peaceful for an academy that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.

An Memorable Melody

Complementing the serenity that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden portrays, we have the school’s theme song. One of the fondest memories I have from childhood is walking around the main area of Balamb Garden, seeing those fish statues spraying water, and listening to the lullaby-ish theme song. The catch is that it keeps playing in your head forever. Whenever it comes back to my mind, I’m forced to look up on YouTube for a 3-hour-long “Balamb Garden” song video. The sole way to end playing inside my head is to have enough of it.

• Lullaby tune that remains in your mind
• Main area with water features
• Sentimental associations for many players

The Compelling Institution

Balamb Garden is intriguing as a location and also an establishment. First, it accepts kids from 5 to 15 years old to turn them into mercenaries, but it appears 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 Contradictory Motto

When you access the Balamb Garden Network using one of the game terminals, you find out that the credo of the academy is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, but I didn't have the sense that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. But, given that the training area, where students find real monsters they can kill, is the sole place in the entire school available at all hours during the day, maybe that’s what they intend by “playing.” While training is the primary aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is terrible, since students are eating so many frankfurters that the staff have no other response to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Tight Regulations

Students are governed by a rigid set of rules, which, on one hand, we should anticipate from a combat school, but conversely seems oddly funny. For example, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their dorms in the nights, unless it’s for training. A student can be expelled if they fall behind in their curriculum, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not look like it, but Balamb Garden is really worried about its students’ romantic activities. 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 romantic relationships, not battling with gunblades and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

Greater Than Only Appearance

From the elegant futuristic design of the building to the ironies and questionable decisions of the academy, there are many aspects of Balamb Garden to admire. We all like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than only good looks.