This Final Fantasy 8 Landmark Merits More Appreciation

This Final Fantasy franchise includes many memorable 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 special place in fans' hearts, who celebrate the distinctive details that make these locales so remarkable. But, when it comes to one setting that merits more praise than the others, it is definitely Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its beautiful design, but also for being a absolutely bizarre school.

The Pure Movie Moment

Before, let's highlight the obvious. Balamb Garden transforming into an flying vessel and fleeing from a rocket attack was absolute cinema. This institution was not only intended to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that permits them to develop new strategies and reposition, based on the needs of those in command. Many easily view it as one of the most impressive airship designs in the franchise, together with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and some of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

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

The Initial View of a Gloomy Home

As we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis leading Squall out of the infirmary, we get our first view of the location this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot begins from the floor of the school and ascends to zoom in on the staggering scale of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that makes it feel futuristic, but also divine. The flowing structures recall a distinctly late ‘90s concept of how the future would look. Meanwhile, because of the golden features on the building and the extended trails of light coming from the enormous glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden evokes a giant angel. It was designed to be a tranquil place — too peaceful for an academy that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.

The Unforgettable Theme Song

Matching the serenity that the appearance of Balamb Garden suggests, we have the school’s theme song. One of the fondest recollections I have from childhood is walking around the central area of Balamb Garden, seeing those aquatic statues spraying water, and listening to the lullaby-ish theme song. The problem is that it continues playing in your head forever. Once it returns to my mind, I’m forced to look up on YouTube for a extended “Balamb Garden” song video. The sole way to get it out of playing inside my head is to overdose of it.

• Lullaby melody that remains in your mind
• Central courtyard with water features
• Sentimental memories for many players

The Compelling School

Balamb Garden is fascinating as a setting and also an institution. For starters, it enrolls kids from 5 to 15 years old to mold them into mercenaries, but it looks like a enormous church. There are numerous military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but none look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

The Paradoxical Slogan

If you use the Balamb Garden Network using one of the game terminals, you find out that the slogan of the academy is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I never have the impression that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. But, given that the training center, where students find living monsters they can defeat, is the only place in the whole school accessible at all hours during the day, perhaps that’s what they intend by “playing.” While training is the most important part of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is awful, since students are eating so many hot dogs that the personnel have no other response to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Strict Regulations

Students are controlled by a rigid set of rules, which, for one, we should expect from a military school, but on the other seems weirdly funny. First, 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 may be expelled if they fall behind in their curriculum, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not look like it, but Balamb Garden is truly concerned about its students’ relationships. The school officially suggests 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 gunblades and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

More Than Just Good Looks

Starting with the refined futuristic design of the building to the paradoxes and dubious actions of the academy, there are many features of Balamb Garden to celebrate. Many of us like to joke about Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than just aesthetics.