🔗 Share this article

This Final Fantasy franchise features countless iconic settings. Starting with Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has secured a special place in fans' hearts, and they admire the distinctive idiosyncrasies that make these locales so unique. However, when it comes to one setting that deserves greater recognition than the rest, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its elegant design, but also for being a incredibly bizarre school.

The Pure Blockbuster Scene

First, we must address the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden turning into an flying vessel and escaping from a missile attack was absolute cinema. This location was not just designed to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a moving base that allows them to create new strategies and move, depending on the needs of those in charge. Many easily regard it as one of the coolest airship designs in the series, together with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and some of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

The transformation of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the most unforgettable moments in gaming history.

A First Glimpse of a Brooding Sanctuary

As we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis leading Squall out of the medical wing, we get our first view of the place this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot starts from the ground of the school and rises to zoom in on the staggering scale of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels advanced, but also somehow angelic. The rounded structures bring to mind a distinctly late ‘90s vision of how the future would look. Conversely, because of the gilded accents on the building and the long trails of light emanating from the enormous glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden looks like a massive angel. It was created to be a tranquil place — too peaceful for an institution that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

An Catchy Melody

Matching the calmness that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the dearest recollections I have from childhood is walking around the central area of Balamb Garden, seeing those aquatic statues spurting water, and hearing 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 extended “Balamb Garden” song video. The sole way to end playing inside my head is to overdose of it.

• Gentle tune that sticks in your mind
• Central hub with water features
• Sentimental associations for countless players

The Compelling Academy

Balamb Garden is intriguing as a location and also an institution. First, it enrolls kids from five to 15 years old to mold them into mercenaries, but it looks like a giant 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 Paradoxical Slogan

When you use the Balamb Garden Network via one of the in-game terminals, you find out that the credo of the institution is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, but I never have the feeling that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. However, given that the training center, where students find real monsters they can battle, is the only place in the whole school available at all hours during the day, perhaps that’s what they intend by “playing.” While training is the primary part of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is awful, since students are eating so many frankfurters that the staff have no other response to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Rigid Rules

Students are governed by a tight set of rules, which, on one hand, we would expect from a military school, but on the other seems strangely humorous. First, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their rooms in the nights, unless it’s for training. A student may be dismissed if they lag in their curriculum, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is really worried about its students’ sex life. The school officially suggests that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the true risk of being a student of Balamb Garden is romantic relationships, not fighting with weapons and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)

More Than Just Good Looks

Starting with the refined futuristic design of the building to the ironies and debatable actions of the institution, there are countless elements of Balamb Garden to appreciate. We all like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than just good looks.