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This FF series includes many unforgettable 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 special place in fans' hearts, who celebrate the distinctive quirks that make these worlds so unique. However, if one location that warrants more recognition than the rest, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its stunning design, but also for being a truly bizarre school.

An Absolute Cinematic Moment

First, let's address the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden turning into an airship and fleeing from a rocket attack was absolute cinema. This institution was not only designed to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that enables them to create new strategies and move, depending on the requirements of those in charge. Many easily regard it as one of the coolest airship creations in the series, along with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and several of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

This transformation of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the most memorable moments in video game history.

The Initial Look of a Brooding Sanctuary

As we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis leading Squall out of the medical wing, we get our first glimpse of the place this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot starts from the floor of the school and ascends to zoom in on the staggering size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that makes it feel futuristic, but also somehow angelic. The rounded structures evoke a specifically late ‘90s idea of how the future would look. On the other hand, because of the golden details on the building and the long beams of light coming from the massive glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden looks like a giant angel. It was designed to be a tranquil place — too peaceful for an establishment that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

The Memorable Melody

Matching the calmness that the design of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the most cherished recollections I have from being a kid is strolling around the central area of Balamb Garden, seeing those fish statues spouting water, and hearing to the soothing theme song. The problem is that it keeps playing in your head constantly. Whenever it returns to my mind, I’m compelled to search on YouTube for a extended “Balamb Garden” song video. The only way to make it stop playing inside my head is to have enough of it.

• Gentle melody that remains in your mind
• Main courtyard with fountain features
• Sentimental associations for countless players

The Intriguing Academy

Balamb Garden is compelling as a location as well as an establishment. For starters, it accepts kids from five to fifteen years old to turn them into mercenaries, but it looks like a giant 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.

A Ironic Slogan

If you use the Balamb Garden Network via 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 sense that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. But, considering that the training center, where students find living monsters they can battle, is the sole place in the whole school available at any time during the day, maybe that’s what they intend by “playing.” While combat preparation is the key aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their nutrition is terrible, since students are devouring so many hot dogs that the personnel have no other response to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Tight Regulations

Students are governed by a strict set of rules, which, for one, we should expect from a combat school, but conversely seems oddly humorous. For example, there’s no dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their rooms in the evenings, except it’s for training. A student may be expelled if they lag in their curriculum, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not look like it, but Balamb Garden is really worried about its students’ sex life. The school officially advises that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the real danger of being a student of Balamb Garden is romantic relationships, not fighting with gunblades and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)

Greater Than Just Appearance

From the delicate advanced design of the building to the contradictions and questionable decisions of the academy, there are many aspects of Balamb Garden to admire. We all like to joke about Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than simply good looks.