🔗 Share this article This FF8 Landmark Warrants More Love This Final Fantasy franchise boasts numerous memorable settings. Starting with Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has found a cherished place in fans' hearts, who admire the distinctive details that make these locales so remarkable. However, if one place that merits more attention than the rest, it is certainly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its elegant design, but additionally for being a absolutely weird school. An Pure Movie Moment First, let's highlight the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden morphing into an flying vessel and fleeing from a rocket attack was pure cinema. This location was not just designed to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that permits them to develop new tactics and move, depending on the needs of those in command. I readily view it as one of the best airship creations in the franchise, alongside Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and several of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships. The conversion of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the more unforgettable moments in video game history. A Initial Look of a Brooding Home As we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis escorting Squall out of the medical wing, we get our initial glimpse of the place this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot begins from the ground of the school and rises to zoom in on the awe-inspiring size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that appears advanced, but also heavenly. The flowing structures bring to mind a distinctly late ‘90s vision of how the tomorrow would look. Conversely, because of the gilded accents 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 serene place — too peaceful for an institution that transforms teenagers into mercenaries. The Memorable Soundtrack Matching the serenity that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden suggests, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the dearest recollections I have from childhood is walking around the main area of Balamb Garden, seeing those aquatic statues spouting water, and listening to the lullaby-ish theme song. The problem is that it keeps playing in your head constantly. Whenever it comes back to my mind, I’m compelled to search on YouTube for a extended “Balamb Garden” song video. The only way to end playing inside my head is to have enough of it. Gentle tune that sticks in your mind Central hub with water features Nostalgic associations for countless players The Intriguing Institution Balamb Garden is intriguing as a location and also an establishment. First, it accepts kids from 5 to fifteen years old to mold them into mercenaries, but it appears like a enormous church. There are numerous military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but none look less militaristic than Balamb Garden. The Ironic Motto 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 didn't have the sense that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. But, considering that the facility, where students find living monsters they can battle, is the sole place in the entire school available at any time during the day, maybe that’s what they mean by “playing.” While combat preparation is the key aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their food is awful, since students are devouring so many hot dogs that the staff have no other response to say except “No more hot dogs today.” Tight Rules Students are controlled by a strict set of rules, which, on one hand, we should expect from a combat school, but on the other seems weirdly humorous. For example, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their rooms in the evenings, unless it’s for training. A student can be expelled if they fall behind in their studies, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is truly worried about its students’ sex life. The school formally suggests that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the true threat 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 intro cutscene.) Greater Than Only Appearance Starting with the delicate futuristic design of the building to the ironies and dubious decisions of the institution, there are many aspects 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 simply good looks.