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The FF series boasts numerous iconic locations. Starting with Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has earned a special place in players' hearts, who love the distinctive details that make these locales so unique. But, if one location that merits greater recognition than the others, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its stunning design, but also for being a absolutely strange school.

An Absolute Movie Scene

Before, let's address the obvious. Balamb Garden morphing into an flying vessel and fleeing from a rocket attack was pure cinema. This place was not just designed to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that enables them to develop new tactics and reposition, based on the demands of those in command. Many readily consider it as one of the most impressive airship designs in the franchise, along with 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 iconic moments in gaming history.

A First View of a Brooding Home

When we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis escorting Squall out of the medical wing, we get our first glimpse of the place this gloomy-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot begins from the floor of the school and ascends to focus on the awe-inspiring magnitude of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that appears advanced, but also divine. The flowing structures evoke a distinctly late ‘90s idea of how the future would look. Conversely, because of the gilded accents on the building and the long 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 tranquil place — excessively peaceful for an establishment that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

The Catchy Theme Song

Matching the tranquility that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the most cherished memories I have from being a kid is strolling around the main area of Balamb Garden, watching those fish statues spouting water, and hearing to the gentle theme song. The issue is that it keeps playing in your head indefinitely. 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 only way to end playing inside my head is to have enough of it.

• Gentle tune that remains in your mind
• Central courtyard with fountain features
• Nostalgic memories for countless players

The Fascinating Academy

Balamb Garden is compelling as a setting and also an establishment. For starters, it enrolls kids from five to fifteen years old to mold them into mercenaries, but it appears like a massive church. There are numerous military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but none look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Paradoxical Motto

When you access 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.” I’m sorry, but I never have the sense that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. But, given that the training area, where students encounter living monsters they can defeat, is the only place in the entire school accessible at any time during the day, perhaps that’s what they mean by “playing.” While training is the key aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their food is awful, since students are devouring so many frankfurters that the faculty have nothing else to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Rigid Regulations

Students are controlled by a tight set of rules, which, for one, we should expect from a military school, but conversely seems oddly amusing. First, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their dorms in the nights, except it’s for training. A student may be expelled if they lag in their curriculum, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not look like it, but Balamb Garden is truly concerned 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 weapons and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

Greater Than Only Appearance

Starting with the elegant futuristic design of the building to the paradoxes and dubious practices of the institution, there are many aspects of Balamb Garden to celebrate. We all like to make fun of Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than just surface appeal.