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This FF series features countless iconic settings. 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 secured a special place in players' hearts, and they admire the distinctive idiosyncrasies that make these areas so unique. But, when it comes to one place that merits greater praise than the rest, it is definitely Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its elegant design, but also for being a truly bizarre school.

An Pure Blockbuster Moment

Before, let's highlight the obvious. Balamb Garden transforming into an airship and escaping from a missile attack was absolute cinema. This institution was not just intended to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that enables them to create new plans and relocate, based on the requirements of those in charge. I easily consider it as one of the coolest airship designs in the series, together with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and several of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

This conversion of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the more iconic moments in gaming history.

The First Look of a Gloomy Sanctuary

When we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis leading Squall out of the infirmary, we get our initial view of the place this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot begins from the floor of the school and rises to focus on the awe-inspiring size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that appears advanced, but also somehow angelic. The flowing structures recall a specifically late ‘90s idea of how the future would look. Meanwhile, because of the gilded features on the building and the long trails of light coming from the immense glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden resembles a giant angel. It was designed to be a tranquil place — too peaceful for an institution that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

An Catchy Theme Song

Matching the serenity that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the dearest memories I have from being a kid is walking around the main area of Balamb Garden, watching those aquatic statues spurting water, and hearing to the soothing theme song. The catch is that it keeps playing in your head indefinitely. Once it returns to my mind, I’m forced to search on YouTube for a 3-hour-long “Balamb Garden” song video. The sole way to end playing inside my head is to listen to it repeatedly of it.

• Lullaby melody that lingers in your mind
• Central hub with water features
• Sentimental feelings for countless players

The Fascinating School

Balamb Garden is intriguing as a location as well as an institution. First, it accepts kids from five to 15 years old to transform them into mercenaries, but it appears like a enormous church. There are a lot of military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but not one look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

A Contradictory Slogan

If you use the Balamb Garden Network via one of the game terminals, you discover that the credo of the institution is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I didn't have the impression that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. But, given that the training center, where students find living monsters they can kill, is the only 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 poor, since students are consuming so many frankfurters that the faculty have no other response to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Tight Policies

Students are governed by a tight set of rules, which, for one, we should anticipate from a combat school, but on the other seems strangely humorous. First, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their dorms in the nights, unless 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 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 real threat of being a student of Balamb Garden is love affairs, not battling with weapons and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

Greater Than Only Appearance

From the elegant futuristic design of the building to the contradictions and questionable practices of the institution, there are many features of Balamb Garden to appreciate. Many of us like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than only good looks.