That Final Fantasy 8 Symbol Deserves Greater Love

This FF franchise includes many memorable locations. From Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, every one has found a cherished place in players' hearts, and they love the distinctive details that make these areas so unique. But, if one location that warrants more attention than the others, it is certainly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its stunning design, but also for being a absolutely weird school.

The Absolute Blockbuster Scene

First, we must highlight the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden transforming into an flying vessel and escaping from a missile attack was absolute cinema. This location was not just intended to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that allows them to establish new tactics and relocate, depending on the needs of those in command. I readily consider it as one of the coolest airship concepts in the franchise, along with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and some of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

This transformation of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the more memorable 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 first look of the place this gloomy-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot begins from the ground of the school and rises to focus on the awe-inspiring magnitude of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that makes it feel advanced, but also somehow heavenly. The curvy structures recall a specifically late ‘90s concept of how the tomorrow would look. Conversely, because of the gilded details on the building and the long beams of light emanating from the immense glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden evokes a massive angel. It was created to be a tranquil place — too peaceful for an academy that turns teenagers into mercenaries.

An Memorable Theme Song

Matching the calmness that the appearance of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s theme song. One of the most cherished recollections I have from being a kid is strolling around the central area of Balamb Garden, watching those fish statues spraying water, and hearing to the soothing theme song. The catch is that it continues playing in your head forever. Once it comes back to my mind, I’m forced to look up on YouTube for a extended “Balamb Garden” song video. The sole way to get it out of playing inside my head is to have enough of it.

• Lullaby melody that sticks in your mind
• Central area with water features
• Nostalgic memories for countless players

The Intriguing School

Balamb Garden is intriguing as a location and also an institution. For starters, it enrolls kids from five to 15 years old to transform them into mercenaries, but it looks like a massive church. There are numerous military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but not one look less militaristic than Balamb Garden.

The Contradictory Philosophy

When you access the Balamb Garden Network using one of the game terminals, you discover that the slogan of the institution is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I never have the feeling that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. But, given that the training center, where students encounter living monsters they can defeat, is the sole place in the entire school available at any time during the day, maybe that’s what they intend by “playing.” While training is the most important part of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their nutrition is terrible, since students are consuming so many frankfurters that the personnel have nothing else to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Strict Policies

Students are controlled by a tight set of rules, which, on one hand, we should expect from a military school, but conversely seems oddly amusing. For example, there’s no dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their dorms in the evenings, except it’s for training. A student may be dismissed if they fall behind in their studies, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not look like it, but Balamb Garden is genuinely worried about its students’ romantic activities. The school officially recommends that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the real risk of being a student of Balamb Garden is love affairs, not fighting with weapons and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)

More Than Just Aesthetics

From the refined advanced design of the building to the paradoxes and questionable actions of the school, there are countless features of Balamb Garden to appreciate. Many of us like to make fun of Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than only good looks.