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This Final Fantasy series features countless iconic places. From 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 players' hearts, who love the distinctive details that make these locales so remarkable. But, when it comes to one place that warrants greater recognition than the others, it is certainly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its stunning design, but additionally for being a incredibly weird school.

An Pure Movie Scene

Before, let's mention the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden turning into an airship and fleeing from a missile attack was absolute cinema. This location was not just intended to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that enables them to establish new tactics and relocate, depending on the requirements of those in charge. Many easily consider it as one of the most impressive airship creations 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 memorable moments in video game history.

A Initial Glimpse 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 location this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot starts from the floor of the school and ascends to focus on the staggering size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that makes it feel futuristic, but also angelic. The flowing structures recall a distinctly late ‘90s concept of how the future would look. On the other hand, because of the gilded details on the building and the long trails of light emanating from the immense glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden looks like a massive angel. It was built to be a serene place — excessively peaceful for an academy that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.

The Memorable Melody

Complementing the calmness that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s background music. One of the fondest recollections I have from childhood is walking around the main area of Balamb Garden, seeing those aquatic statues spouting water, and hearing to the gentle theme song. The problem is that it keeps playing in your head indefinitely. Whenever it returns to my mind, I’m compelled to search on YouTube for a extended “Balamb Garden” song video. The sole way to get it out of playing inside my head is to overdose of it.

• Soothing tune that lingers in your mind
• Central courtyard with water features
• Nostalgic memories for countless players

The Intriguing Institution

Balamb Garden is compelling as a location as well as an establishment. First, it accepts kids from 5 to 15 years old to transform them into mercenaries, but it looks like a enormous church. There are many military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but none look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.

The Contradictory Philosophy

When you access the Balamb Garden Network via one of the game terminals, you find out that the motto of the school is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I never have the feeling that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. But, considering that the facility, where students encounter real monsters they can battle, is the sole place in the whole school accessible at all hours during the day, maybe that’s what they mean by “playing.” While training is the key part of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their nutrition is awful, since students are eating so many hot dogs that the faculty have nothing else to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”

Tight Regulations

Students are governed by a rigid set of rules, which, for one, we would expect from a military school, but conversely seems oddly amusing. For example, there’s no dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their dorms in the evenings, unless it’s for training. A student may be dismissed if they fall behind in their curriculum, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not look like it, but Balamb Garden is genuinely worried about its students’ sex life. The school formally advises 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 love affairs, not battling with gunblades and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

Greater Than Only Good Looks

From the delicate futuristic design of the building to the contradictions and questionable decisions of the institution, there are numerous features of Balamb Garden to admire. Many of us like to joke about Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than just good looks.