This FF8 Symbol Merits More Love

The Final Fantasy series features many memorable 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, each has secured a special place in players' hearts, who love the distinctive quirks that make these locales so unique. But, when it comes to one setting that merits more attention than the rest, it is definitely Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its beautiful design, but also for being a absolutely weird school.

The Absolute Movie Reveal

Before, we must mention the obvious. Balamb Garden transforming into an flying vessel and escaping from a missile attack was pure cinema. This location was not just designed to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a moving base that permits them to establish new strategies and reposition, depending on the requirements of those in control. Many easily consider it as one of the coolest airship concepts in the franchise, together with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and some of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.

The change of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the most unforgettable moments in video game history.

The First View of a Gloomy Home

As we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis leading Squall out of the medical wing, we get our initial look of the location this brooding-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot starts from the floor of the school and rises to zoom in on the impressive magnitude 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 future would look. Meanwhile, because of the golden features on the building and the long trails of light coming from the massive glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden evokes a massive angel. It was created to be a serene place — too peaceful for an establishment that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.

The Unforgettable Theme Song

Matching the calmness that the appearance of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s background music. One of the most cherished recollections I have from my youth is strolling around the central area of Balamb Garden, watching those fish statues spouting water, and listening to the gentle theme song. The issue is that it continues playing in your head indefinitely. Once it returns to my mind, I’m compelled to search on YouTube for a extended “Balamb Garden” song video. The only way to get it out of playing inside my head is to listen to it repeatedly of it.

• Lullaby music that lingers in your mind
• Central hub with fountain features
• Nostalgic feelings for countless players

A Compelling School

Balamb Garden is intriguing as a setting as well as an institution. First, it accepts kids from five to fifteen years old to mold them into mercenaries, but it looks like a giant 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.

The Ironic Motto

If you access the Balamb Garden Network via one of the game terminals, you learn that the motto of the academy is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I never have the sense that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. But, considering that the facility, where students find real monsters they can defeat, is the sole place in the entire school accessible at any time during the day, maybe that’s what they intend by “playing.” While combat preparation is the primary aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their nutrition is terrible, since students are consuming so many frankfurters that the staff have no other response to say except “No more hot dogs today.”

Strict Rules

Students are controlled by a tight set of rules, which, on one hand, we would expect from a combat school, but on the other seems oddly funny. For example, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their rooms in the nights, except it’s for training. A student may be expelled if they fall behind in their curriculum, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not look like it, but Balamb Garden is really concerned about its students’ relationships. The school officially suggests 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 battling with gunblades and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)

More Than Just Aesthetics

From the delicate advanced design of the building to the ironies and debatable decisions of the school, there are countless elements of Balamb Garden to admire. We all like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than just surface appeal.