That Final Fantasy 8 Landmark Deserves Greater Love
The FF series includes countless unforgettable locations. From 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 admire the distinctive details that make these locales so unique. But, when it comes to one place that deserves greater attention than the others, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its elegant design, but additionally for being a incredibly weird school.
An Absolute Blockbuster Reveal
Before, let's address 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 only designed to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a moving base that allows them to develop new strategies and move, depending on the requirements of those in charge. Many readily consider it as one of the best airship creations in the series, together with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and some of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.
The transformation of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the most memorable moments in gaming history.
A Initial View of a Gloomy Home
As we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis escorting Squall out of the medical wing, we get our first look of the environment this gloomy-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot begins from the ground of the school and ascends to focus on the impressive size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that appears futuristic, but also angelic. The rounded structures evoke a distinctly late ‘90s vision of how the future would look. Conversely, because of the golden features on the building and the long trails of light emanating from the immense glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden resembles a massive angel. It was created to be a tranquil place — excessively peaceful for an academy that turns teenagers into mercenaries.
The Memorable Theme Song
Matching the calmness that the design of Balamb Garden portrays, we have the school’s theme song. One of the dearest memories I have from my youth is strolling around the central area of Balamb Garden, watching those aquatic statues spurting water, and hearing to the soothing theme song. The issue is that it keeps playing in your head constantly. Once it returns to my mind, I’m compelled 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 listen to it repeatedly of it.
- Soothing tune that lingers in your mind
- Central hub with fountain features
- Sentimental associations for countless players
The Compelling Institution
Balamb Garden is fascinating as a location as well as an organization. For starters, it accepts kids from five to 15 years old to turn them into mercenaries, but it appears like a massive church. There are a lot of military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but none look less militaristic than Balamb Garden.
A Paradoxical Slogan
If you access the Balamb Garden Network using one of the in-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” — only Zell. However, given that the training area, where students find real monsters they can battle, is the only place in the whole school available at all hours during the day, perhaps that’s what they intend by “playing.” While training is the most important aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is terrible, since students are eating so many frankfurters that the faculty have nothing else to say except “No more hot dogs today.”
Tight Rules
Students are governed by a tight set of rules, which, on one hand, we would anticipate from a combat school, but on the other seems strangely amusing. First, there’s no dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their rooms in the evenings, unless it’s for training. A student can be expelled if they fall behind in their curriculum, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is truly concerned about its students’ relationships. The school officially advises that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the true risk of being a student of Balamb Garden is love affairs, not fighting with gunblades and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)
More Than Just Appearance
From the delicate futuristic design of the building to the paradoxes and questionable practices of the school, there are many aspects of Balamb Garden to admire. Many of us like to joke about Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than just surface appeal.
