This Final Fantasy 8 Landmark Warrants Greater Adoration
This Final Fantasy series boasts countless iconic places. From Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, every one has earned a special place in players' hearts, who love the distinctive idiosyncrasies that make these worlds so remarkable. However, when it comes to one setting that deserves more recognition than the rest, it is definitely Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its elegant design, but additionally for being a truly bizarre school.
An Pure Cinematic Reveal
Before, we must address the obvious. Balamb Garden turning into an flying vessel and fleeing from a rocket attack was pure cinema. This institution was not only designed to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that enables them to develop new strategies and reposition, depending on the needs of those in command. Many easily regard it as one of the coolest airship designs in the franchise, along with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and several of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.
The transformation of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the most iconic moments in gaming history.
The First Glimpse of a Gloomy Sanctuary
As we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis escorting Squall out of the infirmary, we get our first look of the location this gloomy-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot starts from the floor of the school and rises to zoom in on the awe-inspiring size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that appears futuristic, but also somehow angelic. The curvy structures evoke a distinctly late ‘90s idea 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 massive glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden evokes a massive angel. It was created to be a peaceful place — excessively peaceful for an institution 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 fondest recollections I have from being a kid is walking around the central area of Balamb Garden, seeing those aquatic statues spraying water, and listening to the gentle theme song. The problem is that it continues playing in your head forever. Once it comes back to my mind, I’m compelled to search on YouTube for a 3-hour-long “Balamb Garden” song video. The sole way to make it stop playing inside my head is to overdose of it.
- Lullaby tune that sticks in your mind
- Central area with fountain features
- Nostalgic associations for countless players
The Compelling Academy
Balamb Garden is fascinating as a location and also an organization. First, it enrolls kids from five to 15 years old to turn 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 none look less militaristic than Balamb Garden.
A Ironic Motto
When you use the Balamb Garden Network via one of the in-game terminals, you learn that the motto of the school is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I didn't have the impression that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. But, considering that the training area, where students find living monsters they can kill, is the sole place in the entire school accessible at any time during the day, perhaps that’s what they intend by “playing.” While training is the key aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is terrible, since students are eating so many hot dogs that the personnel have nothing else to say except “No more hot dogs today.”
Strict Regulations
Students are governed by a strict set of rules, which, for one, we would anticipate from a military school, but conversely seems weirdly funny. First, there’s no dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their dorms in the nights, except it’s for training. A student may be expelled if they fall behind in their curriculum, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is really concerned about its students’ sex life. The school officially recommends that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the real danger 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 opening cutscene.)
More Than Just Good Looks
Starting with the elegant advanced design of the building to the contradictions and debatable practices of the academy, there are countless elements of Balamb Garden to admire. We all like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than simply good looks.