That FF8 Icon Warrants Greater Adoration
The FF franchise boasts many iconic locations. From Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has earned a special place in players' hearts, and they admire the distinctive details that make these worlds so unique. However, if one setting that merits greater praise than the others, it is definitely Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its beautiful design, but additionally for being a absolutely bizarre school.
The Absolute Movie Moment
Before, let's address the obvious. Balamb Garden morphing into an flying vessel and fleeing from a missile attack was pure cinema. This institution was not just intended to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that allows them to develop new tactics and relocate, based on the needs of those in charge. I readily view it as one of the best 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 most iconic moments in video game history.
A First View of a Brooding Home
As we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis leading Squall out of the medical wing, we get our first view of the location this gloomy-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot begins from the floor of the school and ascends to zoom in on the impressive scale of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels advanced, but also somehow heavenly. The curvy structures bring to mind a specifically late ‘90s idea of how the future would look. Meanwhile, because of the gilded accents on the building and the extended trails of light emanating from the immense glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden resembles a massive angel. It was designed to be a peaceful place — too peaceful for an institution that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.
The Memorable Melody
Complementing the tranquility that the appearance of Balamb Garden portrays, we have the school’s theme song. One of the fondest memories I have from my youth is strolling around the main area of Balamb Garden, watching those aquatic statues spraying water, and listening to the lullaby-ish theme song. The problem is that it continues playing in your head indefinitely. Whenever it returns to my mind, I’m forced 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.
- Gentle music that remains in your mind
- Central courtyard with fountain features
- Sentimental feelings for countless players
The Compelling Institution
Balamb Garden is fascinating as a location and also an organization. For starters, it accepts kids from 5 to 15 years old to turn them into mercenaries, but it appears like a giant church. There are numerous military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but none look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.
A Paradoxical Slogan
When you access the Balamb Garden Network via one of the in-game terminals, you discover that the credo of the institution is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, but I never have the sense that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. However, considering that the training area, where students find real monsters they can kill, is the sole place in the entire school accessible at all hours during the day, perhaps that’s what they mean by “playing.” While training is the most important aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is awful, since students are devouring so many frankfurters that the faculty have no other response to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”
Tight Regulations
Students are governed by a strict set of rules, which, for one, we would anticipate from a military school, but on the other seems strangely funny. First, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their rooms in the nights, unless it’s for training. A student can be dismissed if they lag in their curriculum, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is genuinely concerned about its students’ romantic activities. The school formally 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 romantic relationships, not battling with gunblades and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)
More Than Only Appearance
From the delicate futuristic design of the building to the paradoxes and debatable decisions of the school, there are numerous features of Balamb Garden to admire. We all like to joke about Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than simply good looks.