That FF8 Icon Merits More Adoration
The Final Fantasy series includes many unforgettable 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 found a special place in fans' hearts, who celebrate the unique idiosyncrasies that make these worlds so remarkable. But, if one setting that warrants greater praise than the rest, it is certainly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its stunning design, but also for being a incredibly strange school.
The Pure Movie Reveal
Before, we must address the obvious. Balamb Garden morphing into an airship and escaping from a missile attack was absolute cinema. This location was not only intended to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that enables them to develop new strategies and reposition, depending on the demands of those in charge. I readily consider 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 change of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the more iconic moments in video game history.
A First Look of a Gloomy Sanctuary
As we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis leading Squall out of the medical wing, we get our initial glimpse of the environment this brooding-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot begins from the ground of the school and rises to zoom in on the awe-inspiring size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that appears advanced, but also angelic. The rounded structures bring to mind a distinctly late ‘90s vision of how the future would look. On the other hand, because of the golden accents on the building and the extended beams of light emanating from the immense glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden evokes a giant angel. It was built to be a tranquil place — too peaceful for an academy that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.
An Catchy Melody
Complementing the calmness that the appearance of Balamb Garden suggests, we have the school’s theme song. One of the most cherished memories I have from being a kid is strolling around the central area of Balamb Garden, seeing those fish statues spraying 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 look up on YouTube for a 3-hour-long “Balamb Garden” song video. The only way to make it stop playing inside my head is to listen to it repeatedly of it.
- Gentle melody that remains in your mind
- Main hub with water features
- Sentimental memories for countless players
A Compelling Academy
Balamb Garden is intriguing as a location as well as an institution. For starters, it accepts kids from 5 to 15 years old to mold them into mercenaries, but it appears like a enormous church. There are numerous military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but not one look less militaristic than Balamb Garden.
The Contradictory Slogan
When you access the Balamb Garden Network via one of the game terminals, you learn that the motto of the institution is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, but I never have the sense that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — except for Zell. However, given that the training area, where students find real monsters they can battle, is the sole place in the entire school accessible at all hours 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 frankfurters that the faculty have nothing else to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”
Strict Policies
Students are controlled by a tight set of rules, which, on one hand, we would expect from a military school, but conversely seems weirdly funny. First, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their dorms 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 truly concerned about its students’ romantic activities. The school officially recommends 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 slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)
Greater Than Just Good Looks
Starting with the refined advanced design of the building to the contradictions and questionable decisions of the school, there are numerous features of Balamb Garden to admire. Many of us like to make fun of Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than only good looks.
