This Final Fantasy 8 Landmark Merits Greater Appreciation
The FF series includes many unforgettable places. Starting with Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has found a special place in fans' hearts, who celebrate the unique quirks that make these locales so unique. But, if one location that deserves greater praise than the others, it is definitely Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its elegant design, but also for being a incredibly bizarre school.
The Absolute Movie Reveal
Before, we must mention the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden transforming into an airship and fleeing from a missile attack was pure cinema. This location was not only intended to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a moving base that allows them to develop new tactics and reposition, based on the needs of those in control. Many easily consider it as one of the best airship designs in the series, along with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and several of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.
The change of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the most memorable moments in video game history.
A Initial Look of a Gloomy Sanctuary
As we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis leading Squall out of the medical wing, we get our initial view of the environment this gloomy-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot begins from the ground of the school and rises to zoom in on the staggering scale of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that makes it feel futuristic, but also heavenly. The curvy structures recall a specifically late ‘90s idea of how the tomorrow would look. Meanwhile, because of the gilded accents on the building and the long beams of light coming from the enormous glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden looks like a giant angel. It was built to be a serene place — too peaceful for an academy that turns teenagers into mercenaries.
The Catchy Soundtrack
Matching the calmness that the appearance of Balamb Garden portrays, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the most cherished recollections I have from being a kid is strolling around the main area of Balamb Garden, watching those aquatic statues spraying water, and hearing to the lullaby-ish theme song. The problem is that it keeps playing in your head indefinitely. Whenever it returns to my mind, I’m forced to look up on YouTube for a extended “Balamb Garden” song video. The sole way to end playing inside my head is to overdose of it.
- Soothing music that lingers in your mind
- Central courtyard with water features
- Sentimental memories for countless players
The Intriguing School
Balamb Garden is compelling as a location and also an institution. First, it enrolls kids from 5 to 15 years old to mold 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.
The Ironic Slogan
When you access the Balamb Garden Network using one of the in-game terminals, you find out that the motto of the academy is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, but I didn't 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 defeat, is the sole place in the entire school available at all hours during the day, perhaps that’s what they intend by “playing.” While training is the most important part of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their nutrition is poor, since students are eating so many frankfurters that the personnel have nothing else to say except “No more hot dogs today.”
Tight Rules
Students are controlled by a strict set of rules, which, for one, we should expect from a combat school, but conversely seems oddly amusing. For example, there’s no dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their dorms in the evenings, unless it’s for training. A student may be expelled if they lag in their curriculum, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is genuinely worried about its students’ sex life. The school formally advises 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 fighting with gunblades and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)
More Than Only Appearance
Starting with the refined advanced design of the building to the contradictions and dubious decisions of the institution, there are numerous elements of Balamb Garden to appreciate. Many of us like to joke about Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than just good looks.