This Final Fantasy 8 Symbol Deserves Greater Adoration
The Final Fantasy franchise features many unforgettable places. 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 earned a cherished place in fans' hearts, who admire the unique quirks that make these worlds so unique. But, if one location that deserves greater recognition than the others, it is definitely Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its stunning design, but also for being a absolutely bizarre school.
An Absolute Cinematic Reveal
Before, let's highlight the obvious. Balamb Garden morphing into an flying vessel and fleeing from a missile attack was pure cinema. This institution was not only intended to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that allows them to create new strategies and move, depending on the requirements of those in control. I easily regard it as one of the coolest airship designs in the franchise, alongside 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 unforgettable moments in gaming history.
A Initial View of a Brooding Sanctuary
When we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis escorting Squall out of the medical wing, we get our first glimpse of the location this gloomy-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot starts from the floor of the school and ascends to zoom in on the staggering magnitude of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that makes it feel futuristic, but also somehow angelic. The rounded structures evoke a specifically late ‘90s idea of how the future would look. Meanwhile, because of the gilded details on the building and the extended beams of light coming from the immense glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden looks like a massive angel. It was designed to be a peaceful place — too peaceful for an academy that turns teenagers into mercenaries.
The Memorable Soundtrack
Matching the calmness that the appearance of Balamb Garden suggests, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the most cherished memories I have from my youth is walking around the central area of Balamb Garden, seeing those fish statues spouting water, and hearing to the soothing theme song. The catch is that it keeps playing in your head indefinitely. Once it returns to my mind, I’m forced to search on YouTube for a extended “Balamb Garden” song video. The only way to get it out of playing inside my head is to overdose of it.
- Soothing tune that lingers in your mind
- Main hub with water features
- Nostalgic feelings for countless players
A Fascinating Academy
Balamb Garden is fascinating as a location as well as an establishment. First, 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 militaristic than Balamb Garden.
The Paradoxical Slogan
When you access the Balamb Garden Network using one of the game terminals, you find out that the credo 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” — except for Zell. However, considering that the training area, where students find living monsters they can kill, is the only place in the entire school accessible at any time during the day, perhaps that’s what they mean by “playing.” While combat preparation is the key aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is poor, since students are consuming so many hot dogs that the personnel have nothing else to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”
Tight Rules
Students are controlled by a strict set of rules, which, for one, we should anticipate from a combat school, but on the other seems weirdly funny. For example, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they can’t leave their dorms in the nights, except it’s for training. A student may be dismissed if they lag in their curriculum, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It may not look like it, but Balamb Garden is genuinely concerned about its students’ relationships. The school officially advises that students “take time to think things through before starting a relationship.” (After all, the real threat of being a student of Balamb Garden is romantic relationships, not battling with weapons and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the opening cutscene.)
More Than Just Aesthetics
Starting with the elegant advanced design of the building to the ironies and debatable practices of the institution, there are numerous elements of Balamb Garden to celebrate. We all like to joke about Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than just surface appeal.
