That FF8 Icon Warrants More Love
The FF franchise includes numerous unforgettable settings. Starting with Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, all the way to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has secured a special place in fans' hearts, and they love the distinctive idiosyncrasies that make these locales so unique. But, when it comes to 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 strange school.
An Absolute Cinematic Moment
Before, let's address the elephant in the room. Balamb Garden transforming into an airship and fleeing from a missile attack was absolute cinema. This place was not only designed to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that permits them to create new strategies and move, based on the needs of those in control. I readily consider it as one of the most impressive airship concepts in the series, together with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and some of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.
The change of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the most unforgettable moments in video game history.
The First View of a Brooding Sanctuary
As we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis escorting Squall out of the infirmary, we get our first glimpse of the environment this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot starts from the floor of the school and rises to focus on the staggering size of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels futuristic, but also somehow angelic. The flowing structures evoke a specifically late ‘90s vision of how the tomorrow would look. Conversely, because of the golden features on the building and the extended trails of light emanating from the immense glowing halo on top of the school, Balamb Garden evokes a massive angel. It was designed to be a serene place — too peaceful for an establishment that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.
The Memorable Melody
Matching the calmness that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s theme song. One of the fondest memories I have from being a kid is strolling around the central area of Balamb Garden, watching those aquatic statues spurting water, and listening to the soothing theme song. The catch is that it keeps playing in your head constantly. Once it comes back to my mind, I’m forced to search on YouTube for a 3-hour-long “Balamb Garden” song video. The only way to end playing inside my head is to overdose of it.
- Gentle melody that lingers in your mind
- Central hub with water features
- Nostalgic associations for many players
A Fascinating School
Balamb Garden is fascinating as a setting as well as an institution. For starters, it enrolls kids from five to fifteen years old to transform them into mercenaries, but it appears like a giant church. There are a lot of military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but not one look less militaristic than Balamb Garden.
The Contradictory Slogan
When you use the Balamb Garden Network via one of the game terminals, you discover that the motto of the institution is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I never have the feeling that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. But, given that the facility, where students find real monsters they can battle, is the sole place in the whole 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 food is awful, since students are consuming 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, for one, we would anticipate from a military school, but conversely seems oddly humorous. For example, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their dorms in the evenings, except it’s for training. A student may be expelled if they fall behind in their curriculum, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not look like it, but Balamb Garden is really worried 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 weapons and slashing each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)
More Than Only Aesthetics
Starting with the delicate futuristic design of the building to the paradoxes and questionable practices of the academy, there are countless features of Balamb Garden to admire. Many of us like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than just good looks.
