That Final Fantasy 8 Icon Warrants More Adoration
The FF franchise boasts many memorable settings. From Elfheim in the original Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, all the way to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, every one has found a cherished place in players' hearts, who admire the distinctive idiosyncrasies that make these locales so special. But, when it comes to one place that deserves more praise than the others, it is certainly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its stunning design, but also for being a incredibly bizarre school.
An Absolute Blockbuster Reveal
Before, we must highlight the obvious. Balamb Garden morphing into an airship and escaping from a missile attack was absolute cinema. This institution was not just intended to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that permits them to create new plans and relocate, depending on the demands of those in control. I readily regard it as one of the coolest airship concepts in the franchise, together with Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and some of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.
This transformation of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the more memorable moments in gaming history.
A First Glimpse of a Gloomy Sanctuary
As we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and see Quistis escorting Squall out of the medical wing, we get our initial look of the place this brooding-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot begins from the floor of the school and rises to focus on the awe-inspiring scale of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels advanced, but also heavenly. The flowing structures evoke a distinctly late ‘90s idea of how the tomorrow would look. Meanwhile, because of the golden accents on the building and the extended trails of light coming from the enormous glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden evokes a giant angel. It was built to be a peaceful place — too peaceful for an establishment that turns teenagers into mercenaries.
An Memorable Soundtrack
Matching the serenity that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden conveys, we have the school’s background music. One of the fondest recollections I have from being a kid is strolling around the central area of Balamb Garden, seeing those aquatic statues spraying water, and hearing to the lullaby-ish theme song. The issue is that it continues playing in your head forever. Whenever it returns to my mind, I’m forced to look up 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.
- Gentle tune that lingers in your mind
- Main courtyard with fountain features
- Nostalgic associations for countless players
The Compelling Institution
Balamb Garden is compelling as a setting and also an organization. First, it enrolls kids from 5 to fifteen years old to transform them into mercenaries, but it appears like a giant church. There are numerous military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but not one look less like a militaristic than Balamb Garden.
The Paradoxical Slogan
When you access the Balamb Garden Network using one of the in-game terminals, you find out that the credo of the academy is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” Apologies, but I never have the impression that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. However, considering that the facility, where students find real monsters they can battle, is the only place in the whole school available at any time during the day, perhaps that’s what they mean by “playing.” While combat preparation is the key part of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is poor, since students are consuming so many frankfurters that the personnel have nothing else to say besides “No more hot dogs today.”
Strict Regulations
Students are controlled by a strict set of rules, which, on one hand, we would expect from a combat school, but conversely seems weirdly humorous. For example, 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 expelled if they lag in their studies, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not look like it, but Balamb Garden is really 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 real risk of being a student of Balamb Garden is love affairs, not battling with gunblades and cutting each other's faces like Squall and Seifer were doing in the intro cutscene.)
Greater Than Only Aesthetics
From the elegant advanced design of the building to the contradictions and dubious decisions of the academy, there are countless elements of Balamb Garden to celebrate. We all like to make fun of Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s more to Final Fantasy 8 than simply good looks.
