That Final Fantasy 8 Symbol Merits Greater Love
This Final Fantasy series boasts numerous memorable settings. From Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, each has earned a special place in fans' hearts, who love the unique idiosyncrasies that make these areas so special. However, if one setting that warrants more attention than the others, it is definitely Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not only because of its beautiful design, but also for being a absolutely strange school.
The Pure Blockbuster Moment
Before, we must address the obvious. Balamb Garden transforming into an flying vessel and fleeing from a missile attack was pure cinema. This location was not just designed to be a training camp for mercenaries. It is a traveling base that permits them to develop new tactics and reposition, depending on the requirements of those in command. I readily regard it as one of the most impressive airship concepts in the franchise, alongside Final Fantasy 10's Fahrenheit and some of the Final Fantasy 12 military airships.
The conversion of Balamb Garden into an airship remains one of the most unforgettable moments in video game history.
The Initial Glimpse of a Gloomy Home
When we begin playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis escorting Squall out of the medical wing, we get our first glimpse of the environment this brooding-looking teenager calls home. A panoramic shot starts from the floor of the school and ascends to focus on the impressive scale of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that appears futuristic, but also somehow heavenly. The rounded structures bring to mind a distinctly late ‘90s idea of how the tomorrow would look. Conversely, because of the golden features on the building and the long beams of light emanating from the massive glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden looks like a massive angel. It was designed to be a tranquil place — excessively peaceful for an institution that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.
An Memorable Melody
Matching the serenity that the design of Balamb Garden portrays, we have the school’s soundtrack. One of the fondest recollections I have from my youth is strolling around the central area of Balamb Garden, seeing those aquatic statues spouting water, and hearing to the soothing theme song. The issue is that it keeps playing in your head constantly. Whenever it comes back to my mind, I’m compelled to look up on YouTube for a 3-hour-long “Balamb Garden” song video. The sole way to make it stop playing inside my head is to listen to it repeatedly of it.
- Lullaby music that sticks in your mind
- Main hub with fountain features
- Sentimental feelings for many players
A Fascinating School
Balamb Garden is intriguing as a location and also an organization. For starters, it enrolls kids from 5 to 15 years old to turn them into mercenaries, but it appears like a enormous church. There are many military schools in RPGs, like in Trails of Cold Steel, but not one look less militaristic than Balamb Garden.
A Contradictory Slogan
If you use the Balamb Garden Network using one of the game terminals, you find out that the slogan of the institution is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, but I didn't have the impression that those teenagers preparing to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. But, considering that the facility, where students encounter real monsters they can defeat, is the only place in the whole school accessible at any time during the day, maybe that’s what they mean by “playing.” While training is the key aspect of a student’s life in Balamb Garden, their diet is awful, since students are eating so many hot dogs that the faculty have nothing else to say except “No more hot dogs today.”
Strict Rules
Students are governed by a tight set of rules, which, for one, we should expect from a military school, but on the other seems oddly amusing. For example, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their rooms in the evenings, except it’s for training. A student may be dismissed if they lag in their studies, for violent acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is really worried about its students’ sex life. 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.)
More Than Just Aesthetics
From the refined advanced design of the building to the paradoxes and debatable actions of the institution, there are numerous features of Balamb Garden to admire. We all like to make fun of Squall, but Balamb Garden serves to remind us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than just aesthetics.