That Final Fantasy 8 Landmark Merits Greater Love
The FF series boasts countless iconic settings. From Elfheim in the very first Final Fantasy, Midgar in Final Fantasy 7, to Limsa Lominsa in Final Fantasy 14, every one has earned a cherished place in players' hearts, and they admire the unique details that make these areas so remarkable. But, if one setting that deserves more attention than the rest, it is undoubtedly Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy 8, not just because of its beautiful design, but also for being a truly weird school.
An Absolute Cinematic Scene
First, let's mention the obvious. Balamb Garden turning into an flying vessel and escaping from a missile attack was absolute cinema. This place was not just designed to be a academy for mercenaries. It is a mobile base that permits them to create new tactics and relocate, based on the requirements of those in command. I readily consider it as one of the coolest airship concepts in the series, along 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 more iconic moments in video game history.
A Initial Look of a Brooding Home
When we start playing Final Fantasy 8 and watch Quistis escorting Squall out of the medical wing, we get our initial view of the place this sullen-looking teenager calls home. A sweeping shot starts from the ground of the school and rises to zoom in on the impressive magnitude of the building. Balamb Garden has a design that feels advanced, but also heavenly. The rounded structures evoke a distinctly late ‘90s vision of how the future would look. Meanwhile, because of the gilded accents on the building and the long beams of light emanating from the massive glowing ring on top of the school, Balamb Garden resembles a massive angel. It was built to be a tranquil place — excessively peaceful for an academy that transforms teenagers into mercenaries.
The Catchy Soundtrack
Matching the serenity that the aesthetic of Balamb Garden suggests, we have the school’s theme song. One of the most cherished recollections I have from being a kid is walking around the central area of Balamb Garden, watching those aquatic statues spraying water, and listening to the gentle theme song. The issue is that it keeps playing in your head constantly. Once it comes back to my mind, I’m compelled to search on YouTube for a extended “Balamb Garden” song video. The sole way to make it stop playing inside my head is to listen to it repeatedly of it.
- Gentle melody that lingers in your mind
- Main hub with water features
- Sentimental feelings for countless players
A Intriguing Institution
Balamb Garden is intriguing as a location and also an organization. For starters, it accepts kids from 5 to fifteen years old to mold them into mercenaries, but it looks 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.
A Contradictory Slogan
When you use the Balamb Garden Network using one of the game terminals, you learn that the motto of the institution is “Work hard, study hard, and play hard.” I’m sorry, but I didn't have the sense that those teenagers training to be mercenaries are “playing hard” — only Zell. However, given that the facility, where students encounter living monsters they can battle, is the only place in the whole school available at any time 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 diet is terrible, since students are devouring so many hot dogs that the faculty have no other response to say except “No more hot dogs today.”
Rigid Rules
Students are governed by a rigid set of rules, which, on one hand, we would expect from a combat school, but on the other seems strangely humorous. First, there’s not a dress code in the school, but they are not allowed to leave their dorms in the evenings, unless it’s for training. A student can be dismissed if they fall behind in their curriculum, for aggressive acts, and for… “sexual promiscuity.” It might not seem like it, but Balamb Garden is really concerned about its students’ sex life. The school officially suggests 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 Aesthetics
Starting with the delicate advanced design of the building to the ironies and dubious practices of the school, there are many elements of Balamb Garden to celebrate. Many of us like to tease Squall, but Balamb Garden reminds us that there’s greater depth to Final Fantasy 8 than just aesthetics.
