The majority of Final Fantasy VIII takes place from within Balamb Garden, an institution created by Cid Kramer and Sorceress Edea to train hopeful students into one day become SeeDs. As many of the main party’s members resided at Balamb Garden, it was easy for players to familiarize themselves with this location and get used to traversing its many rooms and corridors — either for exploration or to seek Triple Triad players.
While Final Fantasy fans have come to know Balamb Garden for its unusual mobility usage, unique layout, and soothing musical theme, there are many things that players may not have noticed or ever questioned. This includes unseen lore, nods to real-life institutions, and a famous ballroom that poses more questions than answers.
10 Balamb Garden Was Meant To Resemble A Normal School
Balamb Garden took inspiration from classic Japanese schools, with designated uniforms, classrooms, and an eccentric headmaster. One way Square sought to strengthen this replication was by implementing different clubs and committees, including the Garden Festival committee (run by Selphie), the library committee, the disciplinary committee, and the Trepies, AKA the Quistis fan club.
A notable club is the Card Club, which consists of both students and faculty whose identities are kept secret. The Card Club is made up of skilled Triple Triad players who the player can challenge by defeating them in a ranked order. If the player chooses to pursue the path of defeating the Card Club, they will learn that one of the highest members, known as the Master King, is in fact Quistis.
9 The Study Panel contains A Public Diary
Although the Study Panel initially only serves to provide pivotal gameplay information via tutorials and basic lore overviews, it eventually becomes a haven for narrative content, with even a public diary.
This transformation is attested to Selphie, who takes charge of the Garden Festival committee and redoes the entire School Festival tab on the Study Panel. As the game progresses, Selphie updates the player on the Garden Festival’s progress, pens open thoughts on the game’s events, writes reviews on Laguna’s articles, and even dedicates a section so that the party write small messages under “My Friends.” Squall, as expected, does not participate in adding a message.
8 There Are Facility Rules
Like any institution that gives a degree of freedom to its students, Balamb Garden has many rules students must follow. For instance, students must be seated five minutes before class, and cannot bring food, weapons, or magic into the classroom. Weapons and magic usage are ultimately discouraged throughout Balamb Garden, except for in the training center.
Other rules for other facilities dictate that students are not allowed to leave the dormitories after hours unless going to the training center, nothing is to be stolen from the infirmary, and students may not talk loudly or run around in the library.
7 Students Can Be Expelled
With rules comes consequences, and Balamb Garden is no exception to dishing out consequences for student’s actions. There are typical expectations, pertaining to proper attire, emergency procedures, and conduct. Misconduct, for example, might involve threatening the Sorceress on television and putting the entire Garden in danger — which perfectly goes against the “refrain from committing acts that may danger the Garden’s reputation” rule.
A policy that lays out the acts that instill punishment designates that students who engage in violence, sexual promiscuity, or fall behind in classes are subject to expulsion.
6 Balamb Garden Was The First Garden Built
Between the three Gardens (Balamb, Galbadia, and Trabia), Balamb Garden was the first. Funded by NORG, Balamb Garden was founded 12 years before the game’s main story. It was remodeled from an old Centra shelter by Estherian technicians, who built it to function both as a grounded and mobile structure.
It was started as an initiative by Cid and Edea to house and train students to one day combat the Sorceress, all inspired by an encounter Edea had with a dying sorceress from the future. While all three Gardens operate in similar ways, Balamb Garden is the only one where students can become SeeDs. Transfer programs were put in place to allow students from Galbadia and Trabia to take the written and field exams.
5 Certain Facilities Have Set Open And Closing Hours
Although much of Balamb Garden can be explored, facilities can be inaccessible once they close for the day. The library, for example, is only open from 9 a.m. until lights out. The cafeteria, on the other hand, closes at 9 p.m. while also opening at 9 a.m.; any late-night meals are required to be ordered before the kitchen closes.
The only facility that is open 24 hours is the training center. Despite this, rules specify that students can only train here and they are discouraged from using the training center for other purposes. This has not, however, stopped students from meeting in private at the “secret area” to avoid being caught by Garden Faculty.
4 The Allusive Ballroom
Perhaps one of the most iconic moments in the entire Final Fantasy franchise is the ballroom scene where Squall meets Rinoa at the SeeD graduation party. While this scene and the ballroom have a ton of notoriety for fans as the start of Squall and Rinoa’s romance, it does beg the question: where exactly is the ballroom?
Balamb Garden’s accessible facilities include the entrance, first floor lobby, library, dorms, training center, parking lot, cafeteria, quad, and infirmary. Other than those, the player has access to the classroom, Cid’s office, and the basement. As such, the ballroom is otherwise not accessible, nor does it appear on any maps, which only further inspires confusion on its whereabouts.
3 Party Member Locations
Every party member from the game’s main plot has a designated area around Balamb Garden when not in the party. The one time Squall isn’t in the party, he can be found sleeping in his dorm room, but for the most part, he is always controlled by the player.
The other party members can be found at the following places: Selphie is in the second-floor classroom updating the Study Panel, Irvine is also in the second-floor classroom accompanying Selphie (but can still be found here when she’s in the party), Zell is outside the library in the foyer, Rinoa (who is not a student of any Garden) can be found inside the library, and Quistis is on the Garden’s control bridge.
2 Admission And Departure From Balamb Garden
Balamb Garden accepts orphans and potential students as young as 5 years old. The Garden encourages hardworking youth to apply for admission, and anyone admitted must first go through an interview process. Once residents reach 20, they are dismissed from the Garden, regardless of whether or not they’ve become a SeeD, but may stay so long as they’ve acquired SeeDship.
When a resident reaches 15, they may participate in the written and field exams to become SeeDs. They have until the age of 19 to pass and subsequently graduate. Balamb Garden offers opportunities for alumni, aiding them in stationing with armies around the world.
1 The Hot Dogs
Perhaps one of the most pivotal aspects throughout the entire game is Balamb Garden’s fixation on hot dogs. They are the most popular item in the cafeteria, a huge part of Zell’s character, and can be protected during the Battle of the Gardens.
But what some may not know is that the hot dogs only exist in the localized English version. In the Japanese version of Final Fantasy VIII, the hot dogs are instead flavored bread. Upon second glance, players may notice that the closing cutscene involves Zell choking on bread, and not a hot dog. The shape of the bread does however resemble a hot dog bun, making the transition from bread to hot dogs more seamless.
![\"IT電腦補習](\"http://itteacheritfreelance.hk/test/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo2-2.png\"){kind=logo}
www.itsec.hk
www.itsec.vip
www.itseceu.uk
Leave a Reply