Balamb Town Balamb is a town located on the country of the same name in " Final Fantasy VIII " . A peaceful seaside town , Balamb is a popular tourism spot and is connected to the Galbadia n continent via a transcontinental railway . The town was founded by those in pursuit of a rare type of fish named the Balamb Fish . Considered a delicacy , the Balamb Fish attracted fishermen and seafood chefs to the area , and a community began to take root . The town ' s harbor was the perfect home base for fleets of fishing vessels , as well as commercial passenger ships . Before long , word spread among Galbadians about Balamb ' s beautiful coastline and refreshing atmosphere , as well as its top - notch food . Balamb blossomed into a resort destination , hosting tourists from all over Galbadia . An underwater railway was built to aid the transport of both people and supplies , and the Balamb Hotel was built to house vacationers and serve the best Balamb Fish dishes the town had to offer . Story . Balamb town ' s dominance on the island was diminished twelve years ago when Balamb Garden , a training center for the elite military force SeeD , was erected . Because of its isolated location , Balamb residents often revel in their ability to ignore military conflicts going on in the rest of the world , and to some extent , resent that the Garden ' s presence serves as a reminder of those problems . The townspeople respect those who choose to attend the Garden , which they see as a school for the gifted . Balamb ' s role as a haven for peaceful existence is shattered during Sorceress Edea ' s rule of Galbadia . Edea , under the control of Sorceress Ultimecia , orders Galbadian troops to seize the town and hold its residents hostage while they search for a woman named Ellone . The military overruns the Balamb Hotel , barring the owners from entering the town and using it to house their troops . The Galbadians cut off supply lines , diverting food and other shipments to the troops at the hotel , denying local shops and people access to necessities . The military leaders threaten to burn the town to the ground if anyone protests their actions or attempts to subvert their authority . A group of SeeDs from Balamb Garden , led by Squall Leonhart , infiltrates the town by claiming to have information which could lead to Ellone ' s capture . Once inside , Squall , along with Balamb native Zell , find and defeat both the Galbadian commander , Fujin , and the Galbadian captain , Raijin . With their leaders in retreat and no sign of Ellone , the Galbadian troops withdraw from Balamb . After the war against Ultimecia is over , Seifer Almasy returns to Balamb to fish with his friend Fujin and Raijin as the mobile Balamb Garden soars overhead . Location . The town of Balamb is located on the south - western edge of the Balamb continent . It is a small port town to the south west of Balamb Garden . It is connected to the transcontinental railroad of Galbadia . Located at the town entrance . The player can rent a car for a small fee . Although one can avoid random encounter s on the field in a car , it needs fuel to run . The main street is bordered by residential houses , one of them being Zell ' s . The junk shop is found here if one wants a weapon remodeled . Linked to the transcontinental railroad that leads to Galbadia , this train features a special cabin for SeeD use . The Balamb Hotel , the tourists ' destination overlooking the sea . Laguna Loire once stayed here during his travels and wrote about it in an article of Timber Maniacs . A location involved in Zell and Pigtail Girl ' s sidequest . Home to Zell Dincht and his mother . The ground floor is free to travel , but Zell is protective of his room , located upstairs from the main room . He reluctantly allows the party enter after it is discovered the Galbadian army has occupied the hotel . A save point can be found in Zell ' s room . The Balamb harbor is a public facility , allowing Balamb Garden to dock its water - based vehicles here for missions , exams and other events . Shops . The junk shop can be found opposite of Ma Dincht ' s house , and the item shop is outside the train station . Quests . Optional scenes . When Squall , Zell and Selphie are heading for Timber , the player can talk to a mechanic at the car rental to trigger a scene where Zell boasts of having done a hundred pull - ups on the gas station sign . He appears if the player returns to the car rental after progressing deeper into the town . If Zell is in the party , repeated trips to Balamb Town and his house will trigger scenes involving the Big Bad Rascal highlighting his admiration for Zell ( see next section ) . During the quest to liberate Balamb ( see Liberating Balamb ) entering Zell ' s room activates a series of short discussions between the characters that reveal more about Zell . Which discussion occurs depends on who is in the party . After Balamb has been liberated , if the player talks to a chef at the harbor with Selphie in the party , she will talk to the chef and reveal her favorite food , inspiring the chef to come up with a new recipe . After Balamb has been liberated the party can get an optional scene with Zell and his crush by staying at the hotel with Zell ( see Combat King 003 section ) . Big Bad Rascal . Several scenes involving the Big Bad Rascal can be viewed if Balamb Town and Zell ' s house are visited repeatedly with Zell in the party . The scenes can be watched as soon as Zell becomes available and include : After these two scenes occur , the player can find the Big Bad Rascal hiding behind some crates by the parking lot next to the dock . Talking to him will cause him to speak some nonsense that confuses Zell . After this , if the player examines Zell ' s pillow , a Spd Up can be found . This scene can be seen before departing for the mission in Timber , but the item cannot be gotten until the player gains access to Zell ' s room during Balamb ' s liberation . Additional scenes can be viewed before leaving for the mission in Timber . After Balamb ' s liberation , they cannot be seen but are not needed to find the Spd Up mentioned above . They involve Zell ' s mother and the mother of the Big Bad Rascal talking to each other in Zell ' s house . If the player goes to the back room of Zell ' s house , the player can talk to the Big Bad Rascal who will mention finding a frog , signing something , or leaving something under Zell ' s pillow . Depending on what the Big Bad Rascal says , the player can examine the umbrella holder near the front door to find a frog , the painting between the stairs to Zell ' s room and the door to the back room to find the Big Bad Rascal ' s signature , or Zell ' s pillow to find the Spd Up mentioned above . Liberating Balamb . After the events in Fishermans Horizon the party learns that Galbadia has occupied Balamb . Zell is a mandatory party member for this part , and will force himself into the formation if he is not already in the party when the player enters Balamb . Talking to the guard lets the player into the town . The Galbadian forces will not allow Squall and friends to leave Balamb once they ' re in , but there is a sidequest that allows the party to exit before concluding all the events there . The player should talk to the Big Bad Rascal in Zell ' s house twice , and speak to Ma Dincht , then go to the hotel and talk to the guard , who will tell Squall to look for the captain . At the harbor , the player must wait a few minutes , then head to the house next to Zell ' s , and talk to Big Bad Rascal and go to the town exit . The player must talk to the guard who won ' t let them leave , and keep the text window open so that Big Bad Rascal can sneak to the Hotel Owner . Back in town the player can can now exit with the help of Big Bad Rascal . This way the player can get the Pandemona card slightly earlier , as the girl in Zell ' s neighbor ' s now has her father ' s cards . The guards outside the hotel will tell Squall to look for the captain . There is an NPC called Tabloid Guy behind the cars at the docks , but his hints are pricey and unnecessary . Since the group can ' t stay in the hotel Zell will let the crew in his room . If the third party member is Selphie and Squall implies Selphie is being annoying , she deducts a SeeD rank from Squall . Quistis will note Zell ' s T - board and relate a humorous story where Zell crashed the girls ' restroom with it . Irvine marvels at the guns Zell has hung up on the wall and wants to try one . Rinoa is simply impressed Zell ' s room is so tidy . On the docks the guards have a dog and after talking to them and returning to Zell ' s house there is smoke coming from the door . Ma Dincht will tell the party the captain was there cooking fish . There are two options of finding the captain , either by boarding the train , or using the dog from the docks . Using the dog gives a higher SeeD ranking . To board the train the player must go to the train where the soldiers are knocked out . After talking to a knocked - out soldier enough times he ' ll move away from the stairs that lead to the train . Boarding the train in this manner awards 65 SeeD Exp . To use the dog , the player should head to the docks and talk to the dog and follow it to the train . This gives 100 SeeD Exp . Whichever way the player uses to find the captain , they must return to the hotel for the boss fights . Combat King 003 . The player can get the Combat King 003 magazine for Zell by staying at the hotel after Balamb has been liberated . In the morning Zell will be gone and the player will find him downstairs , where he receives the magazine from the Library Girl with a Pigtail . The player can trigger various scenes concerning the two by visiting the Balamb Garden library . The dialogue is more complete the more scenes in the sidequest the player has witnessed . Triple Triad . The town of Balamb uses Balamb rules , of which the default rule is just Open . Playing the student found on the docks of Balamb clears the rules the player is carrying with them , stopping rules from spreading when playing new opponents . Queen of Cards is found outside the train station , whose sidequest the player can do if they send her to Dollet . Musical themes . Played upon entering the town ; " " is considered Balamb ' s theme tune . During Galbadia ' s occupation the tune " Intruders " plays .