Jade Flute Gate: A Save Point Review

All right readers, I’ve been just as excited as all of you about the expansion into the Jade Emperor’s territory, and I finally was able to try the new save point at Jade Flute Gate. Not only was it rumored to have one of the most expansive save facilities (200 free slots??!) but also – drum roll – a Japanese style revolving conveyor belt restaurant!  But what does it serve? Is it worth the trek? And do I finally find that spring issue of The Hunted magazine that I’m *still* missing since the Drunk Caster arc?? All* these and more below! 

*Okay not all of these, I think I’m just out of luck on that issue … 

My pictures aren’t loading, so you’ll have to do with my amazing descriptions.  Imagine … you’re in the Jade Emperor’s territory, having just finished slaying the Eight-winged Dragon … you’re low on health and in desperate need of a save when … over the hill … suddenly … you see: a very innocuous looking building.  

Seriously, it doesn’t fit in at all!  There are these rock outcroppings and then bam – a dumpy block of a building. I mean, c’mon designers, you could have at least tried to blend it in?  Oh well. Maybe it was meant to stand out.  But if it was, then why not go all out? If I’d gone just a couple degrees off course, I would have missed it completely (Tip: be careful not to go too far west or else you’ll end up in a Red Cactus sandpit, where you can get 1-shot-k-o’d if you’re not careful. Not speaking from experience of course).

But whatever, I needed to save. What’s nice is there’s a quick-save machine on the outside of the building, so if you’re in a rush, you can just save and go. But you all know that I’m not that kind of **player! 

**That was a joke. I’m very loyal and will never betray you. See my partner application on my profile.

After a circle around the building, I finally noticed the entrance on the north side.  Not sure if it was intentional to camouflage the door or if this was another half-baked idea of the designers (South Garden’s save point, anyone? Ugh I still get pissed off whenever I see celery even off-game, thanks designers).  The inside, however, makes up for all the nonsensical stuff on the outside. 

Again you’ll have to use your imagination a bit: You know those indoor amusement parks? Yeah. It’s like that. Really! There’s an actual amusement park inside! Oh and a spa. And an arcade. Karaoke too, yup. And I even saw a sign for a petting zoo! 

But I was not to be distracted – I was here for food and food it would be!  After a bit of a walk (okay, I admit it, I tried a mud bath at the spa – it took me seven tries to beat the Eight-winged Dragon, I needed the relaxation okay?!?) I made it to the “***Whirling restaurant of joy” on the northwest side of the save point. 

***Yes, that’s the actual name of the restaurant. Yes, I triple checked my in-game dictionary.

If you’ve ever been to the Mish-lane save point, I’ve gotta say: Mish-lane’s restaurant has *nothing* on this.  Really, it was legit whirling joy. It’s set up with conveyor belts looping around the restaurant that brings your food directly to you when you order.  But what’s also amazing is that you get to sit at these individual booths. I thought it was just for privacy which was nice, and all (yeah yeah, I know, I should work on my table manners, but if no one sees me, doesn’t matter right?) and I could just focus on the food. 

Which by the way was amazing. Se-rious-ly. You can order food from every territory – there was everything from stews to burgers to sushi to ice cream sundaes! (Thank you, iceman glitch for all the money!)  Everything was crazy fresh and cooked to perfection. I don’t know who the chefs were, but dang, give them a raise! 

While I was eating, I found by accident**** a hidden panel (well considering how “hidden” this building was, who’s to say if it was really something they intended to hide) where I found the most interesting service ever to be offered at a save point.  

****Two words: tail cramp. 

So you know how I’ve been going on and on about how I wish we could review all the battles we’ve had so we could do the side detective missions better?  Well, maybe the designers read my blog (*wave* welcome! I’m sorry for bad mouthing you all! Please don’t trap me in a Red Cactus sandpit again) because the secret panel allows you to do just that! You can review, rewind, slow-down, zoom in – anything you want with the battle footage.  You can even do different angles like an overhead angle or the monster’s perspective!  

I found a ton of answers by doing this so I didn’t spend as much time as I had planned in the Jade Emperor’s territory because I completed five side missions. You read that right: FIVE.  Yeah. So if you’ve been stuck on those darn things, I recommend you fast-travel to the Jade Emperor’s territory as soon as you can and get to the Jade Flute Gate (I’ve been seeing 1-hour specials for all of the facilities the past week too).  Oh and tell me how the petting zoo is because I’m dying to know if there’s a baby sea-tiger in there. 

Well that’s all for this week – next up, I’ll be continuing through the expansion to the Water Drum Gate!