The Backstreet Cellar Crank in Phantom Blade Zero sits inside a purple chest on the rooftops above Pangzhen’s Slums, and you need it to open a locked cellar just south of Old Man Gen’s House Bell. I nearly skipped this key item on my playthrough — the Slums stay sealed until you beat a boss, repair a fiery Phantom Edge, and burn through a wall of brambles.
Do it right and you’ll clear the A Mother’s Heart tale in one loop, walking away with Merciful Dew, a medicine that restores 60% of your HP over 10 seconds across five charges. Phantom Blade Zero launched on October 29, 2026 for PS5 and PC, and this Pangzhen secret is one of the most-searched spots as of November 2026 — here’s the fastest route I found after testing it on launch weekend.
Backstreet Cellar Crank: Quick Facts
| Key Info | Details |
|---|---|
| Item | Backstreet Cellar Crank (key item) |
| Chest location | Purple chest, rooftops above Pangzhen’s Slums |
| Used at | Cellar door south of Old Man Gen’s House Bell |
| Prerequisite | Flaming Mane Phantom Edge (burns brambles) |
| Quest | A Mother’s Heart tale |
| Reward | Merciful Dew medicine (60% HP over 10s, 5 charges) |
How to Unlock the Pangzhen Slums?
You can’t grab the crank the moment you reach Pangzhen. Two gates stand in the way, and both tie into the main story.
First, progress the campaign until the southwest section of Pangzhen opens up. The Slums sit behind story progress, so if the area is still greyed out on your map, push the main quests further before backtracking.
Second, clear the Flame, the Lion Dance Grandmaster boss. He drops the Dormant Flaming Mane, which you take to Lei Dang at the Jingyang Hall Bell to have repaired into the Flaming Mane Phantom Edge. Equip it — Phantom Edges are the game’s secondary slot items, you can run two at once out of 20+ in the game — and use its flames to burn the bramble barriers sealing the route into the Slums.
Once those brambles are ash, set your waypoint on the Back Hill Pavilion Bell and start the rooftop run below. Flame hits hard but follows the game’s standard tells — parry his blue-flash Brutal Moves and dodge the red-flash Killer Moves to stay safe.
Where to Find the Backstreet Cellar Crank?
The crank waits in a purple chest tucked behind a small enemy camp. From the Back Hill Pavilion Bell, follow this route:
- Follow the path downhill and clear the enemies blocking the way.
- Use the chain to cross to the opposite side, then take out the enemy waiting on the rooftop.
- Drop down to the lower rooftop and deal with the next pack.
- Jump onto the nearby balcony and continue toward the rooftop ahead.
- Look right for a climbable wall, scale it, and drop down on the left.
- Defeat the enemies in the sunken area, where you’ll spot a raised ladder and the purple chest.
- Open the chest to collect the Backstreet Cellar Crank.
The route sounds long, but the whole detour took me about five minutes once I knew the jumps, and the enemies along it are regular mobs rather than elites.
Don’t leave yet. Lower the ladder first — it creates a shortcut so you never repeat this parkour loop — then pick up the Memory Flower beside it. That flower starts the A Mother’s Heart tale, which you’ll finish inside the cellar itself.
How to Use the Backstreet Cellar Crank?
The crank’s socket is a short walk away, and this is the part most players fumble because the cellar door hides behind a bend.
- Head northeast from the chest toward the main Pangzhen Slums.
- Push on until you reach the Old Man Gen’s House Bell — use it to rest and respawn-farm if needed.
- From that Bell, head slightly south until you spot the locked cellar door built into the street.
- Interact with the mechanism beside the door and insert the crank. It spins, the door lifts, and the underground passage opens.
If the mechanism won’t activate, you’re carrying the wrong item or you grabbed the crank from a different purple chest — the one you need comes from the rooftop run above, not the open Slums.
Cellar Loot and the A Mother’s Heart Reward
The cellar is a compact combat gauntlet with a fat loot payout, so go in with your best medicine loadout.
- Tainted Crystal Shard — grab this rare material right after you drop in.
- Puppet fights — clear the Puppets guarding the lower floor, then climb the ladder and deal with the Shield Puppet waiting upstairs. Parry its blue-flash Brutal Moves to break its poise quickly.
- Resource chest — after the second ladder, loot the chest for crafting resources.
- Second Memory Flower — collect it to instantly complete the A Mother’s Heart tale.
The tale auto-completes the moment you take the second flower — there’s no NPC turn-in, which I genuinely appreciate. Your reward is Merciful Dew, a medicine that restores 60% of your HP over 10 seconds with five charges, making it one of the best sustain pickups among the 17 medicines in the game (you can equip two at a time). Keep it slotted for boss rematches — a five-charge heal that ticks over ten seconds can carry a long fight. Both Memory Flowers also count toward your collectible total, and Memory Flower sets grant a bonus max-health boost once a full set is discovered — so skipping this cellar quietly costs you survivability too.
Pro Tips
- Lower the rooftop ladder before leaving. It turns a five-minute parkour detour into a ten-second sprint if you die inside the cellar.
- Save the cellar for after the Shield Puppet checkpoint Bell. Resting at Old Man Gen’s House Bell resets nearby Puppets, letting you retry the Shield Puppet fight without a long walk.
- Burn every bramble you see. The Flaming Mane Phantom Edge opens several other blocked nooks around Pangzhen, some hiding chests and flowers.
- Bring two medicines into the cellar. The game lets you equip two at once, and the Shield Puppet punishes an unprepared build fast.
FAQs
What does the Backstreet Cellar Crank do in Phantom Blade Zero?
It opens the locked cellar door south of Old Man Gen’s House Bell in the Pangzhen Slums. Inside you’ll find the Tainted Crystal Shard, a resource chest, Puppet enemies, and the second Memory Flower for the A Mother’s Heart tale.
How do you get the Flaming Mane Phantom Edge?
Defeat Flame, the Lion Dance Grandmaster, to receive the Dormant Flaming Mane, then take it to Lei Dang at the Jingyang Hall Bell for repair. Once equipped, the edge burns bramble barriers blocking the Slums.
What is the reward for A Mother’s Heart?
You get Merciful Dew, a medicine that restores 60% of your HP over 10 seconds with five charges. It’s granted automatically when you collect the second Memory Flower inside the cellar — no NPC turn-in needed.
Can you miss the Backstreet Cellar Crank?
No. It spawns in a fixed purple chest above the Slums, so it stays there until you claim it. As long as you’ve unlocked southwest Pangzhen and burned the brambles, you can pick it up at any point.
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