(Image credit: S-Game Studios)

I spent a long time in Phantom Blade Zero searching for the Backstreet Courtyard Key, convinced it would unlock the inaccessible area where Old Man Gen's house is located, as well as the third acolyte scarecrow. Turns out, that gate doesn't lead to either.

If you're searching for that key with that in mind, you instead need to acquire the Flaming Mane phantom edge from the region boss and follow the main quest to repair it with Lei Dang, then use it to burn the barrier by the Pond of Fading Song bell where you fought Gu Wanyue, The Wailing Wraith. This leads around the back and lets you access both quest locations.

Now, if you're here because you're genuinely interested in the Backstreet Courtyard Key, you won't get it until you reach the Mountain of Imprisonment area.…