In Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, players find themselves in a hunt for the elusive Gold Balls, a set of 7 collectibles scattered across Sotenbori. These aren’t just any collectibles, though, as they’ll earn you a grand reward and a tough choice between endless riches, eternal life, or sexy panties..?
Collecting the Gold Balls will also move you one step closer to putting another platinum trophy in your collector’s cabinet by rewarding you with the “Gotta Catch ‘Em Balls” trophy.
Like a Dragon Gaiden isn’t just its combat and rich narrative; it’s also about exploration and discovery. As you weave through the bustling streets of Sotenbori, you’ll need to watch for these Gold Ball Collectables. However, to save you from having your eyes peeled for your whole playthrough, we’ve compiled a comprehensive Gold Ball location guide below.
The Seven Gold Ball Locations in Like a Dragon Gaiden
- First Gold Ball Location – Sotenbori: Daytime River Boat Cruise
- Second Gold Ball Location – Sotenbori: Kiss Shot Billiards & Bar
- Third Gold Ball Location – Sotenbori: Akame Shop
- Fourth Gold Ball Location – Ebisu Pawn Shop, Sotenbori
- Fifth Gold Ball Location – The Castle: Masked Dancers
- Sixth Gold Ball Location – The Castle: Fighters Lounge
- Seventh Gold Ball Location – Shofukucho Street Sign: “Solve The Mysterious Note”
- What Are the Rewards for Collecting All of the Gold Balls?
First Gold Ball Location – Sotenbori: Daytime River Boat Cruise
The first Gold Ball can only be found during the day and awaits aboard a sightseeing boat that makes its rounds on the river passing through Sotenbori. Look for the W Sotenbori Footpath during daylight hours. Keep your eyes peeled for a man, minimally dressed and striking poses on the front of a yellow cruise boat. You will notice a suspicious glow in his groin as he gets closer.
Position yourself on the riverbank or the bridge above, and once the yellow cruise boat is within range, use the Spider gadget to liberate the Gold Ball.
Second Gold Ball Location – Sotenbori: Kiss Shot Billiards & Bar
The second Gold Ball resides in the dimly lit Kiss Shot Billiards & Bar, nestled in the southwestern stretch of Sotenbori. Your billiards skills are all that stand between you and this Gold Ball. You simply need to rack up 777 billiard points and avoid spending points elsewhere, and you’ll have the ball in no time.
Once you’ve gathered enough points, approach the prize exchange to redeem your hard-earned prize. While playing billiards, you can add another trophy to the collection by completing the 1-Shot challenge on normal difficulty, yielding you the “Surgical Precision” Trophy.
Third Gold Ball Location – Sotenbori: Akame Shop
The Akame Shop becomes available early on as the main story unfolds and will be where your next Gold Ball can be found. You will not be able to see it immediately in her wares as she makes more items available to you after you’ve invested 150,000 yen to upgrade her shop.
Once done, you will see that the Gold ball is available to be purchased for 777 points. Akame points can be earned by completing Substories or Requests in the Akame Network. Once the initial investment is made and the points are gathered, exchange the points, and the third Gold Ball is yours.
Fourth Gold Ball Location – Ebisu Pawn Shop, Sotenbori
The fourth Gold Ball can be found gleaming behind the glass of the Ebisu Pawn Shop in Sotenbori. This doesn’t require a feat of skill or the solving of riddles, merely the weight of your purse. However, the price tag is steep early in the game, requiring a cool 77,777 yen. If you’ve waited until later in the game to find this Gold Ball, then you won’t even notice the money leave your already packed-out wallet.
Fifth Gold Ball Location – The Castle: Masked Dancers
To find this Gold Ball, venture to the castle and make your way to the left-hand side of the casino entrance. You’ll notice a room filled with masked dancers on a conveyor belt; among them is a rather muscular dancer with a blindingly bright pair of underwear housing the fifth Gold Ball. You’ll need to wait for the conveyor belt to bring the muscular dancer into range, giving you the perfect opportunity to deploy your Spider gadget to snag the prize.
Sixth Gold Ball Location – The Castle: Fighters Lounge
This Gold Ball requires you to have already shown your prowess in combat by reaching at least silver rank in the Coliseum, giving you access to the Fighter’s Lounge.
Once you’ve achieved this, head to the castle and towards the Fighter’s lounge. Move up the stairs, and you will notice a woman staring up and between the legs of the giant Oni statue. Share her gaze to see the sixth Gold ball glimmering away, waiting to be collected. Simply use your Spider gadget to obtain your hard-fought prize.
Seventh Gold Ball Location – Shofukucho Street Sign: “Solve The Mysterious Note”
This final Gold Ball involves solving the “Solve The Mysterious Note” riddle, which can be found as part of a Stroll n’ Patrol mission. Head to the north bank of the Sotenbori River to trigger the mission. Here, you’ll encounter a man clutching a cryptic note. This note will read as follows: “Four turtles form the pillars of this city. Beyond their gazes, a glittering orb resides.”
Head to the northern reaches of Shofukucho near Syoufuku Hotel, where you’ll see four turtle statues out the front of a building’s entrance. Your next step is to follow their stoney gaze across the street. Look at the awning of the building directly across the street from the turtle-guarded entryway. Here, you will see the final Gold Ball waiting to be collected with the aid of your trusty Spider gadget.
What Are the Rewards for Collecting All of the Gold Balls?
After presenting all 7 Gold Balls to Shen, you’re granted a reward that requires you to make a wish. You will be presented with the dialogue choices below.
- I want the normal, peaceful life I once had
- I want endless riches
- I want eternal life
- I want sexy panties
Choosing “I want the normal, peaceful life I once had” is perhaps the wisest and honorable choice to make. However, Shen will confess that he cannot provide you with this request and ask you to choose again. If you opt for “I want endless riches,” you will be given 1,000,000 yen to spend in the most degenerate or honest way you choose.
Selecting “I want eternal life” will result in Shen giving you 100x Nourishment of the Sea King. This is arguably the best choice for the end game as you will already have more money than you’ll ever need, and they cannot be purchased in any stores. These are also incredibly helpful when competing in the Coliseum combat challenges. The last option, “I want sexy panties,“ is the mystery prize; choosing this option will cause Shen to grant you a pair of his gold panties. Whilst hilarious, these are more valuable than they seem, as they can be sold for 1,500,000 yen.
The search for the Gold Balls in Like a Dragon Gaiden is just one of many pieces of side content heavily laced with humor, further adding to its rich content and even earning you substantial rewards, even if you did decide to keep those sexy panties. Be sure to check out our Games Hub for more Like a Dragon Gaiden guides.
