Yakuza 6 hides the ghosts of dead characters in camera photos

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life
(Image credit: Sega)

Yakuza players are discovering that you can see ghosts of deceased characters while taking photos.

The discovery appears to have come about over the past weekend, when the post below surfaced on the official Yakuza subreddit. In the post itself, a player notices that in Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, a mysterious figure haunts all the selfies they take within the New Serena bar.

While some players are bewildered at this figure, others are quick to point out that it's actually the ghost of Akira Nishikiyama, deceased former friend-turned-enemy of Kazuma Kiryu. It turns out that there are actually plenty of ghosts you can see in Yakuza 6 through taking selfies in certain areas of the game.

But if you want to capture them with a photo, you need to have a photo corresponding to a deceased character. There are actually photos of 10 deceased characters scattered throughout Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, in the Kamurocho and Ono Michi areas of the game. If you can find a photo of a particular character, you can head to a certain location and capture their ghost through your camera (and you can head over to this handy fan-made guide on every photo location for more).

This is a bizarre detail from developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, and it's one that's seriously easy to miss. You might assume that the photos are merely mementos of deceased allies and enemies of Kiryu, but perhaps they hold a more sinister purpose in Yakuza 6. Is it a creepy easter egg for players to uncover, or a stark reminder of just how many people Kiryu's lost in his life? 

If you're also a veteran of the Yakuza series, why not read up on our of how Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Cyberpunk 2077, and Yakuza set new standards for in-game tattoos.

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.