FF7 Rebirth Director Doesn’t See A Problem With Yellow Paint

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Naoki Hamaguchi, the director of Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth, recently explained that he likes to use yellow paint to guide players through the game’s environments, and believes it’s an important design choice.

In a recent interview with GamesRadar, Yoko Hamaguchi stated that video games often benefit from some form of environmental guidance. While visual cues like yellow paint can be helpful, the core idea is simply to provide players with subtle assistance when they’re unsure of where to go or what to do.

Hamaguchi acknowledged there’s discussion about whether this idea suits the game world, with varying opinions among players. He believes games need this type of innovation and that developers are constantly experimenting to find what works best for their projects and how to implement it effectively.

He knows that even simple things like color choices – or any advice about how to play – can cause arguments online. However, Hamaguchi thinks players would become discouraged and stop playing if they didn’t have this guidance, missing out on the enjoyable parts of the game.

Sometimes, games need to guide players by showing them how to play and what to do. While there’s discussion about how much guidance is best, and some players might not like it, there’s a clear need for it and it’s worth exploring, according to Hamaguchi in an interview with GamesRadar.

The Uncharted series from Naughty Dog was a pioneer in guiding players through game environments, a technique now common in titles like Tomb Raider, Watch Dogs, and many others. This practice, sometimes called ‘hand-holding,’ has been a long-standing point of discussion among gamers. Recently, some games, such as Star Wars Outlaws, have started letting players disable these guiding elements for a more open and exploratory experience.

It’s surprisingly helpful how much things like yellow paint assist with accessibility in games. Speaking personally, as someone with a vision impairment that severely limits my sight, yellow paint is a huge benefit – it really helps me navigate and play. That’s why I appreciate it so much.

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth came out on PlayStation 5 in February 2024, and a version for PC was released in January 2025. The third game in the series doesn’t have a title or release date yet, but the development team at Square Enix, led by Hamaguchi, is aiming to have it available by 2027.

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2025-10-29 18:10