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The third and final part of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake project is predicted for release sometime in early 2027. That means there's still at least a year left to wait for the conclusion of one of the most important and divisive remakes in the history of video game remakes. Despite the long wait still remaining, information about the third installment is already starting to trickle in, and it's not all good news. In a recent interview with GamesRadar+, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director Naoki Hamaguchi confirmed that one of the most disliked elements of the game will be returning in the third part: the yellow paint. FF7 Remake Director Says Yellow Paint Is "Necessary" He Knows People Don't Like It, But It's There To Stay The yellow paint in question shows up in certain areas of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, to indicate which parts of the environment are climbable ledges. When fans first came across these garish yellow paint splotches, many were upset at the immersion-breaking nature of the paint. After all, how did all that paint make its way up to the side of a mountain? Hamaguchi is aware that the yellow paint was unpopular among FF7 players, but he insists it's necessary. "I get there is a debate about that," he says. "[...] There is definitely a need for that kind of thing in a lot of ways." Without the yellow paint to show players where to go, Square Enix risks losing players to frustration. The yellow paint is here to stay and will almost definitely return in the next game. According to Hamaguchi, the question isn't whether the climbing indicators are necessary, but rather, how they're implemented. "The need to guide players around from a gameplay perspective and show them what can be done, what they need to do, there are definitely times where that is needed," Hamaguchi told GamesRadar+. "So I think obviously there is more of a debate about how it's done, what level and what works." There will always be fans who don't like every decision that Square Enix makes for their beloved FF7. "There'll still be people who say, 'no, that doesn't fit at all. We don't like that'," he says. "That's fine, but I think there is definitely a need there, and it's something that is definitely worth looking at." Yellow Paint Was A Problem In FF7 Rebirth That Shouldn't Return There Are Other Ways To Point Players Forward It's easy to see why the paint is necessary in areas like Mythril Mines. Here, the lighting and color of the walls made the yellow paint much less obvious. As a result, many players got stuck in the mines, unsure of what areas could be climbed and how to progress. But the indicators don't have to take the form of the immersion-breaking yellow paint. Video games use many other tricks to gently nudge players in the right direction, from subtle lighting changes to other visual cues. Horizon: Zero Dawn, for instance, does use yellow paint (though it has a plausible in-game explanation), but it also uses the far subtler and more realistic worn white ledges. Better yet, the sequel Forbidden Dawn shows players every grabbable ledge by tapping Focus. Uncharted also has plenty of climbing, but it uses contrast and character movement to show players the path to the next climbing section.
