With the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth demo in full swing, players are enjoying getting to grips with Cloud, Tifa, Aerith and co in this PlayStation 5 remake of one of the most beloved role-playing games of all time. But it has also sparked yet another debate about the ways video games help players work out where to go — this time via yellow paint.
If you’ve been playing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth you’ll have seen it: colour-coded paint that signals the parts of the environment that can be used for platforming.
THE YELLOW PAINT VIRUS HAS INFECTED FF7 pic.twitter.com/calN0dqHf4
— The Oshborn (@DaveOshry) February 8, 2024
The debate in summary: some people don’t like how in-your-face this hand-holding is in Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and indeed modern video games. Others, however, point out that it can be helpful, and is an important accessibility feature.
While the yellow paint on climbable ledges wasn’t designed with disabled players in mind. It has helped people with low vision or who are cognitively disabled to see at a higher contrast and recognize where they should go. Is it the only solution to this problem? No, but it helps https://t.co/2RaORPKAzf
— Steve Saylor (@stevesaylor) February 8, 2024
Developers, too, are weighing in, with some highlighting how in playtests and focus groups, players sometimes struggle to work out where to go, get frustrated, and quit playing altogether. Because of this, somewhat obvious, and sometimes unrealistic, visual clues are needed to help point players in the right direction.
Others say that video games have featured visual clues for exploration and progression for decades now. Indeed, Digital Foundry’s John Linneman pointed out that the original Final Fantasy 7 included visual aids of its own.
With discussion around the yellow paint in FF7R, who remembers the options red/green arrows plus giant pointer available in the original FF7? pic.twitter.com/qMLnKh3rGw
— John Linneman @dark1x.bsky.social (@dark1x) February 11, 2024
If all this sounds familiar, that’s because we’ve been here before, perhaps most notably with the Resident Evil 4 remake last year. When Capcom’s superb remake came out, a similar debate was had about the rights and wrongs of yellow paint plastered over climbable ladders.
the yellow paint is so unnecessary obviously a ladder is climbable obviously a crate is breakable why did they do this pic.twitter.com/oWTxn8rmGT
— nes 🎨 (@feydemon) October 2, 2023
While the debate continues, and will no-doubt resurface again in the future when the next big game that includes obvious visual clues for platforming comes out, let us know where you stand on Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth’s yellow paint.
For more, check out IGN’s Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Demo PS5 Performance Review, and find out how Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth players are already using Tifa’s piano to show off.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
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