Like Persona 5, Persona 4 Golden has multiple endings. Unlike Persona 5, Persona 4’s true ending requirements aren’t that obvious. You’ll know if you get the Bad Ending pretty quickly since the story jumps forward from December to March, and the credits roll soon after. The True Ending involves a lot more work. In this guide we’ll go over how to get the Persona 4 Golden True Ending and its requirements.
This guide contains no spoilers, so don’t worry there. Do worry about the amount of effort it’s going to take you to get it!
Persona 4 Golden True Ending Requirements Guide
Understanding Persona 4 Golden’s Endings
The first thing to do is clarify what Persona 4 ending you want to get. There are five endings:
- Normal
- Bad
- Accomplice
- True
- Golden
For Persona 4 Golden, the Golden Ending is the ultimate true ending. The True Ending is a leftover from the original PlayStation 2 game, and while it’s still a good ending, it’s not the best. The other endings are pretty self-explanatory, except for Accomplice, which we’ll get to later.
If you want the regular True Ending, then you don’t need to worry over any Social Links.
If you want the Golden Ending, you’ll need to max out Marie’s Social Link, the Aeon Arcana. We strongly recommend aiming for the Golden Ending because that’s how you’ll unlock:
- New Personas.
- An extra two months of gameplay.
- A new dungeon tying in with the game’s lore.
We’ll go into how to evolve your True Ending playthrough into a Golden Ending one near the end of this guide.
First up, head to the Velvet Room on April 18. You’ll kick off the chain of events that lets you start Marie’s Social Link. From there, you can spend time with Marie in the real world during the day on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, as well as holidays, unless it’s raining, in which case she won’t be there.
Head to downtown Inaba, and you’ll see her standing outside the Velvet Room entrance. As always, try to have an Aeon Persona handy to get extra points during your conversations with her. The earliest you can fuse Aeon Personas is Level 18, by performing a triangle fusion with Nata Taishi, Angel, and Pixie to fuse Ame no Uzume.
You’ve got plenty of time to raise Marie’s Social Link as well. You technically have until the end of December, but it’s best not to leave it to the last.
The only other noteworthy thing is that you’re stuck at Rank 4 until July 24, so keep that in mind.
How to Unlock the Persona 4 Golden True Ending
There are no other Persona 4 True Ending requirements to worry about until the beginning of December, after you clear the Heaven dungeon. It’s all extremely spoiler-y stuff, so we’ll tread delicately here.
That said, you’ll know when you get to this dialogue sequence because the Investigation Team has to make some very serious choices. There are seven dialogue choices in a row you’ll be working with to get Persona 4’s True Ending, and it’s incredibly easy to get caught up and not know what’s best.
Here’s each choice you should pick (again, with no context).
- Pick any choice.
- Pick “Wait a second here…”
- Pick “We’re missing something.”
- Pick “Their true feelings.”
- Pick “Something’s been bothering me.”
- Pick “We’re missing something…” again.
- Pick “Calm the hell down!”
After that, time moves forward to December 5. You might want to make a second save file here, or at least make sure your main one’s up to date, because there’s another ending split.
How to Get the Accomplice Ending
Shortly after December 5, you’ll be asked to say who you think the real killer is, and you should be able to guess that by now.
If you don’t say who you think it is, you’ll get a special, slightly disturbing ending (the Accomplice Ending) that’s actually worth seeing for how it ties in with the game’s themes and character development up to that point. If you’re interested, follow it through and then reload your save file that has you on track for the True Ending.
Choosing the right answer unlocks a new dungeon, Magatsu Inaba. You’ve got until a few days before Christmas to finish it, but be prepared. Like in Rise’s dungeon, you’ve got a double boss fight on your hands. The final bosses are Level 73 and Level 75 respectively, so you’ll need to be close to or above that level.
Persona 4 Golden: The Golden Ending Final Steps
With all that taken care of, Persona 4 has another possible split depending on if you maxed out Marie’s Social Link. If you didn’t, skip to the next section.
If you did max it out, you’ll see some New Year celebrations and then fall ill for several days. Once you regain consciousness, you have most of January to finish working on Social Links you might not have maxed already — except Marie. Margaret informs you Marie’s gone missing, but don’t worry about that for now.
Prioritize the Investigation Team’s Social Links. Once you max them out at Level 10, their Personas change form. After that, or if you’ve already maxed them out before January, talk to the person again the next day, and their Persona transforms into a new, third form.
Mess around until February 5, raising S. Links or doing quests or whatever you want. Try to earn money so you can stock up on items for the next dungeon, though.
Exams run from February 6 through February 10, then the next two days are taken up with your ski trip. February 13 is the day you’ll get to go rescue Marie from the Hollow Forest dungeon, and it’s the only day you can do this. This is another case of multiple boss fights in a row at the end, all of which are at Level 77.
Completing this is technically not required for the original True Ending. But, as mentioned, the Golden Ending is the actual true True Ending, so it’s worth your time to do all this.
Persona 4 Golden True Ending 3/20
Whether you cleared the Hollow Forest or just passed on Marie’s S. Link, the calendar skips to March 19 after Valentine’s Day, and it’s time for more significant choices the next day.
On March 20, you need to visit everyone you maxed out a Social Link with. They’re in the same places they were during the rest of the game, except Yukiko. Yukiko is at the Amagi Inn, but you can just take the bus to get there.
Once you’ve talked to everyone, you’re prompted to return home to leave. Say no, or you’ll just get Persona 4’s Normal Ending. Afterward, be sure your gear is in order. You’ll be in for one final dungeon at the end of all this, and you can’t exit once you enter.
After choosing to stay, head to the Junes Food Court, and check the elevator. You’ll have more prompts to pick after that.
- You’ll be asked again if you want to go home. Again, say no.
- Then say, “I’m not finished yet.”
- After that, choose “Yes.”
- And then choose, “There’s something missing.”
Now, go to the Samegawa Flood Plain area and speak with Dojima and Nanako, then go into the Velvet Room to get a special item from Igor called the Clarity Orb. (If you’re playing on New Game+, go back into the Velvet Room to unlock a special boss battle against Margaret).
Finally, go to the gas station at the southern part of Inaba’s Shopping District, and talk to the attendant. You’ll have several options to choose from to learn about the attendant, and there’s no danger of getting it wrong here.
After you’re done, you’ll unlock the actual final dungeon: Yomotsu Hirasaka, the place at the very beginning in the protagonist’s dreams. It’s a 9-floor dungeon with yet another multi-part boss fight at the end. This time around, the final bosses are Level 90 and come equipped with the strongest multi-target spells and Mind Charge. Keep that in mind, and cover your weaknesses.
Once you’ve finished, you’ve completed all the Persona 4 Golden true ending requirements. Sit back, and enjoy the fruits of your labor!
How to Get the Golden Ending Instead
If the True Ending sounds all well and good but you’d like to get to the extra content of the Golden Ending, it’s straightforward enough to go for it instead of the True one.
To get started towards the Golden Ending, head to the Velvet Room on April 18. You’ll kick off the chain of events that lets you start Marie’s Social Link. From there, you can spend time with Marie in the real world during the day on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, as well as holidays, unless it’s raining, in which case she won’t be there.
Head to downtown Inaba, and you’ll see her standing outside the Velvet Room entrance. As always, try to have an Aeon Persona handy to get extra points during your conversations with her. The earliest you can fuse Aeon Personas is Level 18, by performing a triangle fusion with Nata Taishi, Angel, and Pixie to fuse Ame no Uzume.
You’ve got plenty of time to raise Marie’s Social Link as well. You technically have until the end of December, but it’s best not to leave it until the end. Do you have to wait a bit though since you’re stuck at Rank 4 until July 24. With this extra bit of work, the Golden Ending will be yours.
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That’s all you need to know about Persona 4‘s true ending requirements, but stay tuned to GameSkinny for more Persona 4 Golden guides.
