Persona 4 Golden offers a lot of content, even to those who had already beaten the game. Included in that is the new Hollow Forest Dungeon, an optional dungeon that wasn’t included in the original PlayStation 2 release.
Persona games are defined by their missable content, but arguably the biggest thing players can miss is the Hollow Forest dungeon. This new dungeon in Persona 4 Golden sees players face new enemies and unravel the mystery surrounding the Aeon Social Link, Marie.
The trouble is that a good chunk of the game’s player base will wind up reaching one of the game’s endings without ever actually finding their way to the dungeon. If players don’t gain access to the Hollow Forest, they go right from defeating Inaba’s serial killer to the ending. Here’s how to gain access to the Hollow Forest and what happens along the way.
How to Reach the Hollow Forest in Persona 4 Golden
Players must max out the Aeon Social Link before December 24 to reach the Hollow Forest. Once players reach level 10 friendship with Marie, they can continue through the game normally. Players will automatically be directed into the Hollow Forest as they advance through the story.
Maxing out the relationship with Marie before the holidays unlocks an extra chapter to the story where players can continue living out Yu Narukami’s daily life through the winter.
This allows players to max out social links, upgrade their party members’ skills, and more. This extra chapter leads to the long-awaited ski trip that was canceled earlier in the story.
As part of the ski trip, Yu and one of the party members become stranded in the mountains. This leads to them seeking shelter in a shed where an old television happens to be sitting on the shelf. One thing leads to another, and the team climbs in to see what awaits.
Does Marie Need to Be Maxed to Reach the Hollow Forest?
Yes, Marie’s Aeon Social Link needs to be maxed in order to reach the Hollow Forest. If players fail to prioritize Marie, they will miss out on the dungeon.
Unfortunately, with Persona 4 Golden having a limited number of save slots to work with, this means that players may wind up irrevocably missing out on the Hollow Forest if they overwrite all their saves past a certain point.
Does Marie Need to Be Romanced to Reach Hollow Forest?
Players do not need to romance Marie to reach the Hollow Forest. Her social link needs to be raised up to rank 10. This means players can commit to their favorite partner without missing out on any content.
Persona 4 Golden is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox Game Pass, Nintendo Switch, and PC.