Hollow Forest

The Hollow Forest is the bonus dungeon added in Persona 4 Golden, opened by maxing Marie's Aeon Social Link in December and played on one day, Feb 13: 10 floors with no items, no armor and SP halved after every battle, ending in two back-to-back fights with Marie. Revival keeps Marie, but Atlus has not said whether the forest is unchanged.

The Hollow Forest is Persona 4 Golden's bonus dungeon, the one place the PS2 game never had: max Marie's Aeon Social Link before December's deadline, and on Feb 13, after she goes missing on the ski trip, the party has that one day to climb 10 floors, with armor and items taken away and SP halved after every battle, and to win two fights in a row against Marie on the last floor, per TheGamer. RPG Site calls it "most challenging dungeon in the game", and finishing it locks in the Golden Ending. Persona 4 Revival remakes Golden with Marie in it from the start, but Atlus has not said whether the Hollow Forest is unchanged, as of Nov 3, 2026.

Quick facts

Game	Persona 4 Golden only
Unlock	Max Marie's Aeon Social Link
Link deadline	12/22, 12/23 or 12/31, by guide
When	2/13 only, after school
Floors	10, named after emotions
Midbosses	Gorgeous King (floor 4), Heaven's Giant (floor 7)
Boss	Marie, two fights, floor 10
Shadows	Level 73 to 80
Reward	The Golden Ending; trophy "Welcome Back"

Sources: TheGamer's Hollow Forest walkthrough, Feb 24, 2023; TheGamer's trophy guide, Jan 19, 2023; the link deadlines on Marie Social Link.

How to unlock the Hollow Forest

50:12 Marie's link starts in the Velvet Room on Apr 18, rank 5 waits until Jul 24, and rank 10 has to come in December. The guides disagree on the last day: TheGamer's dungeon guide says Dec 23 and its endings guide says before Dec 24, RPG Site says before Magatsu Inaba is completed and recommends Dec 22, and Inverse says Dec 31; Marie Social Link lists them. Reaching rank 10 by Dec 22 satisfies all of them. The clip is GameSpot's Aug 2026 footage of a pre-release build of Persona 4 Revival, where Marie makes her request in the Velvet Room on Apr 18.

21:40 Marie then goes missing on the ski trip on Feb 12, and after school on Feb 13 the party is taken to the forest's entrance (TheGamer). Leaving and coming back does not move the clock that day (Inverse), but if the day ends without her rescue, Marie is lost. The clip is AMHarbinger's Persona 4 Golden playthrough.

The rules inside

TheGamer lists them (TheGamer):

Armor and items are removed on entry.
Battles give no yen, and chest keys do not carry in.
Traesto, Goho-M and Return Daikons do not work; branches serve as exits.
Each party member who acts in a battle has their SP halved afterward.

So the forest rewards physical attackers. TheGamer brings Kanji and Naoto for damage with Yukiko healing, relies on Rise's Social Link support for healing and SP, and wants Personas with Invigorate; its party guide picks Kanji, Yukiko and Yosuke. Many of the forest's Shadows resist physical but have elemental weaknesses, so keep one spell user ready.

Walkthrough

Floors 1 to 3. The floor gates on floors 1, 4 and 7 can spring ambushes.
Floor 4, Memories of Sorrow: Gorgeous King.
Floors 5 and 6. TheGamer lists the forest's Personas as running from Siegfried (level 63) to Vasuki (level 71).
Floor 7, Memories of Anger: Heaven's Giant.
Floors 8 and 9. Save SP for the end.
Floor 10, Memories of Meeting: Marie. Two battles back to back, with no HP or SP recovered between them.

No editorial guide read for this page gives the midbosses' levels or affinities. Source: TheGamer's Hollow Forest walkthrough, Feb 24, 2023.

A pale, misty space of broken beams; Rise's portrait in glasses and a headset sits in a green circle at right over her dialogue box. — Rise, navigating, says she does not see any Shadows in a pale foggy area on Feb 13 in an official Steam store screenshot of Persona 4 Golden Atlus and SEGA

The boss: Marie and Kusumi-no-Okami

The last floor is "two fights in one" (TheGamer). Players search for the second form as Kusumi-no-Okami, but TheGamer's walkthrough names neither form, and no editorial guide read for this page gives the boss's levels, affinities or skills as of Nov 3, 2026. What the sourced advice comes down to: arrive with as much SP as the rules allow, keep a healer, and treat the two fights as one long battle.

After the forest

Rescuing Marie earns the trophy "Welcome Back" (TheGamer) and locks in the Golden Ending (TheGamer): on the true route, the ending gains Golden's scene with her. The calendar then jumps from Valentine's Day to Mar 19 (Inverse). The routes are on Persona 4 Endings.

The Hollow Forest in Persona 4 Revival

1:38 Marie is in Revival, voiced by Ari Thrash in English and Kana Hanazawa in Japanese, and Wada said her story was too central to hold back for later, as Persona 3 Reload did with Episode Aigis (GamesRadar+, Sep 6, 2026). Atlus has not said whether the Hollow Forest, its rules or its single day stay the same, as of Nov 3, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How do you unlock the Hollow Forest in Persona 4 Golden? Max Marie's Aeon Social Link by December; rank 10 by Dec 22 satisfies every guide's deadline. The forest then opens on Feb 13, after Marie goes missing on the ski trip.

Is the Hollow Forest in the original Persona 4? No. The Hollow Forest, Marie and the Golden Ending were added in Persona 4 Golden.

How long do you have to finish the Hollow Forest? One day, Feb 13, in Persona 4 Golden. Leaving and coming back does not advance the clock, but if the day ends first, Marie is lost.

Why is the Hollow Forest so hard? Persona 4 Golden takes away armor and items, pays no yen, blocks escape items, and halves the SP of everyone who acts in a battle, and the boss is two fights with no recovery between them.

What do you get for clearing the Hollow Forest? Persona 4 Golden's Golden Ending and the trophy "Welcome Back".

Is the Hollow Forest in Persona 4 Revival? Atlus has not said as of Nov 3, 2026. Persona 4 Revival keeps Marie and works her into the story from the start.