Persona 4 Endings

Spoiler warning: this page names the culprit and the final boss of Persona 4.

6:34 To get the true ending of Persona 4 Golden, spare Namatame on Dec 3 by picking "Wait a second here...", "We're missing something.", "Their true feelings.", "Something's been bothering me.", "We're missing something..." and "Calm the hell down!", name Tohru Adachi as the culprit on Dec 5 and tell your friends, then on Mar 20 refuse to go home and follow the clues to the gas station attendant, as RPG Site's endings guide lays out. Max Marie's Aeon Social Link before the end of December as well, and the true ending becomes the Golden ending. The other routes end the game early: three bad endings (one of them, the Accomplice, Golden only) and a normal ending. The PS2 Persona 4 has the true ending but no Golden ending, which needs Marie, a character Golden added. Persona 4 Revival keeps Golden's storyline as it is, Atlus says, but it has not listed Revival's endings.

Quick facts

Sources: RPG Site endings guide, Jan 19, 2023; TheGamer: Which ending is canon?, Aug 9, 2022; Inverse, Feb 20, 2024; TheGamer: Yomotsu Hirasaka, Mar 1, 2023.

Every ending of Persona 4 Golden

Source: RPG Site endings guide; TheGamer: Which ending is canon?.

TheGamer counts six endings and names them Bad, Normal, Good, True, Accomplice and Golden: in its Normal ending Nanako revives but stays in a coma, and in its Good ending she fully recovers. RPG Site treats the route through Magatsu Inaba that goes home on Mar 20 as one normal ending.

Dec 3 answers: sparing Namatame

4:14 On Dec 3, after the team rescues Nanako from Heaven, Nanako dies at the hospital and the team must decide Namatame's fate. The conversation is a chain of choices, and the first wrong one ends the run. RPG Site's correct order, which Inverse repeats:

1. Any answer
2. "Wait a second here..."
3. "We're missing something."
4. "Their true feelings."
5. "Something's been bothering me."
6. "We're missing something..."
7. "Calm the hell down!"

Source: RPG Site endings guide.

TheGamer prints the same chain with two lines worded slightly differently, "Namatame's true feelings." and "Something's bothering me." (TheGamer endings guide); pick the option that matches either. Choosing "Push the bastard in" and then "Do it already" is Bad Ending 1. The Judgement Social Link starts after you spare him.

Dec 5: naming the culprit

12:48 On Dec 5 you are asked who the culprit is. Name Tohru Adachi. Final Weapon says you get three attempts at the name, and choosing wrong every time leads to Bad Ending 2. Then tell your friends your suspicions: that opens Magatsu Inaba, where the team fights Adachi and Ameno-sagiri (RPG Site). Inverse says the dungeon must be cleared before Christmas.

The Accomplice ending

If you work out the culprit on Dec 5 but keep it to yourself, the game skips to Mar 20 for a last meeting with Adachi (RPG Site). TheGamer says this ending needs Adachi's Jester link maxed, and that the protagonist burns the threatening letter while Adachi stays free. The Jester link is a Golden addition, so this ending is Golden's. TheGamer says the link must reach rank 6 by the end of Nov 1 or it locks; Inverse gives Dec 3. More on Adachi Social Link.

Mar 20: the true ending steps

After Magatsu Inaba, the calendar runs to Mar 20, the protagonist's last day in Inaba (Inverse). On the true route:

1. When asked if you are ready to go home, answer "No."
2. At the Junes food court, examine the elevator and answer "No," "I'm not finished yet," "Yes," then "There's something missing."
3. Speak to Dojima and Nanako at the Samegawa Flood Plain.
4. Go to the Velvet Room, where Igor gives you an orb (RPG Site calls it the Orb of Clarity, TheGamer the Orb of Sight).
5. Talk to the gas station attendant in Shopping District South to open Yomotsu Hirasaka.

Sources: RPG Site endings guide; TheGamer: Yomotsu Hirasaka.

28:16 Before step 5, friends with maxed Social Links can be visited for farewell scenes, Chie and Rise in Shopping District South, Yukiko at the Amagi Inn and Kanji in Shopping District North among them; none is required (RPG Site). Entering Yomotsu Hirasaka is a point of no return: you cannot leave before the game ends (TheGamer). The attendant is Izanami, and destroying her lifts the fog (TheGamer). Inverse recommends at least level 80 for the final fight; the strategy is on Persona 4 Bosses. The clip is BuffMaister's recording of the end of the last battle, against Izanami-no-Okami.

The Golden ending

19:47 The Golden ending is the true ending plus Marie's story. Max Marie's Aeon link before Magatsu Inaba is completed, and on Feb 13 her Hollow Forest opens for one day (Inverse); finishing its boss fight locks in the Golden ending. The guides disagree on the last day for the link: 12/22 recommended by RPG Site, 12/23 by TheGamer, 12/31 by Inverse. Aim for the earliest.

The ending adds an epilogue set the following summer: the protagonist returns to Inaba, his friends wait at Junes, and there is dinner at the Dojima house; Nanako takes piano lessons and Marie appears as a weathergirl (TheGamer).

Which ending is canon?

TheGamer calls the Golden ending canon for Persona 4 Golden and the true ending canon for the PS2 Persona 4, which has no Marie, no Hollow Forest and so no Golden ending (TheGamer). Atlus has not said which ending Revival treats as the end of its story, or whether it keeps Golden's epilogue, as of Nov 3, 2026.

After the credits: New Game Plus and Margaret

0:29 On the true route, a second visit to the Velvet Room in New Game Plus lets you speak to Margaret, who gives an item explaining how to challenge her as Golden's superboss. See Optional Bosses. The clip is BuffMaister's recording of the Margaret fight on Very Hard.

Endings in Persona 4 Revival

Persona 4 Revival is a full remake of Golden that Atlus says keeps the original storyline as it is, and Marie is in it from the beginning (GamesRadar+, Sep 5, 2026). Atlus has not itemized whether the Accomplice ending (which needs Adachi's Jester link), the Hollow Forest or the Golden epilogue are in Revival, so the steps above are Golden's and will be checked once Revival is out on Feb 18, 2027. See What's New in Persona 4 Revival.

Frequently asked questions

How do you get the true ending in Persona 4 Golden? In Persona 4 Golden, spare Namatame with the right answers on Dec 3, name Tohru Adachi and tell your friends on Dec 5, clear Magatsu Inaba, then on Mar 20 say "No" to going home, follow the Junes, riverbank and Velvet Room steps, and talk to the gas station attendant to open Yomotsu Hirasaka.

What are the Dec 3 answers in Persona 4 Golden? Per RPG Site: any answer, then "Wait a second here...", "We're missing something.", "Their true feelings.", "Something's been bothering me.", "We're missing something..." and "Calm the hell down!"

Who do you name as the culprit in Persona 4? Name Tohru Adachi on Dec 5 in Persona 4 Golden, then tell your friends; Final Weapon says you get three attempts.

How many endings does Persona 4 Golden have? Persona 4 Golden has three bad endings (Price of Revenge, Investigation Dead End, Accomplice), a normal ending, the true ending and the Golden ending; TheGamer also counts a good ending, for six with its naming.

How do you get the Golden ending in Persona 4 Golden? Get the true ending of Persona 4 Golden with Marie's Aeon Social Link at rank 10 before the end of December, then clear the Hollow Forest on Feb 13.

What is the bad ending in Persona 4 Golden? Persona 4 Golden's quickest bad ending comes from pushing Namatame into the TV on Dec 3; failing to name the culprit on Dec 5 is another, and protecting Adachi is the Accomplice ending.

Does Persona 4 Revival have the same endings? Atlus says Persona 4 Revival keeps Persona 4 Golden's storyline, but as of Nov 3, 2026 it has not listed Revival's endings or confirmed the Accomplice ending and the Golden epilogue.

Sources

• Persona 4 Revival official Japanese site, Atlus, as of Nov 3, 2026
• Persona 4 Revival will integrate Marie more naturally than she was in Persona 4 Golden, GamesRadar+, Sep 5, 2026
• How To Get the True Ending in Persona 4 Golden, Inverse, Feb 20, 2024
• Persona 4 Golden: Yomotsu Hirasaka Walkthrough, TheGamer, Mar 1, 2023
• Persona 4 Golden: P4G Endings Guide, Final Weapon, Jan 20, 2023
• Persona 4 Golden Endings guide, RPG Site, Jan 19, 2023
• Persona 4 Golden: Tohru Adachi (Jester) Social Link Guide, TheGamer, Jan 18, 2023
• Persona 4 Golden: Marie (Aeon) Social Link Romance Guide, TheGamer, Jan 17, 2023
• Persona 4 Golden: How To Unlock All Endings, TheGamer
• Which Persona 4 Golden Ending Is Canon?, TheGamer, Aug 9, 2022
• How to Unlock Persona 4 Golden's True Ending, AMHarbinger, Jun 10, 2025 (video)
• Persona 4 Golden - Final Boss [VERY HARD] [PC], BuffMaister, Jun 20, 2020 (video)
• Persona 4 Golden - Boss Margaret [VERY HARD] [PC], BuffMaister, Jun 24, 2020 (video)