Presea Combatir

Presea Combatir is a character from the video game Tales of Symphonia, released by Namco for the Nintendo GameCube and Sony PlayStation 2 (the PlayStation 2 version was released in Japan only). She is voiced by Houko Kuwashima in the Japanese version and played in English by established voice actress Tara Strong.

Although Presea bears the physical appearance of an adorable, pink-haired 12-year-old, and is physically the shortest member of the team, she is an extremely capable warrior. She possesses relatively high HP and wields a very large axe in battle to cut enemies asunder. Presea is the only character besides Lloyd who does not use magic attacks.

Presea is a lumberjack from the small town of Ozette, in Tethe'alla; she earns money selling custom figurines, brooches and lucky charms in Meltokio.

History
Presea's sister Alicia had left for Altamira, and their father Sieg had become too ill to continue work as a lumberjack. Presea wished to be strong enough to use her father's axe in his place, so she agreed to take part in an experiment which involved using herself as a host body in creating a Cruxis Crystal. The Exsphere increased her strength, however without a working Key Crest, it also halted her physical growth and suppressed her emotions. Under the influence of the Exsphere, Presea did not notice when her father died, and so she did not bury him until later when a Key Crest was carved for her out of inhibitor ore.

Personality
Presea's true personality is repressed by her special Exsphere until late in the game, when Lloyd attaches a Key Crest made by Altessa to it. Even afterwards, her emotional response remains somewhat subdued. Her speech is relatively blunt, and she is unfamiliar with the basic etiquette against such directness. She tends to follow along with the group, only stopping to truly take in the situation when it is extremely important. Her lack of social graces makes her unable to recognize her own awkwardness until someone points it out. Examples include Presea still speaking "Klonoan" outside Altimira, and imitating the Gnome brothers when Colette remarks that they're cute.

Although Genis likes Presea, it is unknown that Presea has true interest in Genis beyond friendship. However, in the Japan-only Playstation 2 version in the game, it is possible for the two to go on a date should the player choose Genis as his soulmate during the Flanoir event. Due to the anti-aging effects of her Exsphere, Genis sees Presea as a girl near his own age, unaware that she is actually twenty-eight years old.

Presea's only emotional constant is her loneliness. She constantly counts herself out (with good reason) and assumes she has no one left to be with. This makes her extremely quiet and very reserved, and thus she usually only speaks when addressed. She dwells on the fact that she has lost sixteen years of her life and is loath to speak of her father or sister around others.

Presea has a violent temper, though she is difficult to offend. When she is angered, her already massive strength becomes lethal. This is shown when she attacks Vharley in Meltokio and either Colette or Regal in Welgaia. She is not only deadly, but nearly impossible to calm once roused.

Other
After the party meets Presea in Meltokio, they eventually help her obtain a working Key Crest. It is revealed that the Exsphere slowed her aging process: although Presea appears to be 12, she is actually 28.

The villagers in Ozette ostracize Presea for her unusual past, her dangerous connection to the Tethe'allan clergy, and her lack of physical aging in the past 16 years. Her emotions were suppressed for 16 years, and as such Presea tends to behave like a robot (even analyzing the probability of certain events as a percentage), especially when the party meets her. She begins to age again once her key crest is attached.

Trivia
*Presea can gain the title "Dream Traveler", which will change her outfit to that worn by Klonoa, the star of his own game series.
*Combatir, in Spanish, means "To fight", reflecting her strong axes.
*Presea is referenced in Tales of the Abyss. One of dolls (called "Empty Girl") resembles Presea and unlocks Anise's Beast arte, which is also one of Presea's techs.
*In battle, if Presea has the title "Little Madam" on she can be seen holding a bunny doll as her weapon at random times.

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See Also

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