Annalynn

"Annalynn Digs In!"

Annalynn Midway is an original character created by Cruise Elroy and the eponymous protagonist of Annalynn, released in 2016 and recieving a remake in 2021.

She is also a playable character in Nexed.

Real-World History
Annalynn was first created by Cruise Elroy in February 2016 for a game-making contest on the Mario Fan Games Galaxy website. After creating a variety of male character designs, Cruise reworked his final design into a female character, creating the original version of the Annalynn character.

Annalynn would later be redesigned for the 2021 remake of Annalynn, which is the design used in Nexed. A demo of the remake was released in 2020 as part of the Sonic Ameture Games Expo, with the full version being released in January 2021. A sequel is currently in the works.

Outside of her games, Annalynn's universe has been further established by drawings by Cruise Elroy, introducing other characters not present in the games. She also appears in 2022's Alien Xenoblaster.

Gameplay Information
"With her brothers unable or unwilling to help their father keep the family mining business afloat, Annalynn stepped into their place to help her dad out. However, her adventurous spirit led to a run-in with the Venom Brood, a pack of snakes who antagonized Annalynn for disrupting their sleep. However, she was able to persevere with her wits and trusty pickaxe, escaping from the mines with lots of treasure to her family’s name!

Always one to seek thrills and adventure, Annalynn enlisted in the Nexus Tournament as soon as she found the free time. While she does love the excitement of a good fight, though, her ultimate goal is to use the Winner’s Wish to preserve the prosperity of her dad’s business."

Annalynn is a trap-based character. Most of her specials create some sort of hazard which her opponents must navigate around; Bonus Breakfast gives her a plethora of projectiles with differing effects, Minecart allows her to cover ground quickly while doubling as a space-creating projectile if jumped out of, and Lava Geyser is an automatic trap which deals high damage. Overall, Annalynn is good at creating pressure and keeping her distance from opponents.

However, this does come with a few flaws. Annalynn is a lightweight character, making it easy for her to be KO'd fairly early on if she misuses her traps. In addition, while her normal attacks aren't weak perse, they do have their downsides; Her kicks don't cover too much range, and while her pickaxe allows for disjointed strong attacks, they also tend to have fairly high lag for someone of her class. In short, Annalynn is capable of fighting at close-range if need be, but is best if she wears opponents down from afar before going in for the kill.

Grounded Attacks

 * Jab: Annalynn throws a palm strike.
 * Dash Attack: Annalynn throws a flying kick, dealing a surprising amount of knockback for a dash attack.
 * Forward Light: Annalynn throws a straight kick, with the animation resembling her kick from Annalynn.
 * Up Light: Annalynn throws an uppercut.
 * Down Light: Annalynn throws a crouching straight kick.
 * Forward Strong: Annalynn swings her pickaxe forward from high to low. This is her primary kill move.
 * Up Strong: Annalynn swings her pickaxe over her head. This move is a great anti-air, but lacks kill power.
 * Down Strong: Annalynn swings her pickaxe around herself.
 * Counter: Annalynn swings her pickaxe into the opponent’s side.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Air: Annalynn throws a flying kick.
 * Forward Air: Annalynn swings her pickaxe from high to low forwards. Opponents hit in the early frames of the move can be spiked.
 * Back Air: Annalynn swings her pickaxe behind herself.
 * Up Air: Annalynn throws a bicycle kick.
 * Down Air: Annalynn sweeps her pickaxe beneath her.

Grabs / Throws

 * Grab: Annalynn grabs the opponent with one hand.
 * Pummel: Annalynn knees the foe’s gut.
 * Forward Throw: Annalynn kicks the opponent away.
 * Back Throw: Annalynn spins around and tosses the opponent behind her.
 * Up Throw: Annalynn strikes the opponent from below with her pickaxe, sending them upwards.
 * Down Throw: Annalynn tosses the opponent onto the ground and strikes them with her pickaxe, launching them away. This is her main combo throw due to its low launch angle.

Stage Intro
Annalynn falls from the top of the screen, landing on her face before getting up.

Taunts

 * Annalynn gives the camera a peace sign.
 * Annalynn spins around before falling on her back, resembling her death animation.
 * Annalynn points to the opponent with a smug look on her face. The pose resembles one she uses in a cutscene in Annalynn, while her face resembles a render seen on the “cabinet” artwork seen in-game.
 * Annalynn takes a bite out of a muffin.

Victory Animations
Annalynn's victory theme is [https://youtu.be/BTDd8ApKECw?t=672 "SN4-KE Defeated!" from Annalynn (11:12-11:21)].
 * Annalynn sits down, exhausted but satisfied.
 * Annalynn lands on the ground before posing with her pickaxe in the air.
 * Randy is seen running away from Annalynn, who kicks him into the distance before she poses for the camera.

Colors / Costumes
  Annalynn's Original costume originates from the 2016 release of Annalynn, which was created for a game contest on Mario Fan Games Galaxy. While Annalynn was redesigned for the 2021 version of the game, her original design remains accessible through an unlockable "2016 Mode" cheat.

As an alternate costume for Annalynn, the Original outfit has a few changes:
 * Annalynn is mute, reflecting the lack of voice acting in the 2016 release of Annalynn.
 * All instances of Venom Brood members are replaced by copies of Mike, the green snake. This references an April Fool's screenshot posted by Cruise Elroy which featured both Annalynn's original design and Mike.
 * Only Annalynn's second taunt is changed with the Original costume; While she still spins around before lying on the floor, the animation more closely resembles her death animation from the 2016 release of Annalynn.

Trivia

 * Annalynn's title, "Champion of the Mines", comes from the title given to Annalynn during the credits of Annalynn.
 * Annalynn's playstyle was inspired by that of Pac-Man in the Super Smash Bros. series, with Bonus Breakfast being a direct nod to Bonus Fruit, Pac-Man's Neutral Special in Smash.
 * Annalynn's "technician" appearance was originally planned to be a full costume, complete with twelve color variations. However, it was later decided to make it part of her base costume's alts.

Credits

 * SparkBag: Creation of all art used in Annalynn's infobox.
 * Spriter's Resource: Use of thumbnails in Annalynn's Special Moves table.