Shantae Advance is a new game in the Shantae series taking place between the original game and Shantae: Risky's Revenge. The dastardly pirate Risky Boots returns with another plot — now that she's stolen a device giving her the power to reshape the continent to her will, Shantae has to step in to defend her home from plunder. As in the first game, this is a 2D side-scrolling platform title. Players can use Shantae's hair as a whip to attack their enemies, and can transform into six different alternate forms with their own unique abilities. This game features a layer system similar to Wario Land, allowing her to move into the background to progress when the main path is blocked. Shantae can also wield the power of the same device Risky Boots has, letting her reshape levels and create new paths to make her way forward.

In addition to the main single player game, it features a four-player battle mode.

The game began development for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) in 2002, and was planned as the second game in the series, but was cancelled in 2004 due to WayForward being unable to find a publisher for it. In 2023, WayForward announced that development had resumed, and that Limited Run Games would be distributing physical cartridges for the game. The GBA version was released in April 2025.