Shantae

The heroine, a young half-genie charged with protecting the fishing port of Scuttle Town. Young and somewhat naïve, Shantae's strong sense of justice nonetheless propels her into action. Her main form of offense is using her magically endowed ponytail as a crude whip.

- Description of Shantae in the manual

So I will dance through the danger

Origins: Shantae

Classification: Half-genie, Guardian Genie

Threat level: Dragon-

Powers and abilities: Super-Human skills and endurance, bellydancing-induced magic to shapeshift, several spells which summons lighting bolts, pikeballs and fireballs, wish granting (reality warping)

Physical strength: At least Wall+ without magic (able to easily vaporize the flesh off her enemies leaving only bones), presumably at least City Block+ at her peak, possibly higher (able to vaporize a steam engine with only her brute strength, was able to destroy her separated magic half Nega Shantae), higher in her elephant form

Destructive capacity: At least city block+ in the first game (see above), at least city+ (reality warps a city at the end of the third game, where she holds her own and defeats with help the Pirate Master's full power, who had previously used a fraction of his dark magic to casually warp an entire island containing at least a forest, two cities and more)

Durability: At least Mountain+ (survived an explosion which wiped an entire island out, the island being large enough to hold a forest and volcano), possibly island+ in the third game (Tanked the Pirate Master's attack at full power)

Speed: At least faster than the eye travel speed (easily outsped a volcanic eruption which clocks at 450 mph and got incredibly far before it exploded), likely supersonic in reactions (Shantae's rival, Risky Boots can create afterimages thanks to her boots, some of her enemies attack with sound based attacks), can also summon lightning to attack

Intelligence: Suprisingly high when it comes to engineering. Shantae was able to quickly learn how to ride a pirate ship running on steam engine without help, fights against her stronger enemies often involve strategy. She has been often tricked by Risky Boot and her anger made her act before thinking.

Stamina: Above average.

Notable techniques:

• Hair Whip (aka Ponytail Whip) - Shantae's trademark move. Shantae can use her long purple ponytail hair as a weapon, cracking it like a whip by shaking her head. It was revealed in Shantae: Risky's Revenge that this skill is not a by-product of her genie half, as she is able to use this ability after her powers are removed. It's possibile that this skill is a product of her own magic not tied to her genie side, or may have come from her father.
• Magical Belly Dances - Shantae can use her ability to bellydance to cause various kinds of magical effects, most notably teleportation and transformation.

• Magic spells and magic items - Shantae can use various kinds of magic spells and items that are bought at shops. The magic properties of these items are apparently not tied to Shantae's genie powers, as she retains the ability to use them even after her powers are taken away in Risky's Revenge.

• Fighter Moves - Having received training from Bolo and through upgrades in the shop, Shantae can perform various martial arts techniques such as Backdashes, Recoveries and several types of kick attacks (Power Kick, Drill Kick, Uppercut Kick)
• Transformation - Shantae can transform into many forms  once she's learned the correct dance from a Guardian Genie, Magic Fountain or in the case of the Tinkerbat dance by buying the sequence from a man in Bandit Town.

List of Transformations

• Monkey: It is a small, fast form that allows her to climb walls and perform wall jumps, and move quickly through narrow passages

  

  Spider: Like the Monkey she is small and can climb surfaces, however unlike the monkey she climbs surfaces in the background rather than walls in the foreground.

  

  Elephant: The elephant is large, slow moving, and can barely jump, but her charge can instantly destroy certain rocks, walls, and creatures (such as Stone Golems).

  

  Harpy: Allows flight

  

  Tinkerbat: She can climb on walls and background surfaces, wall jump, and charge with a battering ram, combining functionality of the Monkey, Spider, and Elephant. She also has a cutlass which swings in a wide arc, attacking enemies above and below. She also has an amusing run animation that suggests insane panic

  

  Mermaid: She can swim in this form and submerge below the surface, allowing her to discover new areas that she can't even begin to reach in her normal form. With the Mermaid Bubble  she can fire bubble projectiles that can destroy rocks that block her path. Not surprisingly, the Mermaid form is useless on land, as Shantae can barely move and jump on her fins and hands.

  

• Crab: In this form, Shantae gains the ability to freely move along surfaces under water and descend slowly like a parachute in open water. Shantae also gains the ability to tuck into her shell when on a surface and is invulnerable in this state.