[8] Mark Ryan Sallee of GameSpy described Kenshi's special moves in Mortal Kombat: Deception as similar to Ermac's but "not as comboable" while citing his sword attacks as his most potent in the game.

In MKX, his playstyle is split into three variations like the other characters, and Bryan Dawson of Prima Games described him as "requir[ing] some patience to play" and who "relies heavily on keeping his opponents at a distance and only closing in when necessary.

[14] In Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (2002), Kenshi is recruited into the Special Forces to help find missing member Cyrax in the otherworldly dimension of Outworld.

As they attempt to return to Earth, they clash with Hotaru, a neutral but strict guardsman from the realm of Seido who pledged his loyalty to the Dragon King Onaga and has been pursuing Sub-Zero.

[19] With Shang Tsung believed killed by Onaga, Kenshi ends his revenge and returns to Earth, where he eliminates several criminal organizations before joining a group led by Johnny Cage in their battle against the fallen Elder God Shinnok.

[14] In Mortal Kombat X (2015),[21] Kenshi serves as a consultant to a Special Forces unit, and entered a relationship with a Thai-American woman named Suchin.

[22] However, she was killed by the Red Dragon clan in their pursuit of Kenshi, which leads him to leave Takeda in the care of Hanzo Hasashi for training and the youth's protection.

[28] In return, Cage eventually gives Sento back to Kenshi before the pair assist Liu Kang saving Earthrealm and Outworld from Shang Tsung.

[42] Kevin Wong of Complex rated Deadly Alliance as one of the best Mortal Kombat fighting titles due to its combination of "classic fighters and the new ones — like Kenshi the blind swordsman — which made us excited for the franchise's future.

[44] However, The Daily Eastern News compared the 2011 reboot version of Kenshi to that of Kitana in an article on sexism and video games in regards to costume design playing a role in the objectification of female characters in the MK series.

[46] He had previously shared accessibility concerns with NetherRealm Studios developer Herman Sanchez several years earlier that resulted in the company adding audio cues to their games beginning with Injustice: Gods Among Us.

[48] Jesse Schedeen of IGN criticized the storytelling of the second season of Mortal Kombat: Legacy for "newcomers like Kenshi requir[ing] a certain amount of back-story to justify their presence", which he felt caused many episodes to rely heavily on flashbacks that disrupted the flow of the plot.

[49] Sam Stone of Comic Book Resources praised Manny Jacinto's voicework in Snow Blind as "balancing braggadocio with charisma in effective measure; Kenshi is definitely a headstrong protagonist but is kept in check enough for the audience to become invested in his story.

"[50] In her 2022 review, Brittany Vincent of IGN praised the film for "weaving a story around one of Mortal Kombat's lesser-known personalities", but opined that the storyline frequently diverted from Kenshi's exploits "when we've already been drawn in and want to learn more about him".

[36] Author David Church noted the series' increase in Japanese cultural influence following the 1999 departure of Mortal Kombat co-creator John Tobias, "such as the blind swordsman Kenshi as a Zatoichi trope.