[3] A cut character named "Kitsune", which was later developed into Kitana, "was going to fit into the story as Shang Lao's (Tsung's) princess daughter - the spoil of victory for winning the tournament", who would betray her father after she fell for Liu Kang.

[7] Mortal Kombat art director Herman Sanchez said that as the series progressed he decided to emphasize Tsung's air of "sinister regality.

The book cited his "failure to appease the gods" as the reason for his premature aging to a withered old man, but he was noticeably younger in Mortal Kombat II, in which Shao Kahn had restored Shang Tsung's youth and powers as part of his plan to take over Earthrealm by luring Liu Kang and his fellow Earth warriors into Outworld for the next MK tournament.

[9] Tobias wanted Shang Tsung's long hair to hang loose in Mortal Kombat 3 (in which his actor was John Turk), but potential problems with it flopping about whenever he jumped resulted in it being tied back into a ponytail.

[12] After the ending of Mortal Kombat 11, Ed Boon decided to cast Tagawa as Shang Tsung for Aftermath as he believes several gamers often visualize him when seeing the character.

As of the Mortal Kombat 11 DLC story expansion Aftermath, Shang Tsung was resurrected and imprisoned in the Void by the keeper of time, Kronika, after he refused to aid her in seeking revenge on Raiden by destroying the timeline.

Liu Kang sends the trio back in time to retrieve a past version of it,[16] during which the sorcerer orchestrates events to ensure that he can gain the Crown with little to no opposition from Earthrealm, Outworld, and Kronika's forces.

[17][18][19][20] Once they are all defeated, Shang Tsung attempts to restart history for himself, only to discover that Liu Kang had manipulated events to ensure the sorcerer's victory over Kronika.

[21][22] In Mortal Kombat 1, Titan Shang Tsung eventually discovers Liu Kang's timeline, where a powerless version of the former exists as a struggling snake oil salesman in Outworld.

In addition to his original video game trilogy backstory, he displays a bitter rivalry with Raiden that usually end in verbal assaults or draws.

While hosting the tenth Mortal Kombat tournament for Shao Kahn's plot to conquer Earthrealm, Shang Tsung secretly attempts to acquire the mystical book Tao Te Zhan, which grants immense power to whoever solves its seven riddles.

For this, Shao Kahn put Shang Tsung to work in the former's cobalt mines, where he enslaves and abuses fellow prisoner and Kreevan princess Vorpax.

[37] Shang Tsung appears in Mortal Kombat: Legacy portrayed by Johnson Phan in the episode "Johnny Cage" and Tagawa in the second season.

[40] Upon learning of a prophecy that will deny Outworld a crucial victory in the Mortal Kombat tournament, Shang Tsung sends his warriors to kill Earthrealm's champions before then.

Shang Tsung was ranked 17th on GameDaily's 2009 list of top evil masterminds of all time, which noted his attack style and goals while stating he is "one twisted freak.

[46] In Game of Death, David Church found Liu Kang and Shang Tsung as obvious references Lee and Han from Enter the Dragon.

[53] Shang Tsung also became famous in the Deadly Alliance intro cutscene for killing the hero Liu Kang which surprised game journalist for the impact such dark twist had on the main narrative.

JoBlo.com noted that every actor who has taken the role since have been compared to Tagawa, commenting that his delivery "has all the cadence and embellished style like he's on Broadway, but he holds himself physically like he's just casually laying down the law.

[57][56] While reviewing Legacy, IGN said "the most noteworthy bit of recasting involves Shang Tsung" due to Tagawa's appeal on the character especially with his age despite there not being connections to the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie.

[59] The Washington Post praised the handling of Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat 11 in general to the point he is a more enjoyable than the already striking DLC RoboCop due to his charismatic and manipulative characterization when working alongside Raiden's forces to obtain the power he wanted.