Mortal Kombat 1 Kenshi guide: Basic combos, advanced combos, best Kameo partners, and more

Modified Sep 15, 2023 14:45 GMT

Mortal Kombat 1’s Kenshi doesn’t have to fight alone. He can summon his ancestor to help him in combat, creating incredible juggles and damage potential. He’s this writer’s favorite character in the game or at least one of them. He’s a powerful kombatant who might be one of the best in MK1 at launch. However, only time will tell how that shakes out. He’s looking strong, and we’re going to go over some combos with him.

As with all of our combo guides, this is very much a work in progress. As we find more powerful combos and tech for characters to use, we’ll update this accordingly. If you have a combo you’d like to share, you can reach out on social media with a clip and notation, and we’ll see what we can do to include it.

Basic combos for Mortal Kombat 1’s Kenshi

General inputs

1: Front Punch
2: Back Punch
3: Front Kick
4: Back Kick
L1: Throw
L2: Stance Switch
R1 Kameo
R2: Meter Burn/Amplify Special
Movement is Forward, Back, Up, Down (FBUD)
~: Cancel into (immediately input)

Input: 21~BF2

These combos from ahmz1404 on YouTube came from the preview beta, which we also took part in. A common way to start this is with your punches (2, 1) and linking them into Soul Charge. However, you have other options, such as 14, B2, F22, and just using 4.

Input: 141~BF3, Dash, 4~BF2

141 is a solid combo starter for Mortal Kombat 1's Kenshi. You cancel the last hit into Rising Karma and dash into a 4, only to cancel that into the Soul Charge. For those interested, BF3 (Rising Karma) is a launcher, so it can be used in other ways as well.

Input: 21~DB2B R2, J224

This Kenshi combo requires you to use the Enhanced Demon Drop at Close range. That's why you see a "back" input on the tail end of DB2B. You enter that move by canceling after 21 and following the enhanced Demon Drop with a Jump 224. It's a solid little juggle and feels good to pull off if you have meter.

Advanced combos for Kenshi in Mortal Kombat 1

Input: F22, F+R1, F22~BF3, F22~BF3

You may as well practice F22 canceling into Rising Karma because you probably will do a lot of that playing Mortal Kombat 1's Kenshi. For this combo, you will need to set up the forward Kameo, in this case, Frost, and use it to do two back-to-back cancels into Rising Karma. It takes practice, but it's worth learning.

Input: F22, F+R1, DB1, 2, F221, 3, J234

One of Kenshi's great weaknesses in Mortal Kombat 1 is his stance switch (Sento Stance) is kind of slow. Thus, in order to make that easier, after the F22, we use Frost as a kameo to freeze the enemy. That gives you a chance to Sento Stance and use the forward strikes, the 3 hit, and the jump juggle.

Input: F22, Forward+R1, Dash, DB1, F2, 221, 3, 4, DB3, 3, 4, DB4

This is an incredible combo from Shenles that does nearly 50% damage. He points out that the dash is only required if you are hitting at max range. He also states you can use any of Kenshi's starters, but I personally like Forward 22. You must hold Forward throughout the "2, 221, 3" string as well.

Normally, you have to designate if you want the spirit or Kenshi to strike, but due to how and when we enter Sento Stance, we can hit a button, and the Spirit will act a little sooner than Kenshi. It's a fascinating, powerful combo. It's a difficult combo to master, but putting in the time will show serious results.

Best Kameo Fighter pairings for Kenshi in Mortal Kombat 1

I think the best Kameo fighter you can have for this character is Frost. I feel like Sub-Zero would also be a good pick, though. As I said before, it takes a moment to trigger Sento Stance, but it can drop some serious damage. With that in mind, pick a Kameo Fighter that can stun, knock down, or incapacitate an enemy for just a few moments. Kano works great as well for his knife throw.

Mortal Kombat 1 is NetherRealm Software's latest hit fighting game, and we've been steadily working on combo guides for it. You can find one of our latest here, on the popular Johnny Cage.