The small Island subtheme is a very interesting and strong addition to the Ninjago line, it gave us some pretty unique builds and well-detailed figures. As the only location-based play set out of the 4 sets, it definitely doesn’t disappoint.

The Build

The Shore: This entire area connects to the main build via a clip, so you can disconnect it as you wish. Upon arriving to the island, you are immediately greeted by 1 of 2 traps. The first one being a leaf that suspiciously has a chain attached to it, and when your figure steps on it, it’ll have it swinging in the air and dangling above a spike pit when activated by a lever that pulls the fallen tree back up, it’s such a simple play feature but it’s really clever and effective. The second trap is when a figure steps on the platform with the stickered tile of a skull symbol, it will cause some foliage to move aside and reveal a tile shooter, yet another simple and fun trap to activate. Additional detail to this section of the build includes a red crab arriving ashore, foliage and bushes all around, a skull in the spike pit and a sign of a dragon head, presumably warning about a trap, and I love how it’s partially hidden by foliage. Overall, this is the most fun area of the build and its play features are really clever and well executed.

The Keeper’s Village/Cave: Despite being called a village, it really isn’t one, it’s more so a cave with a second level above it. Let’s start off with the animal head stone carving spewing out lava. The way this head was built was really great and it looks visually neat, I like the flowing lava traveling down the mouth, as well as additional flowing lava off to the side, making clever use of a trans-orange power blast piece. What’s behind the head carving is a jail cell to hold a prisoner, a bucket and a bone serve as decorations for the small cell. For the prisoner to escape, push down on a leaf and it’ll open up the mouth of the monster allowing a figure to escape the cell… or enter it. Inside the cave, next to the jail cell, is an oar attached via a clip and a cauldron cooking up some stew with fish and carrot in the mix. Exiting the cave, you could find a flight of stairs leading up to the throne of the chief, the throne is pretty standard but serves its purpose well. A little fire is going on on the second level as well. Overall, I love the detail put into this section of the build. The jail feels like a good use of space, and the stone detailing and monster head carving in particular looks impressive.

The Stone Golems: 3 stone golems rest beside the throne and form a totem pole when stacked up together, these 3 warriors protect the storm amulet and defend the keepers from intruders. Each of the golems have their own unique stickers for their faces, and each are equipped with weapons from the Ninjago weapons pack in white this time. The golem at the top seems to be the most important one as it holds the storm amulet, 2 trans-purple lightning bolts come from behind the amulet as well. Overall, I think these stone golems add a lot to the set, I like how each one has its own tinge of unique colors or facial features and I really like the way they stack up as well.

The Minifigs

Chief Mammatus: The grand chief of the keepers is by far my favorite figure of this set and maybe even the whole subtheme. Shiny golden armor with teal as the secondary color decorates the torso and legs, the lavender skin color as the contrasting color to the armor looks great, not just on this figure but every one of the keepers, the legs could’ve used some dual-molding though. The chief wears a dark orange cape, the color choice was very interesting, and the whole cape in a way makes him look more powerful and exalted as a leader which I really like. The 2 face prints are an angry expression and a somewhat sinister smile (though the keepers aren’t evil), both with shiny golden tattoos and large tusks. His exquisite dual-molded headdress piece was made just for this figure and man is it impressive, it’s mainly a golden headgear piece with dark turquoise blades sticking out of it and looks absolutely fantastic, it has two attachment holes as well to put 2 white claw pieces. Finally, his accessory is a staff with a purple lightning bolt coming out of it. Overall, while it could’ve used dual-molded legs to make it perfect, it’s still a phenomenal figure nonetheless and undoubtedly my favorite figure of this set, I’m glad I got him this way as he only other comes in the more expensive Catamaran Sea Battle.

Thunder Keeper: Not too much special in terms of face, torso and leg prints as they’re reused with every other keeper (except Mammatus) in the subtheme, but they’re still great prints. The torso and legs are printed with dark tan armor with hints of teal, and once again, the legs could really benefit from dual molded legs here. The head displays a fierce expression with white tattoos printed on the front and back of the head. The islander mask makes a return here in dark tan featuring printing of a hostile expression complete with angry eyes and sharp teeth! Finally, he wields a spiked pole weapon. Overall, the prints and the mask are great and it’s an excellent “army builder” figure, especially to fill up the village.

Island Kai: The new island suit for Kai is a pretty basic design, but the detailing is adequate and it perfectly conveys the island feel it’s going for. Like all the other island variants of the ninja, he has a shoulder pad/single katana scabbard with a katana to go into the slot as well. A lower half mask piece is used, which every other ninja also wears in their respective colors, and his face prints remain the same since 2017 with the common happy and angry faces. Probably the best part about the figure is the relatively new dual-molded hair/bandanna combo and it came out pretty great, the red bandanna goes really well with Kai’s ridiculous hair. Finally, he wields 2 golden machetes as his weapons. Overall, it’s a pretty simple figure compared to the other island ninjas and therefore it’s probably one of my least favorite out of the 6, but it’s still an effective design and I do like this figure.

Island Jay: Jay almost appears to be a color swap of Kai’s suit, but it seems that he has more gear equipped, with an additional strap with pouches going over his shoulder and a canteen on his belt which was a really nice detail. The face is the same open smile and ticked off expressions from 2017. The new dual-molded hair/bandanna combo piece for Jay looks great, definitely came out perfectly. Finally his accessory is a golden nunchuck with a machete attached to the end of it, seems like quite a dangerous weapon to wield. Overall, despite the suit being quite visually similar to Kai’s, I’d say it’s an improvement over it and I really like the detail on the figure.

Island Cole: Cole is the only exclusive figure in this set and his suit definitely looks the most unique out of the 6 island ninjas. What mainly makes Cole’s suit very different from the others is the breastplate he wears, and I really like the scratches on the armor as well. His face prints are once again, from 2017 having a relaxed smile and an angry face. Cole’s dual molded hair/bandanna combo piece actually isn’t new, but returns from The Ninjago Movie, the difference is the orange color for the bandanna is exclusive to this figure which is nice that they made a new color for it. Finally, his accessory is a pole-based weapon with a machete incorporated into the build. Overall, this is a nice enjoyable variant for Cole. I appreciate the uniqueness of his suit, and the return of the Cole man-bun hair piece was cool too.

Value For Money

At full price, this costs R1000 which is quite expensive. With a discount, I payed R700 (which is about the same as the US retail price) which still feels like a lot to me, I can kinda see where the price is coming from, but it still felt like a hefty price, I could think of other sets with a worse value though.

Overall Opinion

Since we get a lot of vehicles and mechs for action themes, it’s always nice to see a location-based play set whenever they show up. The Keeper’s Village provides great details, ample space to pose minifigures around, and clever and inventive play features. The figures also maintain the good quality associated with the Ninjago range, Chief Mammatus in particular looks fantastic. Following a discount, I would definitely recommend this set to any fan of Ninjago or anyone who enjoys great play sets.

As AFOL, I have never bought a standarized Ninjago playset.

This set however is a very interesting addition to the Barracuda Bay (21322)!