About
This is one of those NINJAGO sets that doesn’t limit itself to just being a vehicle, a creature, or a small scene. Here, you basically get a full battle setting, with a castle, tower, prison, dragon, and enough characters to recreate one of the most memorable parts of the season.
Visually, the castle works really well. The mix of greys, white, and translucent blue immediately creates that cold, isolated, and threatening feeling of the Never-Realm. It isn’t a fully enclosed, highly detailed castle in the classic medieval sense. Instead, it feels more like an open fortress, designed for play, movement, and action. And within the NINJAGO universe, that works really well. The Ice Emperor’s throne is one of the most interesting parts of the set, especially because of its reveal function. The towers also add presence and play value, with defense areas, a prison, and shooters that help create conflict in the scene. It’s clearly a set designed to tell a story, not just sit still on a shelf. And then there’s the Forbidden Ice Dragon, which for me is one of the biggest bonuses in the box. It doesn’t feel like a small side build thrown in just to add more content. It has presence, articulation, and its own identity. It helps make the set feel much more complete, giving the castle an extra threat and turning everything into a proper final battle.
Overall, the set has that large-scale NINJAGO vibe: an important location, a strong villain, a dragon, play features, and a solid minifigure selection. It may not be the most refined castle in terms of architecture, but as a playset and a themed display piece, it works really well.
Minifigure review
The minifigure selection is one of the strongest points of 70678 Castle of the Forsaken Emperor. Having 7 minifigures in a set like this makes a big difference, because it allows you to build a complete scene straight out of the box. On the hero side, you get Lloyd FS, Cole, and Akita. Forbidden Spinjitzu Lloyd is naturally one of the main figures, with that more “powered-up” look that fits the energy of the season really well. Cole adds more ninja presence to the set, while Akita is an essential character from the Never-Realm and helps connect the build directly to the story. On the villain side, the lineup is even stronger. The Ice Emperor is clearly the highlight, with an imposing presence and the right look to rule over the castle. General Vex complements that threat really well, while the Blizzard Sword Master and Blizzard Archer help build out the ice army.
The best part is that the figures don’t feel random. Each one has a clear role: heroes, ally, main villain, right-hand man, and soldiers. For NINJAGO collectors, this is exactly the kind of lineup that makes you want to complete the set.
Box design
Instruction manual
So…
Castle of the Forsaken Emperor is one of the strongest sets from the Secrets of the Forbidden Spinjitzu era. It has scale, presence, a castle with a strong identity, an extra tower, a prison, action features, an articulated dragon, and a very complete minifigure selection. It isn’t LEGO’s most enclosed or most detailed castle, but it doesn’t need to be. It is a pure NINJAGO playset, built for battle, movement, and storytelling. If you like the Never-Realm era, the Ice Emperor, or sets that feel like a final confrontation, this is still a very interesting piece to have in the collection. The real value is in the complete package: castle, dragon, and 7 minifigures. It’s big, full of personality, and delivers that mix of fantasy, action, and drama that NINJAGO does so well.
