The Ninja series has more castle-like sets than any other series, and this is another great one. While small, it is packed full of details and has great play value. However, it's really tough to find now, so if you don't currently own it you're going to be paying lots of money to try to acquire one.

Nice set, got it countless years ago. You get the red ninjas and their stronghold! It has a cannon looking out between two boulders and has an upper level with cool trap door and hidden floor piece. Nice idea for net to hold ninja, bravo lego! Cool roof and a very nice array of sets ohyeah! I recommedn it totally.
A recommened 10!

Another set i owned when i was pretty young, this was my first real building, i owned a lot of boats and a few star wars sets when i got it, so it didnt really fit in with the rest of my collection, but i guess thats the fun of lego. it was also the first set i owned with a cannon, which is the reason i wanted it so bad i think.

overall this is a really fun set, theres plenty of features that kept me playing with it as a kid, like the trap door, the rotating door and the cannon. the minifigs are also really cool as well, with their masks and katanas, they are unlike any other ones in my collection. the final part of the set i love is the little gems you get, i'd never seen them before when i got it and i still think they are really cool now, even if they are only a small item.

theres a good bunch of parts in the set, and a few rarer things like the rotating door and gems. the effect used on the one piece walls to make it look like a bamboo-like construction is also very cool. the tan and blue color combination will make it stand out on your lego shelf also as its not a very common combo.

building the set was a fun experience as well, theres a bit of detail in there that you dont really notice on the box and the way the different levels are structured means its not repetitive.

the problem with the parts like the bamboo one piece walls and color combo is that it doesnt really match any other sets. with most sets you can usually modify it a bit to get a theme going but with this, whatever i did, it never matched with any other sets i was playing with. i understand there are themes, and the ninja theme is a different one, but usually you can mix it up a bit, like pretend the western buildings are pirate hide aways or something. but with this, it could only ever be a ninja themed set, which took a bit of the fun away i guess.

the only other problem i have with this set is the price. the retail on this set was $65AUD, way too much for a 169 piece set. if the set was priced more reasonably, say around $40-$45 it would be a 5/5 set for sure. i had a quick look on bricklink for current pricing and it looks a little steep, although it is also a rare set by looks of things (only 4 for sale). even though this is fun set, id only recommended it for die hard ninja collectors at the price its listed for.

This set was real rare in my country. I got the last set left, a battered box, from a Toys R Us branch in a closing-down mall that no one ever visits. But this set was full of new pieces and surprises for me - the ninjas! All those katana-swishing action, the cannon, and.. ugh, countless other pros. The only con is they didn't include one of those ninja hang-gliders. Just kidding :D

Although 1999 only had 4 medium to big castle sets, what it lacked in quantity, it made up in quality. This set has a BURP base, but the symmetrical way it is used reinforces the idea that the the building is artificial and has a strong foundation. The same colour is used for the boulders outside which seems an extension of the base of the tower and it lends character to the set. There is no door on the ground level, which is good, as the castle doors tend to be weak. Instead there's a cannon peeking out of a hole between the BURPs - this is the first of the action feature of the set. There are at least 4 more action features on the set - the rotating door on the level above, the sword, which when pulled, drops a rock, the climbing rope and the net which can be thrown over the enemies. This set is pretty much feature rich for its size. The design is good as well, with a good colour balance and interesting, yet unobtrusive, architectural features. Combine everything together and it's a solid set all round.