Remembering LEGO Knights’ Kingdom

It’s been quite a while now, after so many years, since I got my first LEGO knight from the LEGO Knights’ Kingdom II sub-theme as a present when I was just a small kid… As I found out once more after circa 20 years since this sub-theme of LEGO was released (being part of the main Castle theme which was previously developed), the knight’s name was Danju, the purple knight with the wolf crest on his shield, packed in a tower-shaped set (as all other knights for that matter). Now, fast forward circa 20 years since the release of LEGO Knights’ Kingdom II, I’d like to reminiscent a bit about a part of my childhood which is still quite dear to me and meant a lot (and still does).

First of all, I need to mention the fact that I was very interested about LEGO throughout my early childhood. So much so, in point of fact, that I invested a considerable amount of money which I received from my Christmas carols’ singing in my hometown on various lego sets. But, the LEGO Knights’ Kingdom set of Danju was a special one (and still is as a matter of fact). It was special firstly given the fact that it was a present and, secondly, it is still special so many years after well into the present day because I’d like to purchase it once again (back in the past, I can’t remember how I lost the set with Danju, frankly speaking, but I also grew up in the meantime, so this might be one of the causes). Either way, I re-discovered so many years after I initially built the respective LEGO knight that you’re never too old to still play with LEGO, even if you are well into you’re late 20s. After all, the age tag on many LEGO sets (including the LEGO Knights’ Kingdom sets) is marked with a plus, so this is an additional reason for me to think about purchasing the respective knight once again. However, this time I hope I will be able to build it once again from scratch as I hope I haven’t lost my creativity into merging the constituent bricks of the set. It’s been quite a long time, once again…

Anyway, time will tell in that regard, but another important reason why I was particularly interested in LEGO Knights’ Kingdom (and the Castle theme of LEGO in general for that matter) is the fact that I was naturally interested in medieval history at the time as well. While the plot behind LEGO Knights’ Kingdom unfolds in a fictional universe (and I am well aware of this), it still fascinated and does so well enough now. In this regard, I found out the fact that Danju was actually the wise knight or ‘wise veteran’ (but he was by no means the lone wolf type, well, at least not in chivalrous regards). Without trying to give too many spoilers of the actual story/plot behind this LEGO sub-theme, I will just limit myself by writing, as simplistic as it might seem at first glance, that Danju was part of the good guys (or good knights) who fought on the side of King Mathias in order to free him and his fictitious kingdom, Morcia, from the treacherous rule of the fallen knight Vladek. Danju is as such part of a team of knights consisting also of the following:

• Jayko (the blue knight with the eagle crest), also known as the the rookie;
• Rascus (the green knight with the monkey crest), also known as the joker;
• Santis (the red knight with the bear crest), also known as the strong knight.

These four valiant knights embark on a quest to set their beloved King Mathias free from the hands of treacherous Vladek and restore order in the dark Kingdom of Morcia which had fallen under Vladek’s cruel and tyrannical reign. This LEGO sub-theme lasted from 2004 to 2006 and was accompanied by digital interactive comics on the LEGO website, historical trivia on the Middle Ages, an ask Danju section, several interesting browser video games (which can still be playable today, namely Tower Climber, starring Rascus, Boulder Crusher, starring Santis, Speed Chamber, starring Jayko, and, ultimately, my most favourite as well, Scorpion Puzzler, starring Danju; there is also the Knights’ Kingdom Minifigure Handbook or Castle Battle, both unrelated to LEGO Knights’ Kingdom II, but still relevant within the larger Castle theme of LEGO if you are interested) various related creative activities there (such as creating a castle from paper or drawing black and white landscapes depicting the knights), and some downloads (mostly wallpapers and digital artwork affiliated with the sub-theme). While there was an additional wave of knights released in different sets during 2005 and 2006, this article is primarily concerned with the first wave of LEGO Knights’ Kingdom II knights, so to put it (and King Mathias, who wears a cape and has a lion crest on his shield).

Below you can watch the US commercials on the LEGO Knights’ Kingdom II sets (which also came with some playing cards, usually 3, unless we’re talking about limited edition sets which had as many as 6, according to my research on eBay at least):

Below you can listen to the soundtrack behind the digital comics published many years ago on the LEGO website:

So it is that a later point during this year I plan to purchase Danju once again, and, who knows, if I am fortunate enough, other knights and even King Mathias! Thank you very much for your time, attention, and readership! All the best!

Trivia: this LEGO Castle sub-theme also produced a GameBoy advance video game entitled ‘Lego Knights’ Kingdom‘ (which was released in October 2004).

P.S. I want to underline the fact that I still love LEGO very much as well as the Danish creativity and originality behind it! I would hereby like to thank LEGO very much along with its creators for making my childhood (as well as adulthood) more entertaining and cool! I am very grateful to you!

Documentation sources and external links:

• Knights’ Kingdom II on www.fandom.com
• LEGO Knights’ Kingdom wikia on www.fandom.com
• The official LEGO website, Knights’ Kingdom section via Wayback Machine