There’s only one thing better than playing games and that’s collecting every piece of merchandise tied to them. There was nothing like flipping through your favorite gaming magazine and seeing a profile of a limited edition collectible or discovering a piece of memorabilia from a beloved game in an overlooked corner of a shop and it’s a feeling we strive to replicate every month as we look through our own collector’s cabinet and dig out items new and old to show the world.

Idea Factory International is back in the otome game space in a big way. Last year they released Cupid Parasite with a special edition and now they’re back at it with the Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei Limited Edition. This set is a great way for otome fans to indulge with a variety of Birushana goodies. It’s lovely to see the company are continuing to release otome games (and limited editions to go with them). So let’s dig right in and see everything that is included with this set.

The Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei Limited Edition includes a bundle of goodness which is comprised of the following: copy of the Switch game, hardcover art book and short stories book, soundtrack and two audio dramas on CD, five bromide cards, steel game case, sticker set, exclusive card and a handsome collector’s box. Most of the items fit within the outer collector’s box, but not everything. The Switch game case is included but not able to fit within. The collectible card from Idea Factory International was also not packaged inside, but it’s a simple flat card so you could easily place it within the box for safekeeping.

Included is a two disc CD set titled “Ballad of the Rising Flower.” The set comes housed in a CD jewel case with front and back art. Excitingly, one disc includes the official soundtrack and the other includes two audio dramas. As far as the soundtrack is concerned, twenty tracks are included on the disc. The two audio dramas are “Where Your Heart Takes You” and “The Five Suitors.” The dramas are voiced in Japanese, but you can read through an English translation if you don’t understand the language. The location of the English text is available via a website linked on the back of the jewel case.

Then there’s the hardcover booklet. This includes art book content as well as a handful of short stories. There are 56 full color pages in all. It starts off with a gallery of key artwork, box art and the like. After that there’s page after page of characters. Each main character has a brief bio, listing of their voice actor and height. Then there are a handful of images of the character. Even minor characters get a few pages near the end. After that there are five different short stories to read through. Please be warned that the short stories take place after each guy’s true end, so don’t read through these until clearing the specified character(s).

The steel game case for Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei looks stunning. All five potential romanceable men are on it, with three on the front and two on the back. Where is the protagonist Shanao? Once opened up, the steel case then reveals art of Shanao on the inside as well as the slot for a Switch cartridge. The sticker sheet similarly includes a sticker of all the main men and protagonist. Also included with the stickers are a few logos to fill out the sheet.

Next up are five included bromide cards. These are high quality and double-sided. One side features artwork for each male lead, while the other side showcases key artwork between the protagonist and each specific bachelor. Something fun about the CG artwork is that the white border around it makes the image almost look like a Polaroid photo. Not quite, but that’s what it calls to mind. The bromide cards are sized about the same dimension as a postcard.

In the vein of Limited Run Games, Idea Factory International also included a collectible trading card with the copy of the game. It features an image of the protagonist, lists the game name as well as a number and date. The date coincides with the release of the game, and the number of the card relates to the card itself in the series of all cards Idea Factory International have put out so far. The card features nice spot gloss on the main image, while the back simply shows a logo for IFI’s Online Store.

Finally, the collector box that houses everything is gorgeous with a colorful design featuring the main characters. It’s a sturdy cardboard box that will look perfect on any otome fan’s shelf. Those interested in picking up the Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei Limited Edition shouldn't delay any longer. The game itself launches on June 28, but units of this edition are dwindling. US fans can purchase directly from the IFI Online Store for $89.99. Canadian gamers can nab a copy from VGP for $129.99 CAD.

Want to look through the rest of our Collector’s Cabinet? Head right here.