Similar experience - 90s, played TZ (in a pizzeria i worked at though!), was amazed. Many years later got one.

In 2013 i sold off my collection after personal matter, recently tho - back into the hobby and after evaluating everything, TZ won out again (its next to me now ). It NEVER gets old and has so much charm. Truly a work of art IMO.

So - although i have a yearning to find a pin that compares - to date, no game has kept my attention like TZ has.

At first there is a curve to the technicals, but all very manageable. Also, most TZ today are bullet proofed to the common problems - its likely the machine you end up buying has these resolved.

For reference - common problems - the clock (make sure updated clock boards, originals are prone to heat), the M/CPU board (make sure rebuilt, so much power in this game tends to need a rebuild or it resets mid game when flippers are used).

The only game that seems to me similar (genius in design) - Iron Maiden. It may even (gasp) be a better pin than TZ. I almost bit BUT the theme. Not a fan of the band and wouldn't be able to tolerate it against my wall. If they retheme it i'm a buyer.