Quoted from lpeters82:

Most of that waiting is letting the ball work it's way from the upper upper playfield to the subway system. Once the ball reaches the lifter there is little delay. When the ball reaches the opto in the subway you have the normal warnings followed by the activation of the servo. This might be a "play better" situation. This delay is only present between the start of Jirahs and completing the first battle.

Quoted from nogoodnames222:

I'm not too concerned about them staging balls or not, but Rick & Morty handles this exact scenario very easily. You can either load a ball manually in the portal before you boot the game up, or it'll just "steal" the first one that gets shot in there during a game. It plays an appropriate audio line ("Let me adjust my balls quick, Morty") and you get a new ball from the shooter lane. No big deal, if you know what's going on it makes sense and if you don't know the game well you don't really question it.

Quoted from c818919taylor:

Collector's Edition
After watching Dri374 steam, the code does need work. But the game is fresh.