I have pointed out before there are two ways of looking at machines; one as they were intended in the days they came out, as a quarter magnet to make profit, and two as their value in a home use environment. Many games go from one end of the spectrum to the other, take HS for example, supreme arcade day machine with little home use value today, other than nostalgia.
TOTAN I think had a neat idea in carrying the modes over until they are finished. This is something that wasn't done before, and much like I feel SC was, it was a new, fresh attempt to lure people in, and make some aspects more achievable for the casual players. The jewels being collected early was another good idea at the time to give casual players a chance to fast forward in hopes of seeing the end.
Despite not in the least liking really anything about the rules in a home or even tourney environment now, I can see where the thought process was at the time, and think that from that perspective, it was a solid attempt. Keep in mind, they were not programming these things back then to satisfy the rule hungry collectors on forums, they were trying solely to lure people into inserting coins.
This was game changer time in the downswing from the great early 90s wpc's, and they made changes to try and sway back people, but it was already too far gone for many reasons out of their control.
Although the rules do wreck this machine for me, I think TOTAN is one of the most beautiful machines ever made, and I would likely grab one in a second if someone redid the rules for it to cater to today's likes.