A few games into TOTAN at a local arcade, I realized that it's not just flipping around, this game is actually trying to tell me a story. And that all these tales I'm trying to complete are leading to some grand finale. It blew my mind that pinball could be so complex and engaging.
I later discovered that not all games (in fact, very few games) worked like this, but it got me excited to play every game I could find and learn as much as I could about pinball.