Ganbare Goemon Gaiden 2: Tenka no Zaihō

Okay, so this keeps a couple of the biggest core problems of the first Goemon Gaiden game (overlong and mostly featureless dungeons, especially in the late-game, and painfully simplistic RPG mechanics), but literally every other aspect of this game is just absolutely delightful. It really feels like they tried to inject character and personality into every area of the game they could think to. The change to the story structure is the best though; even the non-RPG Goemon titles always feel kind of aimless to me in terms of story. They present a wacky world and fun scenarios, but it usually feels like a collection of unrelated moments that can make it easy to slip from your memory. The weird world is incidental to the story, and the story is only there as an excuse to showcase the weird world. This time though, the premise is that Goemon is simply going out to explore the world via the framework of a global thievery competition. It makes the world the centerpiece, and makes it feel a lot more natural when you just wander aimlessly into new, wacky scenarios. They stop being a distraction and start being the focus. It may seem like a subtle change, but it's honestly kind of a magical set-up that I wish more games embraced. I just wish the gameplay was more interesting.