ugh yeah i agree. i think the trajectory is towards turning towns into a) places to scour every inch of in search of hidden treasure and b) ways to show off your big graphics and big dedication to quirky npcs and new ways to trigger cutscenes/plot events (Hey traveler. The inn is free tonight! I highly recommend you stay at this free inn! Who knows what will happen at the inn, tonight, while it is free, should you stay there… maybe something surprising!!!), which is fine but i wish it was possible to actually make them interesting parts of the game, in a way that involved more than just offering you places to spend your money.
having weird little activities and mini games is cool, but it could be so much better
like one of the things that Zelda seems to have accomplished pretty well in its later iterations is disrupting the overworld/dungeon paradigm, I think the same thing could be done with towns to make them more than just places where you spend money and plot happens.
edit: im gonna make this a thread bc it interests me.