It was great to see the Secret Six once again and loved them in both their previous appearances. "Homeward Hound" was a case of them being better than the episode itself overall, but "Farmed and Dangerous" is pretty wonderful and shows how the Scooby Doo franchise excels so much when it comes to the creepiness factor. My first viewing of "Gold Paw" was very positive, with the setting, the villain and the Secret Six being the things that made it especially good.
"Gold Paw" still is a wonderful episode, one of the best of Season 3 and very close to a 'What's New Scooby Doo' high point (still very firmly in the top half and high up in it). Of the three Secret Six episodes, it gets my vote as the best. While "Farmed and Dangerous" also still holds up as truly excellent (was conflicted on "Homeward Hound"), "Gold Paw" was a little more original and utilised the Secret Six the best, it's also the episode where their personalities shine the most.
The animation expectedly is rich in colour, light and dark, and beautifully detailed in the backgrounds. The characters are well designed and drawn, with fluid movement and with no unintentionally creepy expressions. The standout in this regard is the awesome design for the villain, one of the best of the show for its creativity and how it blends into the background (which is what is scary about it too). The music has its usual groove and atmosphere, the theme song is infectious in alternative to annoying and the chase scene and song have a lot of energy.
Absolutely loved the Secret Six here in their best episode. They are so adorable but also have a lot of strong personalities. Being very intelligent, resourceful and brave. The rapport between them is hard to resist. The other standout characters wise is the Fort Knox villain, whose sinister presence is hard to forget. The gang are true to character and are far from bland, though are not quite on the same level as the Secret Six and the villain. Shaggy and Scooby have lost none of their fun and charm factors.
Furthermore, "Gold Paw's" writing is great too, with many funny lines and some very cute little character moments. The mystery is a fast paced, eventful and fun one, while the perpetrator was not a shock it wasn't one of those prematurely easily foreseeable ones too. There is a good creepiness to the atmosphere and the setting helps it. The voice acting is great all round.
Concluding, excellent. 9/10.