To give a proper take on these two worlds, i'd say the content-rich smaller area feels more rewarding than bigger empty spaces. You've got the 40 square kilometers with dense handcrafted stuff everywhere versus 60 square kilometers that, while beautiful and varied, can feel a bit sparse in places. Something interesting to note is they both packed in about the same number of places to explore, with just over 200 dungeons and 9 cities each, but the smaller map makes everything feel more connected and meaningful.

The whole dragon situation really changes how you experience things, since you're basically the chosen one with these massive creatures showing up to shake things up whenever they feel like it. Makes for some pretty intense moments compared to just watching the main story unfold from the sidelines in the older world. Speaking of which, that older realm actually gives you more variety in environments to check out across different provinces, but you'll find yourself crossing some pretty empty stretches to get anywhere.

When it comes to building your character, the newer system lets you adapt on the fly which makes exploring way more interesting, since you can try different approaches whenever you want. The older setup with major skills kind of locks you into whatever build you picked at the start. Both ways work fine but having that freedom to switch things up definitely adds something extra to wandering around and trying new things. Good to know the newer world really pushes for player freedom through both how you develop your character and how the environment reacts to what you do.