Speaking as a player first and foremost, when it comes to world maps, it doesn't much matter. Try for a realistic aesthetic that has lots of area to travel (more than you're used to in basically any of the iconic JRPGs with world maps). Because using the standard scale for world maps, there's never much exploration, anyway. I actually dislike traditional world maps now. They are so redundant and awkward. I'd rather traverse a series of full wilderness maps to go from Town A to Town B. That provides actual exploration, visual stimulation. It fleshes out and gives character and texture to every area, and makes long distance travel seem like more of an adventure.
But when it comes down to it, focus more on your aesthetic, always trying to balance a good, believable look, with playability in those environments. Either extreme will be just that, an extreme. It should depend on the area/geography in question, vs a "mapping style" felt consistently throughout the entire game.
Mapping is very, very, very hard.