Maplestory is the best because there are over 12 classes, each that can use spells and abilities, unlike runescape.
For me the option to choose a class is bad, that's why RuneScape is better, you can be a mage, but you can still cook, sell, attack with bow and arrows etc... in Maplestory, after u choose a class, u can't change your decision :/
In Maplestory you can make up to 150 characters, I just solved that issue.
runescape all the way...has over 500 hrs of gameplay just in the free content
Maplestory has only free content,(Nothing that restricts you from doing stuff, although there is a cash shop that you have to pay with real money to buy stuff.) and over 2,000 hours of gameplay in the free content. Now, there are 12 other classes(13 Total) to get to the max level. 2,000 * 13 = 26,000. 26,000 / 500 = 52. So there is 52 times the free gameplay in maplestory than runescape.
Maplestory all the way! I played maplestory for almost a year, and runescape for a day. Runescape is just boring! And the graphics suck. The HD is okay, but it lags like hell.
To be honest I never really liked either. Runescape is a good game but the economy is so realistic that inflation happens so anyone who quits for a while can be instantly poor. Maplestory I didn't like because of the 2D gameplay and the hard to follow story line. But if I had to pick one, I would go with Runescape.