Pretty cool! To tell you the truth: I would use them both. The first one for the earlier sequences to give a wider outlook on the game world and to communicate the sensation of a vast world ripe to explore and the second one for mid-/ endgame giving the game an aesthetical highlight.
The first picture creates the impression of tranquility and clear air whereas the second one implicates a humid climate. I can't help but the second picture looks to me like the base of exactly that mountain that is shown on the first image in the background!
So the first picture is more focused - that is out of question. But I would use the sprites from the second one for special portions of the game where dense understory or thickets of young trees would block visibility. I would also tone down the colors of the background plants a little bit to distinguish the background from the foreground.