It's also faster to come back here later, since you're en route to Maridia anyway, and you'll have the Speed Booster by then, as well as Hi-Jump. Same applies for the Guardian.
No, but getting something early in Super or its hacks is only really beneficial if it is a worthwhile upgrade. An extra two Missiles at that stage is kinda useless. The early Supers in the spike pit is another matter, and is the key to all known sequence breaking for Redesign at the moment.
The statues alone do nothing for the game, so there is no benefit to getting it early. It is both faster and easier to get that statue when you go back past the other way with the Speed Booster.
I think a number of hacks have outdone it in a number of ways, but Redesign always has that 'special place' reserved for it due to its sheer scale and scope at the time it was released. There hasn't been a hack yet that's come close to the size. I know that DSO is creating a monster, but that's a while off yet.
I have to use a map when doing 100.0% on redesign. I print out a map on high-gloss paper and then stick it in a photo-album sheet so that it has a plastic cover on it. I then use a sharpie to blot out each upgrade on the map as I collect it. When I'm done I just remove the plastic cover and the map isn't messed up at all, ready for re-use.