With good (lets call that $100+) shoes, you’ve got a stiff forefoot/midsole. The surface area is less important. With SPD mountain pedals, you’ve got some fudge in the exact distance between the sole, cleat, the pedal, and the side lugs - this means your feet can rock a bit (which can be good if you’re hitting rocks and working the bike). The side lugs (“pontoons”) in particular wear and the cleat has a small, central clamping area contributing to this looseness. More pedal area means you’ve got more surface to work the pedal without being clipped in and to control that rocking motion.
Anyway, in my experience, a bit of surface area is better than a minimalist pedal if you’re not on challenging terrain. If you’re on challenging terrain, you probably want the min or max surface. Also, I’d only look at that surface area number as good for comparing pedals from the same company, not cross-company.