Sometimes I feel like the only person who doesn't hate Ymir forest, lol, but I can see how it could cause problems if you don't have a really good memory for things because otherwise you'll end up back and forthing a LOT.
I've played most of the main Tales of games except for the Destiny 2, Rebirth, and Tempest (I get the distinct impression Tempest would be at the bottom of my list if I played it), but I also haven't played certain versions of games (ps1 destiny, DS Hearts/Innocence, some versions of Phantasia).
My favorites list goes something like:
Abyss > Berseria/Symphonia > Eternia/Innocence R > Vesperia > Graces F > Xillia 1-2 > Phantasia > Legendia > Arise > Hearts R > Destiny R > Symphonia 2 > Zestiria
Abyss has some dated gameplay but it's irrelevant to me; I like it's story the most by far so it's my favorite. Eternia, Innocence R, and Vesperia have pretty good qualities all around and some great qualities but some things hold them back a bit which keeps them out of the top 3 for me. The rest are a bit more nebulous. Graces and the Xillias have rough stories but their combat is really fun, however these games mark a downturn in level design that can't be overlooked and that's why they're below Graces F. Phantasia actually surprised me with how much I liked its story, but its gameplay holds it back. Legendia has a lot of issues but I think it had the potential to be one of the best; unfortunately it didn't get the budget it deserved and it shows, but if it ever gets remade, I think it has a lot to offer, and a great OST.
Arise was hyped a lot and ended up disappointing me as it retreaded a lot of old ground in the series and, imo, did it worse than much older games; I think I only liked 1 party member by the end of things, too, and I didn't care much for many of the new mechanics. Hearts R has fantastic gameplay but I did not care for the plot at all, and the cast made me want to throttle them most of the time, which is not great.
Destiny R, like Arise, was hyped up a lot, so I was very, very disappointed by it, and found characters who I was told were amazing to be extremely lacking- like Hearts R, the gameplay was good, but if I'm not enjoying the story, it doesn't mean much, and worse still, the game's story nose-dives later on, becoming more and more vapid and empty- I had expected the story to at least be better than Phantasia's, and imo, it wasn't. DotNW needs no explanation, it's garbage, but for some reason I actually kind of like it, so it's my guilty pleasure, and as such it doesn't get last place. That's Zestiria. I have never wanted to murder the camera in a Tales of game before. If that was my only problem, it would still be the worst Tales of game, but it's not. Combat is shit. Customization is shit. Story is weak. Cast is mostly obnoxious and boring. At least the music is good.