FFIX has always seemed super dark to me. I dunno what it is. Maybe that it looks unassuming on the outside with it's cute chibi characters? The colour and style? Whatever it is, when it gets to those super dark parts (you know the ones I'm referring to) it always makes me stop and just go; "Yikes, that was bleak ". More so than any of the other titles despite how dark some of those can get (eg: FFX or FFVI).