My definition of "dark" is a very picky one, and possibly quite an off-the-mark word choice considering the cheerfulness of the first few tracks and nonstop melodies throughout. It’s hard to put into words exactly what I’m looking for, but I’ll do my best. While a grim (and consistent) undertone goes without saying, if there’s no "steadfastness" to it (like battle themes and noticeable melodies in general) it just becomes boring to me. So I’m not looking for something like Baroque or the Zero Escape series, although they have their place.
FFT’s bears some of the closest resemblance amongst what I’m familiar with, but the blaring highs and abundant "happy" tracks make it exhausting a bit too quickly. Mystic Ark is a similar case. The closest overall that I’ve come across is probably the music for the Shiren the Wanderer series.
With all that said, anyone know what direction to point me in?