Paradox

Background
Paradox is a warez group that performs software cracking on multiple video game consoles. The company was formed in 1989 by members of the groups Trilogy and M.A.D. Initially, the cracked Amiga software before shutting down in 1991 when the members joined Quartex. However, the group was revived in 1993 under 'Maximilien' ' s leadership. There, they cracked Sega Genesis, SNES, and PC software. Over the next several years, they are known for cracking software hard to crack such as releasing an up-to-date crack of Monster Hunter World: Iceborne. They were also involved in several raids and arrests with some members getting arrested for financial security reasons.

1st Logo (1988-June 22, 1990)
Logo: On a black background, "PARADOX " in a futuristic font fades in and turns from white to royal blue. Then, the following text scrolls underneath HELLO EVERYONE!!! PARADOX PROUDLY PRESENTS DYNASTY WARS 100 DONE BY THE SURGE! A MESSAGE TO THE BIGGEST LAMER IN ALL OF GERMANY (AND THE WORLD!) PENNYWISE... YOU HAVE A SMALL BRAIN AND OBVIOUSLY DON... Sometimes, the text stops to show certain text such as the game name. Simultaneously, white particles are seen bursting, spilling, and floating around in the background.

Variants: THIS GAMES USES A FULL PAL SCREEN. HOWEVER THE LOWER PORTION OF THE SCREEN IS NOT REALLY NEEDED TO PLAY THE GAME!!! CALL US AT 703 525 0986 OR 708 599 1537 HEY ZELD*CK QUIT SAYING SH*T LIES THAT THE AMERICAN MEMBERS OF PARADOX STILL LIKE YOU! F*CK OFF AND DIE! GREETINGS TO ALL OUR FRIENDS... THATS IT! BYE! Afterwards, the same credits from the above variant is displayed.
 * On Wings of Fury, the text was altered to replace "DYNASTY WARS 100" with "WINGS OF FURY 100". After "DONE BY THE SURGE!", the rest of the credits were changed to read "...PERSONAL GREETS TO MY FREINDS: FAIRLIGHT, QUARTEX, SWITCH, SKYLINE, JEFF KIRK AND OTHERS I FORGOT. TAKE IT EASY AND REACH US AT .. BP 110 7700 MOUSCRON 1 BELGIUM! AND T.N.B POSTE RESTANTE 2620 ALBERTSLUND DENMARK! AND PO BOX 2221 BRIDGEVIEW, ILL 60455. USA!!! OR CALL US AT: SLEEPY HOLLOW 703 525 0996 INVOLUNTARY DEATH 708 599 1537 HALLOWED GROUND 45 43 43 93 98!!! THATS IT!!! BYE! INTRO PROGRAMMED BY ORD MUSIC BY PINACCLE GRAPHICS BY PCSU USE JOYSTICK TO CONTROL THE STARFIELD PRESS RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON TO RETURN TO RANDOM STARFIELD PRESS LEFT MOUSE BUTTON TO EXIT TO DOS".
 * On Bomber Bobb, the scrolling text was revised to include said game's name and replace "100" and "DONE" with "NTSC". Afterwards, the following text appears

FX/SFX: The text flashing and scrolling and the particles floating.

Music/Sounds: A mythical woodwind theme.

Availability: Seen on cracked versions of Dynasty Wars, Wings of Fury, and Bomber Bobb for the Amiga.

2nd Logo (June 3-October 9, 1990)
Logo: There are dimly lit mountain hails in the distance and a radial gradient floor underneath. Also present is the stylized text "PARADOX " on top, the shaking text "• PARADOX • POISED FOR THE FUTURE" on the bottom half of the screen, and three rotating rings made up of several, separate spheres. Two of them are and on the bottom left and right whereas the center one is significantly larger and has black spheres. Waving up and down is the scrolling text underneath the group name, changing colors throughout: '''LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! PARADOX PRESENT... 💾EAST VS BERLIN ENGLISH💾 VERSION RELEASING ON 3-/6-90 DATE OF THE PARTY PLACE AND WHERE WE KICKED OUT ZELNIK THE D*CK. THE STORY IS THAT ZELNIK KEEPS ON SAYING SH*T ABOUT EVERYBODY AND MAINLY ABOUT PARADOX MEMBERS ...SO I (OLIVIER) JUST KICKED HIM OUT OF THE PARTY TELLING HIM HE SHOULD NOT COME BACK HERE OTHERWISE WE WOULD BEAT HIM UP AGAIN. THEN ZELF*CK WENT TO SLEEP IN A FRIENDS CAR AND LATER KEVIN AND TSH FROM VISION FACTORY ARRIVED AND LOOKED FOR ZELD*CK TO BEAT HIM UP, BUT AS I ALREADY KICKED HIM OUT HE WASNT AT THE PARTY BUT LATER THEY FOUND HIM SLEEPING IN THE CAR AND THREW HIM AND HIS CLOTHES IN THE BIG SWIMMING POOL ☻ ☻ SO YOU SEE ZELD*CK EVERYBODY HATES YOU ... F*CK OFF AND DIE. TO BAD THAT YOUR F*GGOT FRIEND PENNYWISE WASNT HERE BCOZ HE WOULD HAVE GOTTEN THE SAME TREATMENT, BUT WE GUESS THAT HE WAS JUST TO AFRAID PICK UP YOUR ☎ AND CALL THESE BOARDS SLEEPY HOLLOW 703 525 0986 INVOLUNTARY DEATH 700 599 1537 HALLOWED GROUND +45 4343 9398 WELL 🕑 TO STOP BEFORE IT GETS TO LATE. 🎩 GOODBYE 🎩''' For the first several seconds, the text fades in and out underneath the scrolling text: "PARADOX IS BACK", "CONTACT US ON", "THESE ADRESSES", "FOR THE LATEST WARES", "T.N.B.", "POSTE RESTANTE", "2620 ALBERTSLUND", "DENMARK", "OR", "BP 110", "7700 MOUSCRON 1", "BELGIUM", "OR", "P.O. BOX 2221", "BRIDGEVIEW, IL", "60455 USA".

FX/SFX: The rings spinning and the text fading, scrolling, waving, and changing colors.

Music/Sounds: An upbeat action-packed 8-bit soundtrack.

Availability: Seen on cracked versions of Berlin 1948: East vs. West 1990, Last Ninja 2, and Sextimates for Amiga. It last appeared on an alternate hacked copy of No Exit.

3rd Logo (November 3, 1990)
Logo: On a moving space background with -shaded colors on top and bottom, the text "PARADOX" is displayed on a  carpet. Purple ribbons make up the "P" and "R"'s bowls and the first "A"'s stem whereas parts of the second "A" and "D" appear to have green tape on them. Bouncing up and down from the right, the following text is shown '''PANZA KICK BOXING BY FUTURA .. CRACKED BY THE SURGE .. BUY THE LATEST AT .. BP 110 1700 MOUSCRON 1 BELGIUM OR TNB POSTE RESTANTE 2620 ALBERTSLUND. OK OR PLK 039209-D 2300 KIEL GERMANY LBR SRG27.03NOV90''' The sequence then loops.

FX/SFX: The background scrolling and the text bouncing.

Music/Sounds: A fast-paced 8-bit futuristic theme.

Availability: Was seen on cracked versions of Panza Kick Boxing for Amiga.

4th Logo (Novmeber 7-10, 1990)
Logo: On a black background, the text "PARADOX" made up of mechanical parts is shown on the top. On the bottom is an outlined cloudy box with two symbols containing a "1" and the following text in the center CODE • SKYWALKER GFX • COBOL•MCM  MUSIC • SAMPLEMIXER Flashing and appearing on top of the credits, we see the devil humping a naked angel; the latter has a scared expression on his face. Circling around the two is the text '''DO YOU FEEL IT ANGEL?????? PARADOX PRESENTS A NEW CRACK CALLED SUPER OFF ROAD THE CRACK HAS PERFORMED BY TIO, ORIGINAL BY THE INFERNAL DUO AND ALL INTRO DESIGN BY THE PARADOX FRENOH CODING INDUSTRIE.... CALL OUR BOARDS AT ... SLEEPY HOLLOW 301.071.0205 INVOLVUTARY DEATH 700.599.1537 HALLOW CD GROUND PLUS 45 4343 9390 MIDDLE CAR TH 801.882.4215 PARADOX CANADA 410.843.5174 THE UNGLE 708.983.5764 ITTLE MERIKA 49 4531....

Variant: On Crossword Construction Set, the text now reads '''NEVER FEARING GOD NOR ANGELS PARADOX PRESENTS CROSSWORD CONSTRUCTION SET ... RELEASED ON NOVEMBER 7, 1990 ... ALL INTRO DESIGN BY THE PARADOX CODING INDUSTRIE....'''

FX/SFX: The devil humping the angel and the text circling around.

Music/Sounds: A repetitive, dramatic science fiction-like 8-bit fanfare.

Availability: Only seen on cracked versions of Super Off Road and Crossword Construction Set for the Amiga 500.

5th Logo (December 6, 1990)
Logo: On a black background, two dark blue boxes are shown on the top and bottom sections of the screen. "PARADOX", made up of balloons, is shown on the top bar. In the center, there is a hole in which color-changing text emerges and scrolls within various shapes, from a star to a circle, infinity symbol, among others. In full, it reads: '''YO FANS! WELCOME TO ANOTHER COOL PARADOX CRACK AND YET ANOTHER AWESOME INTRO! THIS TIME WE BRING YOU CELICA GT RALLY FROM GREMLIN CRACKED BY BLACK HAWK IN DECEMBER 1990 IF YOU WANNA REACH US: CALL ANY OF OUR FAST ELITE BOARDS. BEST REGARDS AND WISHES TO ALL MEMBERS AND TO ALL OUR FRIENDS AND CONTACTS AROUND THE WORLD CONTACT US FOR AN ABO BY WRITING TO THIS ADRESS BP 110 7700 MOUSCRON 1 BELGIUM ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS: PARADOX NO NEED OF ANY CO-OPERATION TO BE THE BEST !! YOU HAVE NOW REACHED THE END OF THIS SCROLL: SO HOW ABOUT CHECKING OUT WHATS ON THIS DISK EH? .. The text loops throughout, being assigned to a different patterned text path.

FX/SFX: The text scrolling.

Music/Sounds: A funky 8-bit theme.

Availability: Seen on cracked versions of Celica GT Rally 1990 for Amiga.

6th Logo (July 12-August 10, 1993)
Logo: On a black background, two transparent cubes, colored and, are rotating against a transparent  box made up of tiles zooming in and out rapidly. Underneath is a dark blue bar and the text "France: (+33-1) 3956 - 3746 - P A R A D O X - Denmark: (+45) 4264-1491". Within the bar, the following text scrolls from the right: Times New Roman

FX/SFX: The cubes rotating and the text scrolling.

Music/Sounds: A fast-paced, bubbly 8-bit theme. This is actually "Coy-Hot" by Monty.

Availability: Seen on cracked versions of Ishar 2: Messengers of Doom, Sub Trade, Vroom Multi-Player, and ''Yo! Joe!'' for Amiga.

7th Logo (April 24, 1994)
Logo: On a black background, "PARADOX" in a steel texture zooms out. Here, a worm is seen dangling on the "P", a star is in front of the "o", and the "x" resembles a gun, among other stylized creations of the logo. This, while against a dark blue gear. The logo then shines and after a few seconds, zooms in and flashes the screen.

FX/SFX: The logo zooming and the screen flashing.

Music/Sounds: A fast-paced 8-bit theme.

Availability: Can be found on cracked versions of Cobalt: Calimero's Return.

8th Logo (July 19, 1999)
Logo: On a scrolling space background, the 3D stylized text "PARADOX" scrolls down from the top. The "O" is an apple with the text "sns+ms" underneath. The following text is seen waving up and down while leaving a trail and scrolling to the left: Paradox is doing it to your psx again! This time the TRUE GODS brings you APE ESCAPE (italian) CRACK A PAL/NTSC SELECTOR ... Special thanks to MATO from Italy for supplying the original! ... Press X for PAL or O for NTSC ... this game was cracked by XOR37H with valuable help from FREEFALL, without him this would not be possible... Time to send some personal greetings and respects to these guys - LUKULLUS - FREEFALL - AVH - HEIN - ICARUS - CONTROL - UNDERTAKER - PHA-Q - SENSI - SINNER - CLIVE - ARGONITE - SILPHEED - GROEPHZ - PHLEKS - MIK - DANZIG - SMOKE - K-COMM .. and to all those I forgot (sorry!) * keep the spirit alive! * ... group greetings goes to these guys - BACKLASH - HITMEN - BLACKDOG - HIGH SOCIETY - CHAMPION - CRAZY NATION - EURASIA - FAIRLIGHT - AGS - TRSI - KALISTO - CONSOLEX - NAPALM - CIFE - CARNAGE - FUSION - OLDSKOOL - MANIFEST - PARADIGM - WACKYVISO - ACCESSION ... time for me to jet, more games to improve... later people!

FX/SFX: The stars and logo scrolling and the text waving up and down

Music/Sounds: A catchy space-like 8-bit tune.

Availability: Seen on German cracked versions of Ape Escape for PS1.

9th Logo (August 18, 1999)
Logo: On a background with bubbles rising, "paradox", with "para" in a cursive font and "dox" in a round, shiny font, is on the top portion of the screen. Underneath the center portion is the stage selection, stage crowns, and effect possessions, automatically set to "NOWAY!". On the botom half is the text "PRESS X FOR PAL MODE OR O FOR DISK " Appearing in between the group name and selection section, while changing every 15 seconds or so, is the line of wiping text: PARADOX IS PROUD TO PRESENT YOU UM JAMMER LAMMY +3 (C) SONY TAINED AND FIXED BY X0R37H INTRO CODED BY ABRAHAM VAN HELSING GRAPHICS DRAWN BY PHA-Q ORIGINAL SUPPLIED BY CONSOLE ASYLUM UK

FX/SFX: The bubbles rising and the text wiping in.

Music/Sounds: A 16-bit rendition of "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath.

Availability: Appears on Japanese cracked versions of Um Jammer Lammy for PS1.

10th Logo (October 17, 1999)
Logo: After several seconds of nothing, a spiral path gets sucked into a  light in the center. It spins for the entire duration of the logo. Then, "PARADOX" in a stylized font slides in from the right and shifts back and forth. Also appearing from the right is the scrolling, bouncing text PARADOX IS BACK. THIS TIME WE BRING YOU A PERFECT CRACK AND PAL-NTSC SELECTOR FOR THE GAME • SOUL REAVER - LEGACY OF KAIN (SPANISH) • PRESS -X- FOR PAL OR -O- FOR NTSC ... THIS GAME WA SCRACKED BY • XOR37H • ... ORIGINAL WAS SUPPLIED BY • REXIER • ... THIS AWESOME INTRO WAS CODD BY • ANTIPLEX • ... MUSIC WAS MADE BY • XENOX OF TRIAD • ... REMEMBER WHO DID IT FIRST. REMEMBER WHO DOES IT BEST. PARADOX THE NAME OF THE GAME ...

FX/SFX: The spiral spinning and the text sliding, scrolling, and bouncing.

Music/Sounds: A fast-paced tribal woodwind tune.

Availability: Seen on cracked versions of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver for PS1.

11th Logo (2000)
Logo: Spinning in is a perspective dodger blue checkerboard background on both the top and lower half of the screen. "PAR1ADOX" flips in alongside the background and consists of the PlayStation logo, its buttons, and a symbol reading "R1". Then, the following text wipes in underneath:  PARADOX PRESENTS  -- GRAN TURISMO 2000  --  PS2 2 PSX PORT  JAP 2 Euro/MULTILANGUAGE  +8 TRAINER  NTSC/PAL SELECTOR   In the background, we see the letters "PARADOX" flying in and out and doing various actions such as circling around. Underneath the "NTSC/PAL" text is the scrolling text: '''HELP OUR CHILDREN - STOP THE PEDOPHILIA ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER RELEASE... THIS TIME WE CRACKED - GRAN TURISMO 2000 JAP - PS2 PSX :D :D :D ENJOY OUR INTRO SCREEN AND THEN ENJOY THE GAME BUT ONLY IF YOU HAVE THE ORIGINAL CD! - GREETINGS TO ALL OUR FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS - FOLLOW YOUR HEART, FOLLOW THE LEADERS, FOLLOW US! PATCH CREDITZ... ASH: -B.A.D.- PATCH'N TEST: -CHAR AZNABLE: -B O T- INTRO CREDITZ... CODE: -B.A.D.- GFX: -KD2.1976- MUZAK: -ESTRAYK Throughout the sequence, the logo is seen sequentially beating not in-sync to the music.

FX/SFX: The background flipping in, the letters flying, the logo beating, and the text scrolling.

Music/Sounds: A fast-paced and catchy video game theme with human grunts. Once again, it is composed by Estrayk.

Availability: Seen on Japanese cracked versions of Gran Turismo 2000 for the PS2.

12th Logo (October 15, 2000)
Logo: Within an outlined box with a spiraling  line waving back and forth, "PARADOX" in a round font is against an -medium orchid rectangular box made up of parts and two  bolts on the bottom left and top right ends with a star spinning next to it. Under neath it is the text PROUDLY PRESENTS ON 15TH OCTOBER 2K ♥ANPAMAN (jAP/NTSC)♥ ♥PAL/NTSC ViDEOMODE SELECTOR♥ HOT GAME PATCHED BY ZWEiFELD OF PDX AND SUPPLIED BY TEAM CURASIA Underneath that is scrolling text moving in a wavy direction, reading '''AND AGAIN... YOUR ♥FAVORITE♥ TEAM STRIKES BACK WITH ANOTHER COOL ♥PAL/NTSC SELECTOR♥ ... THIS BABY IS FOR VANDALISM (jAP/NTSC) - JAPANESE VERSION♥ (C) BANDAI ... HOT GAME PAL/NTSC PATCHED BY ♥ZWEIFELD OF PARADOX♥ AND SUPPLIED BY TEAM ♥EURASIA♥ ... PRESS (X) BUTTON TO BOOT iN PAL OR USE (O) BUTTON TO BOOT IN NTSC ... OUR GREETINGS FLY OUT iN NO ORDER TO. WACKYiSO ... ACCESSION ... STATiC ... CONSOLE X ... HIGH SOCIETY ... HiTMEN ... ANTHROX ... LiGHTFORCE ... iNTERGANG ... TRSi ... UTOPiA ... NAPALM ... DiGiTAL CURRUPTION ... MUPS ... OLDSKOOL .. DEXTROSE ... GAMEFREAK.DE ... HAUjOBB ... CRAZY NATiON ,,, DCS ,,, QUASAR ... CAPiTAL ... NiGHTFALL ... GEWALT ... CURASIA ... MUDS... AND ALL WE HAVE FORGOTTEN !!! ... CREDiTS FOR THIS LiTTLE iNTRO ... CODE BY ♥ZWEiFELD♥ ... COOL TUNE BY ♥ESTRAYK♥ ... LOGO DRAWN BY ♥THE FROG BUDS♥ ... FONT FROM UNKNOWN OKAY. HAVE FUN WITH THIS COOL GAME NOW! ... YOURS ♥ZWEiFELD♥'''

FX/SFX: The background music, the star spinning, and the text bouncing and scrolling.

Music/Sounds: An upbeat 8-bit fanfare, made by Estrayk.

Availability: Was seen on cracked versions of Anpanman for PS1.

13th Logo (November 22, 2000-January 1, 2001)
Logo: A picture scrolls from the left: a cartoon bear, the letters "PDX" with a line path leaving underneath the letters and " ParaDoX " against a blood splat, all on a fantasy nature background. Underneath, the stacked text SPYRO 3 (USA) THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON ♥ PAL-NTSC +2 ♥ ♥ PERFECT CRACK !! ♥ scrolls in the same direction albeit slightly delayed. Then, as moving blurry streaks scroll upwards in the background, there is scrolling bottom text bouncing, reading

PARADOX PRESENTS: SDPYRO 3 - THE YEAR OF THE DRAGON --USA-- PERFECT CRACK !!. PAL-NTSC AND TRAINER•20. PROTECTION SCARED AWAY BY •BABYSDOCK•. OUR ORIGINAL CRACK HAD SOME PROBLEMS AFTER PLAYING FOR A WHILE. THIS IS THE 100 VERSION. IT TOOK TWO STEPS. BUT ONCE AGAIN, MISSION COMPLETED SIR! BABYDOCK WAS NOT TOO HAPPY TO BE INTERRUPTED IN THE MIDDLE OF A LOVE SESSION WITH SOME ISLANDS CHICKS IN THE MASTER BEDROOM OF OUR BRAND NEW PARADOX 56 METERS YATCH, BUT WHEN CRACKING TIME IS HERE. TIME TO RAISE THE PIRATE FLAG AND GET BUSY WITH IT. THIS GAME WAS NOT SO MUCH AN HARD CRACK BUT A SNEAKY ONE. PROTECTION WAS LATE IN THE GAME AND ACTIVATE ON ONLY SOME PSX. WE THANK NEIMOD, KRYOGENIX KREV, PUNKS FROM PUNKSTOYS, VORPAL, 13PANTHERS, TAZ, AND PEA, FOR THE IN DEPTH TESTING THAT MADE THIS CRACK POSSIBLE. WE ALSO THANK THOSE VICIOUS CODERS AT D FOR BRINGING US NEW EXCITEMENT WITH THIS FUNKY COPY PROTECTION. CONTACT US ON EFNET POXCONSOLE OR BY EMAIL STAFF PARADOGS.COM. AND REMEMBER TO VISIT OUR WEB SITE. WWW.PARADOGS.COM. PARADOX: WHERE THE BIG BOYS PLAY!''' After that, the logo and middle text scrolls to the left.

Variant: An alternate version of this logo has the picture replaced with beveled text reading "Comic Sans MS ". Additionally, the middle text has a bar consisting of patterned ovals separating "SPYRO 3 - YEAR OF THE DRAGON FROM SONY COMPUTER ♥ CRACKED AND TRAINED +Q ♥" from "PRESS START TO CONTINUE!". The bottom text underneath now reads: SPYRO 3 (PAL/MULTI) FROM SONY COMPUTER/INSOMNIAC WAS CRACKED, TRAINED AND FIXED TO PAL/NTSC BY •MR BENGALI• ORIGINALS SUPPLIED BY •LINCOLN• AND •SAPHIR• SPECIAL THANKS FLY OUT TO •BABYDOCK• AND •SAPHIR• FOR SENDING SO MUCH TIM TESTING THIS GAME! TIME TO WARP, MORE GAMES TO CRACK! STAY TUNED FOR THE UPCOMING RELEASES FROM YOUR FAVORITE CONSOLE GROUND! AS USUAL, WE SEND GREETINGS TO ALL EXCEPT YOU! FOR SERIOUS IMPACT, MAKE SURE TO CONNECT ONE OF OUR FTPS OR TO REACH US AT •WWW.PARADOGS.COM• RELEASE COURTESY OF PARADOX OXO7DO

FX/SFX: The logo and text scrolling and the background moving.

Music/Sounds: A repeating, ascending synth tune. This is actually "The HER song 3" composed by Estrayk.

Availability: Seen on cracked versions of Spyro: Year of The Dragon for PS1. The alternate variant was seen on the +4 PAL/NTSC cracked version of said game.

Editor's Note: A fondly remembered logos for children and others who played the hacked version of Spyro: Year of The Dragon, thanks to its music.