solst-ice/wannacry-gba — explained in plain English
Analysis updated 2026-05-18
Run a harmless novelty WannaCry-style screen on a real Game Boy Advance or emulator
Use it as a tiny example project for learning the Butano GBA framework
Show it off as a joke to friends familiar with the original ransomware's look
| solst-ice/wannacry-gba | bong-water-water-bong/npu-gpu-cpu | cloudcompare/normals_hough | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stars | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Language | C++ | C++ | C++ |
| Last pushed | — | — | 2018-02-23 |
| Maintenance | — | — | Dormant |
| Setup difficulty | moderate | hard | moderate |
| Complexity | 2/5 | 5/5 | 3/5 |
| Audience | developer | researcher | researcher |
Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.
Requires installing DevkitARM and Butano first, and editing the Makefile path.
This is a small, playful project that recreates the on-screen look of the WannaCry ransomware's decryptor screen, but built to run on a Game Boy Advance. It is not real malware and does not encrypt or hold anything hostage. According to the README, it is a joke: the screen appears and behaves like the famous ransomware interface, but pressing through it does nothing harmful at all. The project is built with Butano, a C++ framework for making Game Boy Advance games, and DevkitARM, the toolchain used to compile code for the GBA. To try it, you need those two installed first, following Butano's own setup instructions. From there, running make compiles the project into a .gba file, which can be loaded onto a real Game Boy Advance using an EZFlash flash cart, or run in the mGBA emulator on a computer. The README notes that people will likely need to edit the Makefile so it points to wherever Butano is installed on their machine, since that path is not the same for everyone. The screenshot included in the README shows the recreated interface looking close to the real ransomware's appearance, which is presumably the whole point of the project: a visual reference piece rather than a functional application. There is no networking code, no file encryption, and nothing that touches other files on the system it runs on, since the entire thing is confined to the Game Boy Advance's own hardware and display. This repository is aimed at retro hardware hobbyists and Game Boy Advance homebrew developers who enjoy building small, novelty software for old handheld consoles. It is not a tool with any practical function beyond the joke itself, and there is no indication it is meant to be extended into something more serious. Anyone curious about GBA homebrew development could use it as a tiny, self-contained example of a Butano project that compiles and runs.
A joke project that recreates the WannaCry ransomware's decryptor screen as a harmless visual gag running on a Game Boy Advance.
Mainly C++. The stack also includes C++, Butano, DevkitARM.
The README does not state a license, so usage rights are unclear.
Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.
Mainly developer.
This repo across BitVibe Labs
double-check against the repo, no cap.