Steak



The steak is a mini boss in Paper Mario: Color Splash. According to the developers' notes in the electronic manual, they wanted to make the steak look appetizing to anyone who saw it. During a company barbecue event, they had a professional cameraman take pictures of it during various stages of preparation. At the end of the notes, the writer jokes that a boss of the next game should be a crab or lobster.

History
After Mario substitutes for the head chef of Tangerino Grill due to him being left injured by a troupe of Shy Guys making mischief in the kitchen and prepares Mamma Mia Pizza for the Toads, an anonymous VIP demands to be fed. The VIP, while obscured by drapes, demands for Mario to prepare them something delicious, and tosses him a massive steak for him to "get started." Walking up to it begins the battle.

Battle
The fight against the steak is very unconventional, as the player has to prepare the steak within three turns by doing the following steps:


 * The steak needs to be tenderized with a hammer, causing it to bend. Perfectly tenderized steak will be bent about 90 degrees. Two "Excellent!" hammer attacks or two "Nice!" big hammer attacks is enough to do so. It cannot be tenderized too much or else it will fall to the ground and the battle will end.
 * After that, it has to be seasoned by using the Salt and Pepper Thing card. This will leave bits of pepper and salt on the steak.
 * Next, it needs to be grilled evenly via the Charcoal Grill Thing card or with two "Excellent!" Big Fire Flower attacks. This will give it a toasted appearance.
 * Finally, it has to be given lemon juice via the Lemon Thing card. This does not give any cosmetic alterations to the steak.

The steak can attack Mario during the three turns. It can attack with a lower jab, which will deduct 12 HP if it connects, a roundhouse kick that will deduct 18 HP if connected, a double slap, deducting 8 HP each slap, and a body slam, which will deduct 14 HP when connected.

The fight can be ended early by choosing the "Done" option, which replaces "Flee". If the process is done correctly, the VIP will compliment Mario for his cooking and leave behind an orange Mini Paint Star. If certain conditions aren't met, the VIP will reject the steak and give Mario a new one to prepare. The steak will also be rejected if replicas of the Salt and Pepper, Charcoal Grill and Lemon Things are used. Starting with the third attempt, Mario must pay 1000 Coins for every new steak.

The steak is the third boss in a Mario RPG to be a sentient food or drink preparation, with Bundt being the first and Chuckolator being the second. Similarly, all three are consumed after being defeated.