Board Thread:General Nerf discussion/@comment-3362895-20191230021439/@comment-27306930-20200103063448

As I recall, the original Star Wars was going for a nostalgic look and feel. Light Sabers (aka swords) and guns like Han Solo's pistol (like the German Luger) were intentionally designed to be reminiscent of real-steel weapons. They stayed away from Phasers and Ray-Guns to differentiate Star Wars from previous space-westerns.