- those hand weapons are surprisingly bulky. This is over 900 years in the future, after all. Apart from the initial Dustbuster phasers of TNG, hand weapons back then didn't appear to be any larger than a deck of cards. So they go from phasers that small...to this?
They took TOO much inspiration from the MegaMan franchise.
phasers: shoot (unless its TWOK) an instantaneous bright beam that can be easily aimed.
cuff-blaster-thingy from 31st century: shoots a slow lethargic glowing blob slower than the bb gun you had as a kid. impossible to aim at anything but close quarters.
I guess they care more about Particle Density and Volume than speed which is not what I would expect for improvement.
The only thing that looks improved is that it's "Ease of Use" / "Ergonomics" has improved for a wide range of hand types and that it's harder to knock the weapon out of your hands.
Other wise, give me my Phaser Blasting 1911 =D.
Faster Energy Bolts FTW instead of Beams.
Better Energy Consumption / usage model over continuous beams.
Honestly the old Phaser Dust Buster, if remodeled, would make a nice "Phaser Saber" that had INFINITE range and only stops at the first thing that it touches.