A Tiny Cliché

[David]

[...] and the princess never holds a sword.
(Or does she? In the collection of Mechner's images from the Apple II, there is an image of the princess in fighting stance. Look for the image named "PAC.MOUSE" in the ZIP.)

For the record, here is that image:

[Norbert]

Kinda related, what Mike says here: "Disappearing platforms. It's a staple in NES games."

Another example of someone using "staple" here, by Jim Sterling.

[David]

Ever noticed that everyone in both PoP1 and Pop2 [...] are ambidexterous?

An then there is "trope", used by the TV Tropes website.

And guess what, they *do* have a page about this: https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Ambidextrous_Sprite