I got the game in February (NZ release date) and finished about a month or so ago.
I completed a lot of the side-quests and hunts before finishing the story for the first time, but I wasn't nearly strong enough to do everything. Nor did I want to, because I was positively itching to see how it all ended.
Now, though, I'm plodding through the additional challenges. Yiazmat, for instance, is nearly down. I'm not sure I'll bothering with all the mini-games; fishing, especially, is bothersome and dull... but it is necessary to see the final (SPOILER)Gilgamesh scene, so I mightn't have any choice.