Since Crisis Core is more of a prequel to Final Fantasy VII than anything, no. Then again, Final Fantasy VII itself is such a phenomenon that even if Crisis Core is a prequel, you should really play the original game before you play any of the other FF7 games. Seeing how the connection between Zak and Cloud was only touch ever so little in the original game, Crisis Core is one of the finer additions to the FFVII canon. So uh... Before Crisis (prequel) -> Crisis Core (prequel) -> Last Order (anime, prequel) -> Dirge of Cerberus (prequel) -> Dirge of Cerberus: Lost Episode (prequel) -> Final Fantasy VII (main game) -> Advent Children (CGI movie, sequel)