There Are No Story Spoilers For Final Fantasy VII Remake Below. 

When Final Fantasy VII Remake was announced, there were fans who were wondering whether it would reference the numerous Final Fantasy VII spin-offs that were released after the original. The demo of Final Fantasy VII Remake included a reference to a game called Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, despite the fact that it never left Japan.

The developers of Final Fantasy VII Remake revealed that characters from a spin-off novel called The Kids Are Alright would be appearing in the game, but the game does include some references to other spin-offs. The Kids Are Alright connection at least makes sense, as the book has been translated and released in English, but it's strange that Before Crisis is referenced, due to how few people have actually played it.

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Before Crisis is a Final Fantasy VII prequel that stars the Turks. The story follows the Turks as they battle the original incarnation of Avalanche, which were a lot stronger and better organized than Barret's version of the group. The events of Before Crisis have only been referenced in the form of the character of Kunsel in Crisis Core and in scenes from the Last Order OVA.

Final Fantasy VII Turks President Rufus Shinra
via.FinalFantasyWiki

Before Crisis was only ever released for smartphones in Japan back in the mid-'00s. The fans have been unable to emulate the game, as it would have received an unofficial translation a long time ago. The only way to learn about the story of Before Crisis is through fan summaries or through a fan-made RPG Maker remake.

Square Enix had discussed remaking Before Crisis for the Nintendo 3DS in the past, but this never came to fruition. If the events of the game are canon with that of Final Fantasy VII Remake, then Square Enix should really remake the game for modern systems. At the very least, the game should be remastered for modern mobile phones and given an English localization. If Final Fantasy VII Remake is going to reference Before Crisis (such as the scene in the demo where the attempted assassination of President Shinra is brought up by Heidegger), then Square Enix should at least make it easy for the fans to understand the events that are being referenced.

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Final Fantasy VII Remake will be released for PlayStation 4 on April 10, 2020.